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The McPoyle bloodline has been clean and pure for a thousand years before Liam decided that the dating pool and the gene pool need not be family-only affairs.

On It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there really aren’t many representations of loving families or meaningful romantic relationships, but, thankfully, the inbred Pennsylvanian tribe known as the McPoyles and their most notable twin sons offer us both simultaneously. Between Charlie’s longtime stalking of and eventual consummation with the Waitress, Dee’s dozens of plow partners, Frank’s deceased whoo-ur fiancee, Mac’s love-hate relationship with his own sexuality and Dennis’ entire arc with Mauree–er, Bastet, the Paddy’s Pub Gang can’t count a single happy, mutually fulfilling romantic relationship among them, making Liam and Ryan McPoyle’s “brotherly love” the longest-lasting and most caring relationship on the entire show. But it’s not exactly monogamous, as their sister can attest.

Earlier this month, we shared a Marvel Comics fan film called Logan the Wolf, which imagined Wolverine as a Viking. That’s not the only Marvel-inspired fan film that has been going viral in recent weeks – and the other one that has caught a lot of attention can be shared here as a Cool Horror Video! Written and directed by Andy Chen, this one is called The Spider stars Chandler Riggs (best known for playing Carl Grimes on The Walking Dead) and puts a body horror spin on the story of Spider-Man! Some of you may have seen this one already, but if you haven’t, or if you want to watch it again, you can check it out in the embed above.

Featuring a creature suit by Alen Stubbs and Sci-Fi Studios, with visual effects from Gianluigi Carella, Josh Lykkeberg, and the director, The Spider has a short and...

Among all the horror-thrillers that have caught hold of fans to the core, Chandler Riggs’ The Spider seems to gaining an edge. A short fanmade film with a legit cast that actually nailed it, this movie has been inspired by none other than the beloved friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, though it differs in wide ranges when it comes to the themes and genre.

The Spider (2024).

That said, this version is a darker take on the web-slinger and is actually a horror movie from the up-and-coming young filmmaker, Andy Chen. Nonetheless, fans’ reactions to this short film are nothing short of spectacular, with many of them even giving this “horror take on Spider-Man” perfect scores for everything — from the cast to the storyline to the special effects and whatnot.

What is The Spider All About?

The Spider is a fan-made horror film by Andy Chen, the young talent in the filmmaking industry...

Watch out for this Spidey. There's a new fan film in the works launching soon titled The Spider, described as a "horror take on Spider-Man." Not to be confused with the other two actual spider horror films opening soon - Sting and Infested. Written and directed by Andy Chen, an up-and-coming young filmmaker who goes under the name "Locust Garden" on social media, the short film features a legit cast. Chandler Riggs (seen in "The Walking Dead" & "A Million Little Things") stars as Spider-Man, along with Caylee Cowan, Matthew Vorce, Kyra Gardner, Holgie Forrester, Carl Addicott, David Rice, Andrew Hernon, Kealani Kitaura, Ronan Arthur & Ben Thomas. With a score by Alexander Taylor. It is an entirely fan-made, non-profit film inspired by Spider-Man. Our pals over at Live for Film also point out that there is actually a "fully mutated Man-Spider" from the comics, and this short also seems similar to...

Blumhouse and Universal's "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie is looking more and more like it has the makings of being the reason for the Halloween season, and a big part of the allure is seeing the larger-than-life animatronics of Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, and Freddy Fazbear in live-action. The fearsome foursome of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria (home to child murder and possessed robot animals) represents the introduction to horror for a new generation, so it was important that no shortcuts were taken in bringing them all to life. Fortunately, the creative team behind "FNaF" went above and beyond by enlisting the services of the legendary Jim Henson's Creature Shop. With the help of some of the very best in the biz, all of the animatronics look character-correct ... and downright terrifying.

While the "FNaF" baddies could have very easily stayed as digital creations as they debuted in Scott Cawthon's video games,...

To celebrate the release of the upcoming horror documentary Living With Chucky, Lightbulb Film Distribution in association with Universal Pictures, are delighted to be offering lucky winners a bumper Chucky Bundle! Winners will get their hands on Blu-ray copies of Living With Chucky and limited edition Chucky Season 2: Steelbook & Good Guys Edition II.

