Child’s Play (2019 Review)
Child’s Play Proves Some Horror Movies Deserve to Be Remade.
Once again, I feel compelled to explain that not all remakes are a bad thing, and this is especially true for horror remakes. Sure, the first Child’s Play was a cult classic that gave birth to one of the longest-running horror franchises of all time and gave us one of the most iconic supernatural slashers in all of horrordom. However, that doesn’t negate the fact that at its core, the original Child’s Play was a pretty stupid movie all things considered. Don’t get me wrong, horror is a genre that makes its money by taking something stupid and making it scary. It’s just that the remake manages to modernize it in a way that’s fun, scary, and relevant.
Like the original, this Child’s Play tells the tale of a kid who gets a nightmarish doll for his birthday. However, that’s where a lot of the similarities end between the two. This time around the doll is a “smart doll” that is able to learn and adapt to become the best friend a kid could ever want. Of course, if one there’s one thing that movies have taught us over the years it’s that artificial intelligence is not to be messed with (just check out 2018’s Upgrade if you don’t believe me). Unfortunately for poor little Andy (Gabriel Bateman) and his mom (Audry Plaza) their new “Buddi” named Chucky (Mark Hamill) is malfunctioning. With all of his safety restraints disengaged, this toy takes his role as a best friend a little too seriously and won’t let anyone stand between him and Andy. Not even the boy himself.
One of the big differences between the original Child’s Play and the new one is that the film trades out the magic for science fiction. Of course, terrifying robots have been done to death in movies over the years, but Mark Hamill manages to provide an interesting enough take on the character not to make this feel like another cliche along the lines of Chopping Mall or Evolver. Hamill’s take gives Chucky a childlike sense of wonder as he tries to comprehend the world while being terrifyingly unburdened by a sense of morality or the value of human life. The fact that he has pre-teens to learn from makes things all the more confusing for him, especially in one scene where he watches them laugh in delight during the gorier sequences of a horror film. He’s a misunderstood soul who only wants to achieve the purpose for which he was built, to be a best friend, but doesn’t know what that really means. Don’t get me wrong, Chucky is still terrifying, but he’s a lot more intricate than just some serial killer who likes stabbing people.
Because Chucky is constantly learning over the course of Child’s Play the film is able to create tension as the audiences watch moments unfold that we know will come back to bite the other character’s in the ass. A simple comment suddenly becomes ominous knowing that Chucky can’t apply any context to it. A casual action becomes an inspiration for future acts of terror from the creepy doll. Seemingly mild disruptions to his obsession with Andy become motivation for his reign of terror. Knowing that he’s watching everything, makes the audience aware of how all these little things stack up to shape the doll into the killer it will inevitably become. Thus, Child’s Play is able to build suspense even from seemingly innocent moments over the course of the film. Of course, tension is nothing without pay off and boy are there some sick and twisted moments in this horror flick. It’s got some truly gruesome kills that will make your stomach churn but stop just short of being full on torture porn. Luckily, this is offset by just enough camp over the course of the movie to keep us laughing while nervously waiting for the next hammer to drop.
I know that there are probably a lot of hardcore horror fans who subscribe to the cult of Chucky, but I think it’s important to remind them just how dumb the original series was. A serial killer (a white guy, of course) uses voodoo to transfer his soul to the body of a doll. Soon after, he becomes obsessed with a kid because he “wants his body,” which is even creepier if you really think about it. The killer then proceeds to be outwitted at every turn by the kid. See, it sounds pretty dumb when you say it out loud. This new take on the character not only updates it to the era or the internet and “smart” technology but allows it to constantly be learning and evolving becoming a greater threat as the movie goes on. In this way, Child’s Play constantly raises the stakes which is why it’s such an enthralling horror film.
The new Child’s Play might start off campy and cheesy, but it quickly shifts gears as the goofy looking doll becomes menacing and terrifying. Even as the blood starts spraying, it never forgets not to take itself too seriously since it is essentially a movie about a killer doll. Director Lars Klevberg embraces the absurdity of the concept and uses it to keep the audience off guard. This combined with Mark Hamill’s performance gives the character perhaps more depth than it probably deserves and leaves a lasting impression. Don’t get me wrong, you have to take the good with the bad with horror movies and Child’s Play certainly has plot holes in it. However, it’s a gory good time that fans of the genre will love. I for one wholeheartedly hope to see a sequel featuring this version of the killer doll.
