There was a time whenDevon Sawawas frantically trying to escape death inFinal Destination(2000), barely surviving each time. He dodged a fiery plane disaster and tried to figure out “Death’s design,” only to have his character Alex be unceremoniously killed off-screen inFinal Destination 2, credited to a falling brick. In the horror genre,an unremarkable goodbye is a fate worse than death. Keeping this in mind, Devon Sawa’s time onChuckymakes up for this in spades, where hedies in extreme and memorable ways, for him to return to a new role for the cycle to start again. Each character he gets feels different, letting his talents shine before Chucky snuffs him out in a spectacle. There are references to horror movies and callbacks to the franchise’s past, but any time Sawa gets to die onscreen, it’s always a blast.
After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets.
‘Chucky’ Season 1 Killed off Devon Sawa Twice
In Season 1,Chucky creatorDon Mancinididn’t just bring in Devon Sawa for one character, he played the Wheeler twins, who were both terrible fathers. In the pilot episode, Lucas is a drunken bully to Jake (Zackary Arthur), who destroys his son’s art project or strikes him out of anger. It’s rather fitting thatChucky lures him into the basement and vomits out Lucas’ stash of whiskey onto exposed wires, electrocuting the dad. The whole scene is intense, making it clear that Chucky getting brought to the small screen wasn’t going to wimp out on the violence. Adding to the scene’s intensity are the score, the flashing lights, and Sawa’s face stuck in an agonized expression.
It’s the creepiest death-by-electrocution the franchise has done, easily one of the most unforgettable ones since Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) had a TV pushed into her bathtub inBride of Chucky(1998). Lucas’ electrified kill raises the bar on what happened to Tiff as it forces Jake to join Andy in this franchise’s grisly rite of passage where young final boys lose a guardian. A big difference that remains between them is Andy didn’t see his babysitter plunge out the window in 1988, butJake personally witnesses Lucas getting electrocuted, a trauma that has lingered in the teen. The murder of Sawa’s other twin felt more personal though, as Chucky didn’t do it himself. Logan is an inattentive father, who forces Junior (Teo Briones) to be an overachiever, eventually being one factor too many into pushing Junior to the edge.
His son then brutally beats him with the Chucky doll. In thepost-episode featurette for “Twice the Grieving, Double the Loss,”Don Mancini gives his inspiration for this fromMagic(1978), whereAnthony Hopkinssimilarly uses his ventriloquist doll, but Mancini gives a unique touch by placing the camera to see the doll’s POV as Junior swings Chucky up and down. The deaths of both Wheeler twins are important plot moments in Season 1 too, that extend beyond how they affect Jake and Junior, with Lucas' kickstarting the series, and Logan’s causing a Chucky army to rise.In slasher movies or TV shows, bullies are easy victimsthat can have viewers feel like they had it coming, but it can be more shocking and just as unforgettable when the killer attacks characters who don’t deserve their gory fates. Season 2 goes in this direction, beginning Sawa’s run where he plays decent guys who mean well, but don’t make it out alive.
Father Bryce Got a Unique Death in This Slasher Franchise
Father Bryce doesn’t seem too memorable at first, but he transforms late in Season 2. The result is as if Don Mancini takesAndrew Scott’s “hot priest” inFleabag, and combines it withJason Miller’s original hottie in priest garb fromThe Exorcist. The result is Father Bryce taking charge of Good Chucky’s exorcism, ignoring not getting approval for it. “To hell with the Vatican, sister,” he says, “We’re going rogue.” He goes shirtless, before he dramatically pulls on his cassock. And then, after Bryce successfully exorcises Chucky’s soul, the killer possesses the priest. Bryce’s repressed self is unable to hold in the killer’s soul for long, andout of nowhere, he explodes.
It’s not just one shot of the blast of blood and guts, the scene replays to capture the details of every moment as Bryce is killed off. The practical effects add to the legacy of explosive deaths, likeJohn CassavetesinThe Fury, which also replays its shocking death scene.While Chucky is blown up at the Play Pals factory inChild’s Play 2, Bryce has the honor of being the franchise’s first explosive demise of a human. None of this is enough though, when the next scene is a flashback revealing a major revelation to the priest.