Living With Chucky explores the appeal and longevity of the Child’s Play franchise – and its iconic bloodthirsty doll. Filmmaker Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of iconic special effects artist Tony Gardner, takes an in-depth look at the groundbreaking horror franchise. Featuring interviews with creator Don Mancini, Chucky’s voice actor Brad Dourif, and cast Jennifer Tilly, John Waters and many more!

Chucky Season 2 – Chucky is back! The notorious killer doll continues his onslaught of terror in Season Two of the hit horror series from franchise creator Don Mancini.

Living With Chucky Extras

– Feature Commentary

– Trailer

– Candid Conversations...

To celebrate the release of the upcoming horror documentary Living With Chucky, Lightbulb Film Distribution in association with Universal Pictures, are delighted to be offering lucky winners a bumper Chucky Bundle!

Winners will get their hands on Blu-ray copies of Living With Chucky and limited edition Chucky Season 2: Steelbook & Good Guys Edition II.

Living With Chucky explores the appeal and longevity of the Child’s Play franchise – and its iconic bloodthirsty doll. Filmmaker Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of iconic special effects artist Tony Gardner, takes an in-depth look at the groundbreaking horror franchise. Featuring interviews with creator Don Mancini, Chucky’s voice actor Brad Dourif, and cast Jennifer Tilly, John Waters and many more!

Chucky Season 2 – Chucky is back! The notorious killer doll continues his onslaught of terror in Season Two of the hit horror series from franchise creator Don Mancini.

Living With Chucky Extras Feature Commentary Trailer Candid Conversations...

Documentary profile of the interconnections behind the past and current makers of the long-running franchise is bit of a love-in

“The family that slays together stays together” finishes this blow-by-blow retrospective of the Child’s Play/Chucky franchise, and it’s certainly impossible to contest that. Not only does the homicide-happy doll gain his own family during the course of the seven films, but actor Brad Dourif – who voiced him – has been succeeded by daughter Fiona as the head of proceedings, and this documentary is directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of current head puppeteer Tony Gardner. The close-knit ethos might well explain the franchise’s gleefully perverse sense of fun, but the truth is this love-in features too much filler.

Gardner charts Chucky’s progress from straight-up malefic totem through camp horror icon to revitalised golden-age bogeykid, all under the supervision of creator and series writer Don Mancini (who...

From the creepy ventriloquist’s doll in Dead of Night, to M3gan and The Boy, via The Conjuring and Child’s Play, dolls have made a consistently chilling contribution to the horror genre

The Child’s Play franchise, as with all the best slasher series, is all about the villain. The “Good Guy” doll is occupied by the soul of a serial killer, and thanks to his being voiced by the great Brad Dourif (one of the few actors to take on a slasher movie role after they became famous), has more personality than the likes of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers laid end to end.

Now Chucky can add a documentary to his ever expanding filmography. “I do remember Chucky being at my birthday parties,” says Kyra Elise Gardner, whose father, Tony Gardner, has been the franchise’s head puppeteer for the past two decades. Her film, Living with Chucky,...

Exclusively streaming on Bloody Disgusting’s Screambox, new documentary Living With Chucky provides a deeply personal overview of the franchise, and it’s now available on VHS!

Broke Horror Fan presents Living With Chucky on limited edition, fully functional VHS, and two VHS variants are now up for grabs through Witter Entertainment:

Standard slipcase: 150 Stocked Flip-open slipcase with yellow tape: Limited To 100

Special features include an exclusive introduction by director Kyra Elise Gardner plus Candid Conversations, Strange Families, and Favorite Death Scenes featurettes.

This release is officially licensed from Cinedigm and Screambox and is approved by Gardner. Living With Chucky will begin shipping out in May 2023.

Grab your copy through Witter Entertainment today!

The post ‘Living With Chucky’ Now Available on VHS from Broke Horror Fan! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Featuring: Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Lin Shaye, Marlon Wayans, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Boyd, Alex Vincent | Directed by Kyra Elise Gardner

I’ve watched in-depth documentaries on film franchises such as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Living Dead and many more horror films, as well some fantastic ‘making of’ extras on Blu-rays and DVDs. It’s fair to say I’m a huge fan of documentaries about horror movies, so I was glad to get the chance to watch Living With Chucky, the latest horror dcoumentary that focuses on the Child’s Play/Chucky series of films.

