Child’s Play is a 2019 horror film written by Tyler Burton Smith and directed by Lars Klevberg. This is a remake and a reboot of a 1988 movie by the same name. Like the original, this movie centers around a young mother who gives her child a doll for his birthday, not being aware the doll is evil. Full Child’s Play review is below.
This movie has more of a technology spin where an evil Kaslan corporation sells everything that controls your appliances in your house. While the old movie focuses on the dolls itself, this movie chooses to focus more on the technological and/or AI aspect of the future. It’s different but I don’t think it is different enough to make it unique or even worth rebooting. Franchise has been doing fine over the years.
As far as the story itself goes, it is standard and average at best. You got some abusive members of the family, a boy who knows something but nobody will believe him, bullies, kids coming together to fight an evil doll, and people dying (although not all are bad people). A lot of people are killed in brutal manners but not all of the kills are onscreen. Still, it has enough gore to satisfy an average horror fan. The new movie has some good practical gore effects that definitely helps it stand out among current horror movies. There were seven different animatronic dolls made that were interchangeable and could produce different movements on the set.
In terms of the Chucky doll itself, IMO it looks awful. The doll looks a bit more menacing than the original doll due to its glowing eyes. However nothing about its expressions is really scary. It furrows its brows and makes a menacing smile, but that is all. Movement is just fine but the original did that better. However, this time around the doll has a bit more movements as the people who did the effects from MastersFX gave the doll a lot more flexibility and the slight movements in the joins looks better than the original, which had a lot of stiff movements as well as plenty of scenes that hid Chucky’s face to save money on making the doll make any movements. Also, the original had a better origin story than the new Chucky movie but this is a small matter of an opinion.
The acting this time around is better (at least from the kid) than in the original. However, in the new movie the kid is older than in the original and too old to own a doll. This is not a big issue as this is a more advanced doll that is constantly learning and can adapt a lot more to its environment as well as have no limit on its ability to perform tasks as well as cause violence. Mark Hamill did a great job at bringing the doll to life. He made it sound apologetic even when it causes horrible violence. There is this thin line between making it sound like it meant to do it and making it look like it was done to make another person happy.
Overall the movie was good, but not really necessary. The acting in this movie is good, the gore is great, but the story was average. This movie is campy. Still, a short movie but some parts dragged on for a while. It’s a different spin on Chucky but I myself prefer the original to this reboot/remake.
Another movie that deals with an unwelcome gift is the movie The Gift (my review)
Let me know what you thing of my Child’s Play review. Agree/Disagree?