It came as a surprise to see Hong Kong director Ronny Yu Yan-tai's name listed on the credits of Bride Of Chucky, the third sequel to the cult classic Child's Play, when surfing the movie pages of the Internet. The cheerful, boyish director would appear more at home on a Disney film set than a slasher film.
Had he gone from being one of Hong Kong's proclaimed 'New Wave directors of the 1980s' to B-grade horror movies this quickly? His Hollywood debut Warriors Of Virtue - about philosophical half-kangaroos half-men - sounded worrisome enough when he announced it three years ago. But taking on killer dolls seemed to be another step down the ladder.
In Hong Kong last week to promote Bride Of Chucky, Yu admitted he had serious doubts when Universal Pictures sent over the script for him to consider. His first instinct - like many of Chucky's victims - had been to turn and run.
'I asked my agent, 'Are you kidding? A B-grade horror movie?'. When I read the script, I saw it could be quite fun this time. To me it was more of a tragic love story and there were elements in it that could revive the series,' said Yu. It did not help that Yu was not a horror fan and, in fact, had never seen any of the Child's Play movies. But good friend Terence Chang, who works closely with John Woo and manages stars such as Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng in Hollywood, encouraged him.
'Terence told me it didn't matter whether it was B-grade or C-grade or D-grade. As long as you make money, it's an A-grade movie,' said Yu with a laugh.
He received further encouragement after holding a master class in film-making at the end of 1997 in Sydney - where he has lived since finishing The Phantom Lover in 1994 - when his students became more excited at the prospect of him directing Bride Of Chucky than a new Wesley Snipes movie.