Like the best documentaries, this has all the important people involved in the movie as talking heads as possible, plus a host of other people that are loosely connected – whether it be fellow child actor and horror fan Abigail Breslin or artist and voice actor Dan Povenmire. Other interviewees included Don Mancini,...

By Glenn Charlie Dunks

No space within movie fandom feels more like a genuine community like the space taken up by horror. Not to get too Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious franchise, but for many, horror is a family that ties and binds people together. Even more so for queer lovers of the horror genre. Horror is particularly amenable to subtextual readings as well as straight-up camp and gay storytelling for many reasons, but that bond comes at least partly because horror (as a broad concept) and LGBTQ+ people have so much in common. Not that you need me to tell you any of that.

These narrative strands come together in Kyra Elise Gardner’s Living with Chucky. Ostensibly a documentary about the killer doll franchise that began as Child’s Play and has morphed more famously into The House of Chucky. It is also a telling of...

As the daughter of Chucky franchise special effects artist Tony Gardner, director Kyra Elise Gardner offers a unique perspective on the killer doll’s lasting impact in the Screambox Original documentary Living with Chucky.

Child’s Play creator Don Mancini and franchise alumni Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Billy Boyd, John Waters, Tony Gardner, David Kirschner, and more spill their guts along with such notable fans as Marlon Wayans, Abigail Breslin, Lin Shaye, and Dan Povenmire, among others.

Here are 9 things I learned from Living with Chucky.

1. Gremlins helped pave the way for Child’s Play.

A lifelong horror fan, Don Mancini wrote the first Child’s Play script — originally titled Batteries Not Included, then Blood Buddy — while attending UCLA. “I realized that no one had ever done the living doll thing as a full-fledged feature where you treat the doll as a character who can actually emote...

Festival favorite Living with Chucky, now streaming exclusively on Screambox, more than celebrates the Child’s Play franchise; it highlights the family behind it. Multihyphenate filmmaker Kyra Elise Gardner wrote, directed, edited, produced, and appears in her documentary feature debut to explore the popular horror franchise from a unique position.

Gardner is the daughter of special makeup effects legend Tony Gardner, who has been with the franchise since Seed of Chucky. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family. Gardner, you could say, literally grew up with Chucky.

Bloody Disgusting spoke with Kyra Elise Gardner about her feature debut and how it evolved her relationship with her Chucky family and the horror genre.

Gardner imbues her documentary with visual flourishes and scenic transitions that highlight artistry in various forms,...

Another holiday week is upon us here in 2023, with this first full week of April culminating with Easter Sunday. And fittingly, a brand new Easter horror movie is on the way this week…

Here’s all the new horror releasing April 4 – April 9, 2023!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

Living With Chucky, a Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise, is our latest Screambox release, and it’s now available for streaming beginning today!

Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.

Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll, seeks out the other...

Now streaming on Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise. What sets this documentary apart? The franchise is family for director Kyra Elise Gardner.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.

Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll, seeks out the other families surrounding the Child’s Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise and what it means to be a part of the “Chucky” family.

Streaming tomorrow on Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise. What sets this documentary apart? The franchise is family for director Kyra Elise Gardner.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.

Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll, seeks out the other families surrounding the Child’s Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise and what it means to be a part of the “Chucky” family.

Filmmaker Kyra Elise Gardner’s examination of the Child’s Play franchise comes from a personal place in Living with Chucky, debuting on Screambox and Digital on April 4, 2023.

Kyra Elise Gardner is the daughter of Tony Gardner, one of the most prominent and integral special effects artists in the “Chucky” franchise. For the Gardners, Chucky is family.

And the Chucky films, well, they’re often about family as well.

The filmmaker’s familial relationship with the killer Good Guy doll, voiced by Brad Dourif, fittingly coincided with the horror icon unexpectedly finding himself a family in Bride of Chucky. Bride, penned by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu, gave series protagonist Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) a much-needed rest and instead introduced franchise mainstay Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), opening up new layers to Chucky in the process.

The very human but unhinged Tiffany revives Chucky through voodoo, hoping to rekindle their...

Up next from Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise. The documentary from director Kyra Elise Gardner will first begin streaming on Screambox and on Digital on April 4, 2023, and today brings a new clip that was uploaded by the official Chucky channel on YouTube.

In this sneak peek clip, filmmakers including Don Mancini and John Waters, as well as actors including Lin Shaye, talk about their love for the horror genre and discuss how the ground-breaking Child’s Play franchise has shaped horror cinema throughout the years.

