Horror movie monsters never really die, they just go into retirement when their franchise stops being profitable. Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger and Jason Voorhees have all been defeated and resurrected too many times to count (actually it's 31 times between them all), but the next big bad to make it back to the big screen isn't all that big, and he's not even making it all the way to the big screen.

Curse of Chucky is the forthcoming direct-to-DVD entry in the Child's Play series, the original film of which was released back in 1988. Curse of Chucky will be the sixth film in the franchise, following on from 2004's Seed of Chucky. The inimitable Brad Dourif returns once more to voice the evil doll who lends his name to the title of the film, and his daughter Fiona Dourif plays the protagonist, Nica: a young woman confined to a wheelchair who is introduced to Chucky when he arrives in a mysterious package on her doorstep.

Hopefully we can look forward to a trailer for the movie soon, but in the meantime IGN and Bloody Disgusting have scored the first promotional stills from the movie, featuring Fiona Dourif, Chucky himself, and young actress Summer H. Howell, who plays Nica's niece, Alice.

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Summer H Howell in 'Curse of Chucky'

Fiona Dourif in 'Curse of Chucky'

Chucky (Brad Dourif) in 'Curse of Chucky'

Which of the Child's Play movies is the best is a matter of personal taste (though Bride of Chucky had a doll makeover montage set to Blondie's "Call Me", which should really make it the clear winner), but Seed of Chucky was almost certainly the weirdest. That's saying a lot considering the overarching story of the series is about a talking doll possessed by the soul of a dead serial killer. It really isn't a spoiler to say that Chucky "died" at the end of Seed of Chucky, since he dies at the end of every Child's Play movie and it never seems to stick, as this latest return indicates.

These images suggest that Charles Lee Ray has relocated to another Good Guy doll entirely, since the rather haphazard job that Tiffany did of piecing him back together left his last body a scarred mess. There will no doubt be a cursory explanation for how he managed to come back this time, but the more interesting aspect of the film is the proposed return to the root of the series.

Chucky in 'Seed of Chucky'
Chucky's appearance in 'Seed of Chucky'

The synopsis states that Chucky "has a personal score to settle" and is "determined to finish a job he started more than 20 years earlier, and this time he’s going to see it through to the bloody and shocking end." This could be referring specifically to Chucky's repeated attempts to transfer his soul into the body of Andy Barclay, but since Andy doesn't appear to be in this movie (and really, how many times can Chucky try to possess the kid before he finally accepts that it's just not going to happen?), it seems more likely that the synopsis is referring to one of Chucky's exploits during his time as the Lakeshore Strangler.

Are you excited for the next appearance of Chucky, or do you think that this horror series needs to be put to rest?

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Curse of Chucky is out on Blu-ray and DVD from September 24, 2013.

Source: IGN & Bloody Disgusting