In theaters

SEED OF CHUCKY, written and directed by Don Mancini, 85 minutes, rated R.

At the start of “Seed of Chucky,” Don Mancini’s fifth film in Chucky-the-crazed-slasher-doll series, the screen drips with what appears to be rivers of liquid latex.

Appearances, of course, can be deceiving.

Soon, the ugly truth of all that dripping reveals itself to be scores of white, angry-looking mini-Chuckies.

Replete with tails, they race through an undulating tube and find their mark in a gelatinous egg. Cells split, a baby’s screech rings through the theater, a child is born.

Hello not-so-gorgeous.

Flash forward several years and what we have is spawn of Chucky, a sensitive, bug-eyed softie with razor sharp teeth who toils in London as a ventriloquist’s dummy; it looks like a cross between Ziggy Stardust, Clay Aiken and Johnny Rotten by way of a morgue. When it learns that its parents, Chucky and Tiffany, are shooting a movie in the States called “Chucky Goes Psycho,” it decides to flee London in an effort to find them.

Meanwhile, Academy Award-nominated actress Jennifer Tilly shows up to do what so many actors do when they’ve fallen out of favor with the public. In an effort to remind us that she’s still eager to work, she throws good sense to the wind and goes for attention-getting camp.

Tilly has been with the Chucky franchise since 1998’s “Bride of Chucky,” in which she played a caricature of herself and also lent her voice to Chucky’s buxom, murdering doll-bride, Tiffany. Encouraged by the modest hit she enjoyed with that movie – and perhaps a bit depressed by the series of flops that followed it (“Lil’ Pimp,” “Fast Sofa,” “Dirt” and “Pigs Next Door” chief among them) – Tilly takes a much-expanded role here. She stars as a higher-strung version of herself, while also lending her voice to Tiffany.

Good work if you can get it? I’m not convinced. It is Tilly, after all, who is eventually used by Chucky and Tiffany to be the host for their new child, which can only be accomplished with the help of restraints, a turkey baster, and Chucky’s fevered imagination. It’s also Tilly who must seduce rap star Redman, also playing himself, so she can become the Virgin Mary in his new movie based on the Bible. The irony of it!

Amid the inevitable slaughterings, beheadings, stabbings and the like, the movie is never scary, though it does find jolts of humor in Tilly’s excess and in John Waters’ supporting role as a paparazzo. What makes it less punchy than “Bride of Chucky” is its focus. Somehow, the franchise has become about a dysfunctional family of living dolls trying to make it in the world.

Facing them aren’t the potential difficulties of whom to kill – those decisions are still made on the fly – but the gender issues surrounding their long-lost child from London. You see, Chucky and Tiffany aren’t sure whether it’s a boy or a girl. A quick drop of its pants confirms an androgynous nature, so they decide to call it Glen and Glenda, a nod at Ed Wood’s “Glen or Glenda,” the infamously bad movie that “Seed of Chucky” doesn’t have the guts to be.

Grade: C-

On video and DVD

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, directed by David Twohy, written by David Twohy, Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat, 118 minutes, rated PG-13.

David Twohy’s “The Chronicles of Riddick” is set in Crematoria, a sun-baked planet whose blistering heat is so intense it fries the film’s joints with one of the most chaotic plots to hit theaters in years.

A loose sequel to the 2000 breakout hit “Pitch Black,” “Riddick” is light-years away from that movie, which featured Vin Diesel and company fending off death from swarms of bat-winged aliens out for blood. The film was low-budget fun, a sci-fi horror flick that created a tense mood of dread by unfolding in the dark.

“The Chronicles of Riddick,” on the other hand, wants to switch on the lights, which is fine since it reveals a movie that’s great to look at. Holger Gross’ set design, in particular, features a more-is-more sensibility that works, making the film appear more interesting than it is.

Too bad about the story.

The film is as messy as it is muscular, featuring more shaved beef than a deli. In it, the vast army of the Necromongers, a fundamentalist group of leatherclad muscleheads led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), are determined to subjugate the universe by bending its inhabitants to their will. To promote their cause, they first need to go through Riddick (Diesel), the intergalactic outlaw gangster armed with biceps the size of semis and a baritone growl that wraps itself around punchy bon mots designed to test well with audiences.

What ensues is two hours of unrelenting strife, with Riddick battling Lord Marshal, his men and the wicked Dame Vaako (Thandie Newton) in an effort to stop them cold amid the sizzling heat.

Dame Judi Dench co-stars as Aereon, a ghostly ambassador of the “Elemental” race Riddick is trying to save. When she appears onscreen and it strikes you that the actress is either slumming or has dementia, it ceases to matter. “Riddick” has already become “The Chronicles of Arthritic,” so lame that it needs a cane to lumber into its final act.

Grade: C-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, 5:30 p.m. Thursdays on WLBZ 2 Bangor and WCSH 6 Portland, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Against the Ropes – D

The Alamo – D

Around the World in 80 Days – D

At Home at the End of the World – B+

Barbershop 2: Back in Business – B+

The Chronicles of Riddick – C-

The Clearing – C+

Dawn of the Dead – A-

The Day After Tomorrow – B

Dogville – B

Elf – B+

Ella Enchanted – B

Envy – D

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A-

Fahrenheit 9/11 – A-

Fog of War – A

Garfield: The Movie – C+

The Girl Next Door – C+

Home on the Range – C-

House of Sand and Fog – B+

The Human Stain – D

Jersey Girl – C+

Johnson Family Vacation – D

Kill Bill Vol. 2 – B

The Ladykillers – B+

Laws of Attraction – C-

Man on Fire – B

Mean Girls – B+

Miracle – B+

The Punisher – C

Raising Helen – C+

Shrek 2 – B