Long story short, it’s all about the fans. Check out the brand new clip below.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky...

Up next from Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise. The documentary from director Kyra Elise Gardner will first begin streaming on Screambox and on Digital on April 4, 2023, followed by the official Blu-ray release on April 18, 2023. Want a sneak peek while you wait?

In the clip from Living With Chucky you’ll find below, Jennifer Tilly recalls her introduction to the killer doll that she’d end up becoming intimately familiar with. It’s hard to imagine there was a time in the franchise’s history when Tilly wasn’t in the mix, as Bride of Chucky and the subsequent films – and television series – cemented her status as a true icon of the saga.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner,...

After growing up within the Child’s Play franchise, director Kyra Elise Gardner (daughter of special effects artist Tony Gardner) offers a unique perspective on Chucky’s reign of terror in Living with Chucky. The feature documentary will stream exclusively on Screambox on 4th April 2023. It will also be available on VOD platforms the same day via Cinedigm and Bloody Disgusting before hitting Blu-ray on 18th April 2023.

Chucky creator Don Mancini and franchise alumni Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Billy Boyd, John Waters, Tony Gardner, David Kirshner, and more spill their guts along with notable fans like Marlon Wayans, Abigail Breslin, Lin Shaye, and Dan Povenmire, among others. Storming into pop culture in 1988, the killer doll known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. It went on to spawn six sequels, a TV series, a reboot, comic books, a video game, and extensive merchandise.

Last week, we learned that the documentary Living with Chucky, which was directed and conceived by Kyra Elise Gardner, the daughter of Tony Gardner, the chief puppeteer for a large portion of the Chucky franchise (from Seed of Chucky on), will be released through Cinedigm’s Screambox streaming service on April 4th, and will be getting a digital release in North America that same day. Now it has come to our attention that Living with Chucky will not only be getting a digital release on April 24th in the UK and Ireland, but also a Blu-ray release courtesy of Lightbulb Film Distribution! The trailer for the documentary can be seen in the embed above.

Living with Chucky is said to explore the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. The documentary feature utilizes new and archival interview footage to expose the series’ cultural impact over the years,...

Up next from Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise, and our friends over at Dread Central have shared the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray art this afternoon. The documentary from director Kyra Elise Gardner will be released on Blu-ray on April 18, 2023.

But first, look for Living with Chucky on Screambox and on Digital on April 4, 2023!

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.

Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll,...

One of my favorite films that world premiered at Popcorn Frights Film Festival last year was Kyra Elise Gardner's documentary Living with Chucky, which features insightful interviews with Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Don Mancini, Jennifer Tilly, Lin Shaye, Fiona Dourif, Billy Boyd, and Kyra's father, the legendary effects artist Tony Gardner.

Following Living with Chucky's successful festival run, Cinedigm and Bloody Disgusting will release the documentary on Screambox and additional digital platforms on April 4th, and we have a look at the film's official trailer ahead of its streaming release!

You can check out the trailer and official synopsis for Living with Chucky below, and be sure to read Heather Wixson's interview with Kyra Elise Gardner and Emily von Seele's Fantastic Fest review of the documentary!

"Living with Chucky takes an in depth look at the groundbreaking Child’s Play franchise from the perspective of a filmmaker who grew up within it.

Kyra Elise Gardner's documentary Living With Chucky is coming to the US and Canada on VOD  this April! The official trailer was released yesterday; check it out below the official announcement.    After hitting the festival circuit as such festivals as Popcorn Frights, Fantastic Fest and Screamfest Living With Chucky will be premiered by Cinedigm and Bloody Disgusting on its horror streaming service Screambox and on all major digital platforms on April 4 in the US and Canada.    The doc features the usual suspects: Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent  and creator Don Mancini. We don't see the director of the original film Tom Holland in the trailer though. That's... odd. There's plenty of other talking heads to fill the space.    Keep an...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

A few months ago, we learned that the documentary Living with Chucky, which was directed and conceived by Kyra Elise Gardner, the daughter of Tony Gardner, the chief puppeteer for the majority of the Chucky franchise, will be released through Cinedigm’s Screambox streaming service (which is headed up by our friends at Bloody Disgusting) in 2023. Now we know the exact release date: Living with Chucky will be getting its Screambox and digital release on April 4th – and along with the release date information comes the unveiling of a trailer. Collider got the exclusive first look at the trailer, and you can check it out in the embed above.

