Back in March, cult star Brad Dourif started the rumour mill grinding by suggesting that both a remake and a new sequel to his killer-doll franchise Child's Play were being mooted. Universal has now gone with the latter option, and announced that Curse Of Chucky is officially a going concern.

Child's Play, you'll recall, began its life in 1988, starring Dourif as serial killer Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray, the Lakeshore Strangler whose nifty voodoo abilities meant he was able to transfer his soul into a Cabbage Patch-ish doll before he was shot down by cop Chris Sarandon. Dourif returned to voice Chucky in every subsequent instalment, of which there have been four to date.

The series reinvented itself with Ronny Yu's Bride Of Chucky in 1998: a film so mental that it garnered the public approval of John Waters. That new camp comedy vein continued in 2004's Seed Of Chucky, but the plan for Curse seems to be to take the franchise back to its "darker" and "scarier" roots. Your reaction to that will depend on how scary you ever thought the Child's Plays were in the first place.

Dourif, of course, is returning, as is franchise honcho Don Mancini, who has written every instalment to date, and who also directed Seed. The set-up this time sees Chucky wreaking havoc within a dysfunctional family that's come together for a funeral. Wheelchair-bound heroine Nina is forced to contend with her manipulative sister, adulterous brother-in-law and tiny niece, who arrive with their smokin' hot nanny. There's also a "meddling priest" in the mix somewhere. That won't end well.

Curse Of Chucky starts shooting in September, and is intended as a straight-to-DVD release right from the offset. It's already automatically headed for Kim's Dungeon then, and will probably arrive there sometime next year.