Child's Play

CHICAGO – There are some fears in this world that seem irrational to us. Like a fear of clowns or the fear of using an elevator. Horror films are at the core of some of these fears, with the truly great ones creating new things to fear. The “Child’s Play” franchise may have had its roots in psychopathic soul transfers, but the update focuses on the ghost in the machine.

CHICAGO – Few horror franchises hold up well over two decades. Recently-released box sets for the entire filmographies of “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th” do little more than point out that most of these franchises were pretty horrible. While I would never proclaim any of the Chucky films to be in the league of a flick like “Elm Street” and there are at least two duds of the six films in here, the pretty fun “Curse of Chucky” proves that there’s actually more life in “Chucky: The Complete Collection” than you might expect.

CHICAGO – Start planning your Halloween marathon now. Last week, we highlighted the Universal wave of titles that included greats like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Army of Darkness” and we’re back with another wave of modern horror classics, including Oscar winners “Silence of the Lambs” and “Misery”.