Living with Chucky is said to explore the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. The documentary feature utilizes new and archival interview footage to expose the series’ cultural impact over the years, with principal cast, crew members including Don Mancini,...

Up next from Screambox is festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise. Today’s brand new trailer unveiled at Collider highlights what sets this documentary apart; the franchise is family for director Kyra Elise Gardner.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.

Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll, seeks out the other families surrounding the Child’s Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise...

Rights go in UK & Ireland, Australia/New Zealand, Italy.

Fast rising US arthouse genre sales and distribution company Yellow Veil Pictures has closed a raft of key territory deals on EFM sales titles Living With Chucky and King On Screen.

Kyra Gardner’s documentary Living With Chucky has sold to the UK & Ireland, Australia and New Zealand (Lightbulb Film Distribution), German-speaking Europe (Plaion Pictures), French-speaking Europe and Spain (VOD Factory), Italy (Midnight Factory), Scandinavia (Nonstop Entertainment), and Portugal (Vendetta Filmes).

Cinedigm previously acquired North American rights to the film by Gardner, daughter of veteran special effects artist Tony Gardner, who...

Back in August, we heard that Yellow Veil Pictures was looking to find a distributor for the documentary Living with Chucky, which was directed and conceived by Kyra Elise Gardner, the daughter of Tony Gardner, the chief puppeteer for the majority of the Chucky franchise. It didn’t seem like it would be very difficult to find a distributor for such a project, and it wasn’t: Bloody Disgusting reports that Living with Chucky will be released through Cinedigm’s Screambox streaming service in 2023.

Living with Chucky is said to explore the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. The documentary feature utilizes new and archival interview footage to expose the series’ cultural impact over the years, with principal cast, crew members including Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Tony Gardner, and David Kirshner, alongside fans of the franchise like Marlon Wayans, John Waters, and Abigail Breslin.

Screambox has acquired the festival hit Living With Chucky, a full-blown Child’s Play documentary that celebrates the entire franchise, and was directed by Kyra Elise Gardner.

The Screambox Original, which had its world premiere at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in August and recently screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, is set to premiere on Cinedigm’s horror streaming service Screambox and on Digital early next year.

Featuring interviews with cast and crew, including genre icons such as Lin Shaye, Alex Vincent, Jennifer Tilly, franchise creator Don Mancini & more, the documentary takes an in-depth look into the creation of this iconic series.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky, proved that Child’s Play was anything but. Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise. The documentary...

Cinedigm has acquired all North American rights to the documentary “Living With Chucky.” The film, which had its world premiere at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in August and recently screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, is set to premiere on Cinedigm’s horror streaming service Screambox and on digital early next year.

Featuring interviews with cast and crew, including genre icons such as Lin Shaye, Alex Vincent, Jennifer Tilly and franchise creator Don Mancini, the documentary takes an in-depth look into the creation of the franchsie.

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky proved that “Child’s Play” was anything but. The horror film went on to spawn six sequels, a television series, a reboot, comic books, a video game and merchandise.

“Living With Chucky”

Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of special effects artist Tony Gardner, “Living With Chucky...

Many horror fans say they grew up with Chucky, but none can claim a connection to the slashing doll quite like filmmaker Kyra Elise Gardner. As the daughter of special effects legend Tony Gardner – who helped bring Chucky to life countless times – she experienced Chucky’s evolution at home. Not every four-year-old can say Chucky was waiting for them after kindergarten class!

Since Seed of Chucky, Tony Gardner has been the head puppeteer of our favorite pint-sized murderer, giving Kyra Elise Gardner some killer memories of her father’s meticulous design work and puppeteering. Now, Gardner describes Chucky as “a little brother,” who travels with her to film festivals or watches her from the corner of the room during interviews like the creepiest (and best) “stuffed animal.” But her bond to the doll and its connection to her family has shifted over time, inspiring her to craft a documentary about the experience,...