It’s implied that Father Bryce was in the closet, giving him some empathy while also exploring the franchise’s queer themes. Jake and Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson) have continued their relationship into this season, something that Father Bryce noticed, but never used against them in religious-based chastising. This piece of character information gives the priest’s audience sympathy as the show returns to the pieces of Bryce scattered across the chapel floor and walls. Should the series make a playlist for its cast, Sawa’s main theme might just beQueen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,”and becauseChuckyloves to bring him back,Season 3 sends him to the Oval Officewhere he has two wild deaths.
This Sitcom Queen Almost Stole the Role of Chucky From Brad Dourif
“Here’s some money. Go see a Child’s Play.”
The White House Becomes a Bloodbath in ‘Chucky’
As U.S. President Collins, Sawa portrays the calm-headed personality of Father Bryce, while being a better father figure than the Wheeler twins from Season 1. Beyond Collins’ good nature, he is a tragic figure who is haunted by his late son. While Don Mancini doesn’t credit a specific horror movie for inspiration as he has done before, Collins’ death resembles the ending ofDon’t Look Now(1973) whereDonald Sutherlandmakes a grave mistake. In that occult thriller,John (Sutherland) becomes obsessed with following a small figure that reminds him of the child he lost.It’s not until he finally catches up to the small figure that John realizes it’s not his child’s ghost, or a child at all, it’s the killer that has been at large during the movie, who then sends a meat cleaver into John’s neck.
Collins is inside his late child’s bedroom after having seen his child’s ghost when he’s attacked. There’s a flesh-torn bite on the cheek followed by the first time Chucky uses his own plastic hands to claw into his victim’s eyes. Theface prosthetic on Devon Sawa looks horrificin the best way as blood oozes from the empty sockets. It’s nothing new to have aU.S. President in danger in movies and TV, yet this is without a doubt an unhinged way to take out the POTUS. There’s the extra touch that the killer doll even steals the President’s eyes to be part of his plan tohijack the White House nukes. But there is never too much of Sawa.
A New Devon Sawa Character in ‘Chucky’ Means a New Creative Death
The actor reappears as the eager-to-please double, Randall, letting Sawa bring out a sillier side of himself. That is, before he realizes too late the White House plans to permanently silence him to keep the truth about the President’s death a secret. It instantly makes viewers want to root for poor Randall to escape, which he almost does. Mancini pays another homage toThe Shiningwith Randall’s death, but instead of releasing a torrent of blood,Randall is engulfed by the thick, deep-red stuff inside the elevator. Sawa’s blue eyes shine brightly as every other part of him is covered in red. Then, in his final moments, he sees Chucky in human form and doll form, for what is yet another first experience for a victim in this franchise. Fans may lose Sawa, but at least a new role is never too far away.
In an interview withCollider,Final DestinationcreatorJeffrey Reddicknoted how he wanted to, “keep Alex alive as the ‘torch-bearer’ of the series,” but scheduling problems and other conflicts stopped that idea. Hence, Sawa’s bland off-screen death. While a later sequel figured out a fun way to bring Alex back by revealing itself to be a prequel, Devon Sawa has earned a special place in theChuckyuniverse where no death can ever be described as “bland,” and it never means the end for the actor. It’s hard to even imagine what a new season would be like without Devon Sawa.
In the current horror arena,Art the Clown(David Howard Thornton) is a new unpredictable threat, where the demonic clown’s sadistic kills in theTerrifiermovies are sometimesbased on real-life crimes. Knowing this, Chucky can’t afford tonotstep up his game, especially with his franchise nearing 40 years old. But his glee hasn’t been diminished one bit when he terminates bullies and allies. The Good Guy doll never forgets to be creative with anyone he targets. However,when he narrows in on Devon Sawa, the kill set pieces may be viciously wince-inducing or over-the-top to make you laugh in shock, but they are always gruesome spectacles.
