While I wouldn’t say that the new Child’s Play is a better film than the original, I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
1988’s Child’s Play, a film about a doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer, has become something of a horror classic since its release. In fact, it was so popular that it spawned a series of sequels that have continued to be produced as recently as 2017. When a reboot was announced, fans of the original were skeptical that a new version could be any good.
2019’s Child’s Play throws out the possession angle and replaces it with a more modern “Internet of things” story line. A corporation called Kaslan has produced a series of devices that connect to the Internet, like thermostats, robot vacuum cleaners, and speakers, that can be controlled via voice commands. A new creation, Buddi, is an autonomous doll with artificial intelligence. Buddi can be controlled by voice as well as a smartphone app and can control other smart devices in the home. At Kaslan’s assembly facility in Vietnam, a worker is chastised for not being productive. In retaliation for his mistreatment, he removes the safety protocols from a Buddi doll and boxes it up for delivery to the United States.
The altered doll finds its way to the home of single mom, Karen (Aubrey Plaza) and her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman.) Karen and Andy have just moved into a new apartment complex. Andy is having trouble making new friends and Karen gets the Buddi doll for him as an early birthday present. Buddi’s ability to play with and befriend children makes it the perfect gift for the lonely boy. Andy names the doll Chucky and begins to teach it how to play games. Something seems a bit off about Chucky but Karen and Andy overlook that. Over time, Chucky becomes very protective of Andy. Soon, Andy discovers that Chucky will go to extremes to make him happy even if it means killing people.
If someone would have explained this plot-line to me about 15 years ago, I would have scoffed at its implausibility. Now that we live in a world with Alexa and Google Home devices controlling everything from our televisions to our coffee makers, it’s not at all unbelievable that, in the near future, something like a Buddi might become available. I found it quite clever that the movie shows us how Chucky imprints on Andy and watches his behavior for clues as to what makes him happy. I also found the nonchalant nature by which the characters react to this type of technology believable. What was seemingly magical 20 years ago is now completely normal.
That’s my long-winded way of saying that I think that Tyler Burton Smith’s script is brilliant for replacing the possessed doll with a smart-device-gone-haywire. That believability coupled with Mark Hamill’s effective voice work makes the new Chucky quite scary indeed.
Unfortunately, as clever as the script is at creating and explaining Chucky, the surroundings in which he is placed are actually less believable. For example, Andy’s behavior after finding out that Chucky has murdered the pet cat doesn’t ring true. But I suppose the movie would only be 30 minutes long if Andy reacted like a normal kid.
While I wouldn’t say that the new Child’s Play is a better film than the original, I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I think modern audiences will connect with it more so than the original as well.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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