Kyra Elise Gardner and Chucky Photo: Yellow Veil Pictures

Chucky, the murderous doll with a human soul who has stalked his way through eight films and a TV series, has a lot more personality that the average horror film villain, so it was no surprise to see a documentary about him, Living With Chucky, hitting the festival circuit this year, with screenings at Frightfest and Fantastic Fest among others. What I didn’t initially realise was just how literal the title of that documentary was. Its director, Kyra Elise Gardner, is the daughter of puppeteer Tony Gardner, one of those responsible for bringing Chucky to life onscreen. She has shared her life and sometimes her home with Chucky, and she has also had to share her dad, accepting that he would be away from weeks at a time when she was young because the doll needed him. When we meet...

There are few, if any, horror franchises like "Child's Play." For more than 30 years now, the evil, killer doll, possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, has been terrorizing audiences. Yes, we did get a remake in 2019, but the main franchise can still trace its continuity all the way back to that original slasher flick in 1988, and it now lasts right up through the "Chucky" TV show that is entering its second season.

The upcoming documentary "Living With Chucky," which recently held its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, aims to be a one-stop-shop of information for fans of the franchise, albeit one that offers up a unique perspective. The film is directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of visual effects maestro Tony Gardner, who has been with the slasher series from the very beginning.

I spoke with Gardner about making the film and what it was like entering into the family business,...

I’ve got a soft spot for horror docs. I love doing a deep dive into my favorite films and series and hearing about their storied histories. I love learning about how they came together - how they were conceived and filmed. Hearing stories from the cast and crew as they reminisce on the time that they spent working on a project that holds a special place in my heart. It’s always a fascinating look at a corner of horror history and also a bit of a celebration at the same time.

Kyra Gardner’s documentary on the Child’s Play series does all of that, plus more. She approaches it from the unique perspective of having literally grown up with the series. Her dad, Tony Gardner, has been the visual effects supervisor for the series for years. Through the film, she looks at how Chucky has been a part...

He’s a small doll with a big personality and an appetite for violence, notorious in the UK after he was falsely linked to the murder of a child (the killers never saw the film), and symbolic, for that reason, of the Video Nasty phenomenon. To date, he is the star of eight films (with an additional cameo appearance in Ready Player One) plus a TV series. He has demonstrated a staying power which few horror icons can equal. But what is it like to actually live with Chucky? Kyra Elise Gardner, the daughter of puppeteer Tony Gardner, who helped bring Chucky to life, knows first hand.

This is a documentary informed throughout by the experience of growing up as part of Chucky’s family. Gardner is the same age as Fiona Dourif, whose father, Brad Dourif, provided the doll’s voice for many years (Fiona did so herself in flashbacks in the TV.

The 22nd Screamfest Horror Film Festival’s just released its first wave of feature films screening this year. The 2022 festival will take place October 11-20 and will be held at the Tcl Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

“We are excited to return to the Tcl Chinese Theaters since the theatrical experience is unlike anything else,” stated festival founder Rachel Belofsky. “We look forward to seeing the LA horror community in person this year and can’t wait to see these premieres on the big screen where they belong.”

The festival’s set Prime Video and Blumhouse’s Run Sweetheart Run with Shohreh Aghdashloo and Pilou Asbæk as its closing night film. Screamfest will also host the West Coast premiere of Living with Chucky, a documentary about the creepy serial killer doll written and directed by Kyra Gardner. Slayers starring Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin, and Malin Akerman will have its world premiere...

Screamfest Horror Film Festival announced today its first-wave lineup of competitive features and shorts for its 22nd edition running October 11th through 20th at the Tcl Chinese Theater.

The Hulu Original film Matriarch will hold its world premiere screening on October 11 – opening night – before premiering on the streamer for Huluween on October 21.

From the press release:

“Run Sweetheart Run from Prime Video and Blumhouse will close Screamfest LA on October 20th. After what begins as dinner with a client, a single mom (Ella Balinska) finds herself hunted by a monstrous and seemingly unstoppable assailant (Pilou Asbæk). Co-written and directed by Shana Feste, the film is a must-see watch for the Halloween season and helmed by an extraordinary team of women both in front and behind the camera. A Q&a will follow the screening featuring the cast and crew.

“Considered the “Sundance of Horror,” Screamfest is proud to showcase new...

