As early as last August, BRIDE OF
CHUCKY – the fourth instalment of the CHILD’S PLAY series – was raising
eyebrows. ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT previewed the mayhem with quick clips of a decomposed
Chucky, his bride to be Jennifer Tilly luxuriating in a bathtub, Tilly’s incarnation
into living doll, their murder spree and the duo’s captive audience, a pair of lovers
who are reluctantly along for the ride. One half of the eloping couple is played by
19-year-old Katherine Heigl, who made her film debut at age 12 supporting Juliette Lewis
and Helen Shaver (6:5) in THAT NIGHT. The strawberry blonde subsequently played Gerard
Depardieu’s daughter (MY FATHER THE HERO), Steven Segal’s niece (UNDER SEIGE 2),
Rita Hayworth’s body double (STAND-INS), a sexy sovereign (PRINCE VALIANT) and a
"mutant insect" exterminator (BUG BUSTER)…Heigl’s mother sedately
sits on the sidelines of the CHUCKY set while her offspring swings into action. It’s
obvious the family is pretty tight, though the senior Heigl isn’t the traditional
stage mother. She is, however, the youthful actress’ business manager. Seating
herself for our interview, Katherine Heigl’s forehead is blemished with a carefully
applied bleeding gash: it’ll literally stick for scene continuity. And she’s
really into it. But before we discuss CHUCKY, there’s the inevitable flashback…
"I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Connecticut," says Heigl.
"I lived there for about 13 years and then moved out to California." Okay,
that’s good enough for me. So how does she feel about the visceral environment
inherent in a CHUCKY movie? "For some reason, I love all the blood and stuff,"
replies Heigl. "I was really excited that I was going to get a wound and everything
because, when I did UNDER SIEGE 2, I didn’t get a wound and I really wanted one
[laughs]. So this is my big chance."
Though not in the script, Heigl suffered a minor injury moments before I spoke to her.
"They had a squib on the [Tiffany] doll because they were going to shoot her, and
they needed to see the blood. But it exploded outward and hit me in the arm. It’s
such a teeny little scratch and I made such a big deal about it." She digs her battle
scar.
Heigl was impressed with the initial CHILD’S PLAY movie, though she spared herself
screenings of the sequels. "I think this one’s going to be the best
[CHILD’S PLAY] movie yet," said Heigl, "because there’s actually a lot
of comedy in it. It’s very dark and twisted and the humor gives it an edge."
