Chucky the murderous doll comes out as LGBTQ ally

Horror icon Chucky doll might be a serial killer but he's no monster. Chucky is an LGBT ally and confirmed as much in a new clip from Child’s Play toy’s new SyFy series. In the show, Chucky is in the hands of 14-year-old Jake Wheeler (played by Zackary Arthur), who's a loner who's constantly targeted. Wheeler has a crush on classmate Devon (​​played by Björgvin Arnarson). The evil doll is an avenging angel fighting back against those targeting his owner. In the series, Chucky doll kills Wheeler's father, Lucas, for constantly abusing and bullying him. After Lucas taunts him for playing with dolls, Jake tells his Dad. “You don’t care that they think I’m weird. You just care that they know I’m a f*g.” Chucky kills Lucas after the latter threatens to kill Jake if he talks about being gay again. “He got what he deserved,” Chucky tells Jake, reported Metro.

If that wasn't evidence enough, Chucky speaks about having a non-binary kid, referring to the 2004 movie 'Seed of Chucky.' "You know, I had a Queer kid," says Chucky, and Jake asks the doll if he's ok with that. "I’m not a monster, Jake," delivering a powerful moment on screen in support of the LGBTQ community. In a genre where LGBT characters are often victims, deviants, or freaks, Chucky's support to the community sent a strong message. In 'Seed of Chucky,' his doll partner Tiffany gives birth, and Chucky calls them Glen, while his partner calls them Glenda. The baby doll overhears the argument and tells them, "I’m not sure. Sometimes I feel like a boy. Sometimes I feel like a girl. Can I be both?" This is also the first time Chucky’s child’s identity has been confirmed on-screen.

Jake's queer identity is the core of the story and it's not a surprise given Don Mancini, the show's creator is also gay and his work involves a lot of LGBTQ representation. Chucky the doll made its debut with Child’s Play, which became an instant classic when released in November 1988. This has been followed by a whole franchise centered around the doll spanning three decades. Mancini said he had infused queerness into these stories “dramatically, subtextually, metaphorically, [and] stylistically.”

“Once we introduced Jennifer Tilly’s character, the Bride of Chucky, Tiffany, that brought a certain comedic camp vibe, which I think is kind of historically a hallmark of gay culture,” said Mancini, reported Advocate. “The filmmakers in the horror genre that I’ve always loved… create this really interesting, aesthetic intersection between violence and beauty and glamour. And that really attracts me. And I think there is something fundamentally queer about that, this sort of operatic viewpoint on the horror genre.” Mancini has been pushing the envelope over the years. “I just have tried to go further with it with each movie and create a space of representation in this genre in a major studio product that really has a broad reach around the world,” he said.

He adds that Jake is a reflection of him as a young boy. “The protagonist is a 14-year-old gay boy who’s dealing with a lot of issues that I dealt with as a 14-year-old gay boy back in the late ’70s,” said Mancini. “This show uses Chucky as a metaphor for bullying, the culture of bullying that, unfortunately, still is present in today’s youth.” He also explains the dynamic between Jake and Chucky. "When Chucky ends up in a kind of weird, toxic, bullying relationship with Jake, one of the ways he’s able to manipulate this kid is by ironically expressing a kind of empathy and sympathy for him,” says Mancini. “Chucky is a psychotic killer. However, he’s not homophobic, and he’s not a bigot. He’s an equal opportunity killer.”