XYZ Films Picks Up North American Rights To Beyond Fest Cannibal Horror Film “Feed Me”: "XYZ Films announces it has acquired North American rights to Feed Me, directed by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes. The film stars Neal Ward, Christopher Mulvin, Hannah Al Rashid and Samantha Loxley. It was produced by Ed Polgardy (The Wretched) along with Adam Leader, Richard Oakes and Neal Ward and will receive its world premiere next month at Los Angeles’s pre-eminent film festival, Beyond Fest, produced by Javier Diaz. XYZ Films has dated the release for October 27th on all digital and on demand platforms. XYZ Films’s EVP of US distribution, James Emanuel Shapiro, negotiated the deal directly with the film’s four producers.

Feed Me follows Mulvin’s character Jed, whose life is shattered when his wife, played by Loxley, suddenly dies and Jed feels directly responsible. Spiraling into an abyss of depression,...

The second and final wave of The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival have been announced and it's filled with horror movie premieres, special events, and much more!

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announces today the second and final wave of titles for their upcoming 2022 edition, presented by Shudder, running October 13th to the 20th with screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas.

The 7th edition of New York City’s celebrated genre event will close with the U.S. Premiere of the “straight cut” of Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, also a highlight of the festival’s Fear In Focus: French Extremity sidebar, coinciding with the film’s 20th anniversary, and will spotlight Charlotte Le Bon’s supernatural coming-of-age feature debut Falcon Lake — hot off of its North American premiere at TIFF — as Centerpiece. In addition, Bhff is proud to host a special event screening of the new genre anthology Give Me An A.

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announced today an impressive second wave of titles for their explosive 2022 edition running from October 13th to the 20th with screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas. Following last year’s return to theaters, BHFFs presents its most robust slate to date.

From the press release:

The 7th edition of New York City’s celebrated genre event will close with the U.S. Premiere of the “straight cut” of Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, also a highlight of the festival’s Fear In Focus: French Extremity sidebar, coinciding with the film’s 20th anniversary, and will spotlight

Charlotte Le Bon’s supernatural coming-of-age feature debut Falcon Lake — hot off of its North American premiere at TIFF — as Centerpiece. In addition, Bhff is proud to host a special event screening of the new genre anthology Give Me An A. Executive produced by Natasha Halevi, member...

This past month, a wave of captivating horror cinema washed over Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach with the eighth annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival. I was honored to once again serve on the jury for this year's Popcorn Frights, and we're thrilled to reveal both the juried and audience award winners for this year's festival, including Sylvia Caminer's Follow Her (Jury Prize for Best Film), Carter Smith's Swallowed (Jury Prize for Scariest Feature Film), Shane Brady's Breathing Happy (Best New Nightmare), and Kyra Gardner's Living with Chucky (Audience Award for Best Feature Film).

We have the official press release with full details on all of the winners below, and to learn more about Popcorn Frights, visit their official website:

https://www.popcornfrights.com/

Press Release: August 29, 2022 // -- As its eighth edition comes to a close after eleven nights of in-person and virtual programming, Popcorn Frights Film Festival is...

Popcorn Frights Film Festival announced today its juried and audience awards that were selected from its lineup of 113 films (36 features and 77 short films from 20 countries) in 10 categories.

This year’s jury consisted of members of national media and local filmmakers, who chose to honor Florida filmmaker Sylvia Caminer’s Follow Her with the Jury Prize for Best Feature Film.

In announcing the Feature Film Prize for the film, the jury said the following: “A socially relevant horror movie for modern times, Sylvia Caminer’s Follow Her features a completely unpredictable screenplay by star Dani Barker with a twist at the end that rivals The Sixth Sense. Caminer’s directing style is near perfection, and we can’t wait to ‘follow her’ into her next film.”

Accepting her award, Sylvia Caminer said, “Winning the Jury Prize for Best Film is such an incredible honor as the level of programming at Popcorn...

This past weekend, up-and-coming filmmaker Kyra Gardner celebrated the world premiere of her debut project, the Living with Chucky documentary, at the 2022 Popcorn Frights Film Festival. Featuring an array of talent from the Child’s Play and Chucky films, including Don Mancini, David Kirshner, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, and Christine Elise (plus many more notable folks from the world of horror), Living with Chucky examines the impact of the landmark franchise on all those involved, including herself, as she is the daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, who has been the driving force behind bringing Chucky to life for both the big and small screens ever since Seed of Chucky.

During our interview with Kyra, we discussed how a school project inspired her to set out to create the first-ever documentary centered around the world of Chucky, her experiences while working on the documentary, the...

