When I found out Hollywood was remaking Child’s Play my first thought was why? It’s not like the franchise was dormant for years. Cult of Chucky (Child’s Play 7) is barely two years old!
Also, not sure if you know this or not, there’s a television series on the way. Said series picks up after the events of the Cult of Chucky and is set to debut next year.
My next dreaded thought was whether this remake would cause production on the TV show to come to a halt. The answer is no. So what’s the deal?
Put simply the original studio who put the very first movie out in the late 1980’s still owns the rights to everything related to said movie. It’s a recognisable brand. Brands sell tickets. So here we have 2019’s version of Child’s Play and results are good.
The plot of Child’s Play is the same as the one you remember. Andy, a young kid, is gifted a Buddi doll, from his mum. In the remake the doll is a A.I. device that hooks up all the tech in your house to the cloud and pretty much runs the show. Like an Amazon Alexa thing but with legs. The doll is constantly learning from its environment and the information it processes from the cloud. Making matters worse is how the doll has imprinted on Andy. As far it is concerned Andy is his BEST friend in the whole wide world. Nobody is going to come between him, once again going by the name of Chucky, and Andy. Did I mention Chucky has had all his safety barriers turned off? Well oh shit. Yea. He has. Things start out fun and then turn dark and deadly real fast.
Here’s what I liked about this new take on a classic. First of all the A.I. angle is boss. It’s fitting for the age we live in. Everyone is connected to the internet or cloud or whatever the hell these days. More and more humanity is getting too comfortable giving over control of our everyday life to machines. The film has some dark fun with that notion of A.I. going crazy and helps to give it an identity all its own.
Next up are the characters and the excellent cast. Gabriel Bateman (Andy) is brilliant. He’s not your typical movie kid and his awesome performance sells the whole thing. Usually kid leads in horror don’t really work out that well but that’s not the case here. The same can be said of his buddies who he teams up with as the film goes along. The movie, thanks to the likeable young cast, has a Stranger Things/Loser’s Club vibe and I liked that about it. Legion’s Aubrey Plaza takes on the role of Andy’s mum and she’s so good. Not your typical horror movie ‘mum’. She’s not the perfect parent by any stretch of the imagination but that make her come across as more relateable. Brian Tyree Henry (FX’s Atlanta) is another solid addition to the cast. His cop with a heart is one of the more layered characters in the film and he’s great in the role. Like, so, aren’t we sick of the same old perfect lead characters in these kind of films? With zero character flaws? I am. The fact the people behind the movie put the work into crafting real and (most important) likeable characters goes a long way. I appreciate that sort of shit.
It can’t have been easy for Mark Hamill to take on the now legend making role of Chucky but he does it justice. Easily putting his own mark on the iconic slasher killer doll. In fact, I’m just going to come out and say, the relationship between Andy and Chucky in this version of Child’s Play works way better than in the original film. In this film you get that these two are real friends to start out with. See ’cause Andy begins the film as a loner and he only has Chucky to hang out with when his mum’s not about. When the shit hits the fan (and wow does it!) and the bodies start piling up it’s a bit sad when Chucky doesn’t even realise what he’s been doing is seen as wrong.
One key scene in the film plays into that idea in a great way and it’s a boss little horror Easter egg for fans of the genre.
On directing duties is one Lars Klevberg. I’ll be honest, I had NO idea who he was. All I knew about this guy was his other feature, Polaroid, had been shot and was sitting on a shelf in some studio. So I was aware of him in that regard but there was nothing to see, movie wise, to see what this guy’s style was all about.
Let me tell you this. He’s good. Klevberg knows his stuff and does a good job directing here. So much that if he’s not back for a sequel I’d be disappointed. The mood, the pace and the look of the film just fit the vibe of this franchise. Least I felt like it did.
I can’t finish up without mentioning the score, composed by The Walking Dead’s Bear McCreary, which uses actual toy instruments. It is boss. Oh and for the hardcore horror nuts wondering yes the film is gory. I was surprised it was full of blood. I assumed this whole film would be some cheap cash grab PG13 crap but I am happy to say it’s anything but. Any negatives? Nope. Not really. There’s this one death I didn’t care for, ’cause I liked that character, but ya know when you got a killer doll running around people are going to end up that way, as in proper dead ya know what I mean?
If you like the original Child’s Play flicks then give this remake a shot. It’s not too bad at all. In fact it’s rather good.
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