Living With Chucky begins as a familiar horror documentary that assembles a variety of notable genre veterans to examine a prominent horror franchise. This one celebrates the iconic killer doll and the Child’s Play franchise. But Living With Chucky quickly diverges from the pack as a unique angle emerges. It’s not just a documentary that reflects upon the franchise’s legacy; it celebrates the families that the killer doll has forged and bonded together.

Director Kyra Gardner, who co-wrote with Jason Strickland, adds visual flair to her documentary. Animated opening credits, stitching of Good Guy doll clothing, and molds of Chucky parts getting filled add interest and break up the conventional talking head format. A collection of franchise tapes sits above a Vcr. Hitting play on each one ushers in a discussion on its respective film.

The talking heads are an eclectic bunch, not all of them an obvious selection.

While we’re looking forward to season 2 of the Chucky TV series, which will premiere on Syfy and USA Network on October 5th, Yellow Veil Pictures has announced that they’ve picked up the worldwide sales rights to another Chucky project: the documentary Living with Chucky, which is currently making the festival rounds.

Directed and conceived by Kyra Elise Gardner, who is the daughter of Tony Gardner, the chief puppeteer for the majority of the franchise, Living with Chucky

explores the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. The documentary feature utilizes new and archival interview footage to expose the series’ cultural impact over the years, with principal cast, crew members including Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Tony Gardner, and David Kirshner, alongside fans of the franchise like Marlon Wayans, John Waters, and Abigail Breslin.

Yellow Veil Pictures’ Joe Yanick had this to say:

Living With Chucky...

Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired world sales rights to the upcoming documentary Living With Chucky, ScreenDaily reports this morning, the doc directed by Kyra Elise Gardner.

Living With Chucky just made its world premiere at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and Bloody Disgusting’s review will be going live later this afternoon. So stay tuned for that.

ScreenDaily details, “The film explores the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. Gardner is the daughter of Tony Gardner, who was the chief puppeteer for the majority of the horror franchise inspired by Child’s Play in 1988.

“Living With Chucky uses new and archival interview footage to explore the film’s cultural impact over the years with principal cast and crew members including Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Tony Gardner, and David Kirshner.”

“Living With Chucky is an essential look at the impact and longevity of the Child’s Play series,...

Film explores iconic Child’s Play franchise through perspective of those involved.

Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired world sales rights to Kyra Elise Gardner’s debut documentary feature Living With Chucky, which will screen at Frightfest in the UK later this month.

The film explores the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. Gardner is the daughter of Tony Gardner, who was the chief puppeteer for the majority of the horror franchise inspired by Child’s Play in 1988.

Living With Chucky uses new and archival interview footage to explore the film’s cultural impact over the years with principal...

Arrow Video FrightFest, the UK’s most popular horror and fantasy film festival, is back at London’s Cineworld Leicester Square and the Prince Charles Cinema from Thursday August 25th – Monday 29th August for five days of the very best of global genre cinema. Celebrating its 23rd blockbuster edition with thirty-two world, twenty-two International / European and eighteen UK premieres, the world renowned event leads the way in attesting to the versatility of the genre and this year is no exception, with seventeen countries represented, spanning five continents:

The festival opens with the World premiere of The Lair, an action-packed gore shocker from Neil Marshall, who calls his latest monstrous creation “The Dirty Half Dozen meets The Thing”. Neil will be attending with star Charlotte Kirk and will also introduce a special 4K restoration screening of his modern classic, Dog Soldiers.

The Closing night film is the European premiere of Scott Mann’s Fall.

This August, Popcorn Frights Film Festival is returning for its eighth edition with a combination of in-theater screenings and virtual streamings, and Festival Directors Igor Shteyrenberg & Marc Ferman have once again curated a killer lineup for horror fans to enjoy, as the festival's first wave of programming includes the world premiere of Tyler Cornack’s Tiny Cinema, Richard Vergez's live performance of an original score to F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu to celebrate the film's 100th anniversary, the world premiere of Kyra Gardner's documentary Living with Chucky, and much more!

As previously announced, this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival will be taking place at Fort Lauderdale's historic Savor Cinema for a weekend of exciting screenings on August 11th–14th, followed by more film premieres and short film presentations on August 19th–21st in The Alter Screening Room at the O Cinema South Beach!

You can purchase In-Theater All-Access...