Film Review: Child's Play (2019)

"Hi, I'm Chucky! Wanna play?"

Anyone having childhood memories of this has gotta be old as dirt, and that unfortunately describes me. I was eleven when Child's Play came out, and while I can't say I've watched all of the sequels, I did managed to catch Bride of Chucky ten years later. Fast forward more than twenty years, and a reboot of Child's Play just appeared in cinemas.

Was I excited to watch this murderous psycho doll at work again? You betcha!

Warning - spoilers ahead (duh), not for the weak of stomach!

As would be expected of any Chucky movie, this flick is full of gleeful violence and campy humor. But I'm not going to try that hard to avoid spoilers. Fuck that shit. If you're watching a Chucky movie, plot twists are probably not all that high on your list of priorities.

Also, I got the pictures below of the dolls, from the Internet. It's just to illustrate a point and I'm not trying to profit off this, so please don't sue (or eviscerate) me.

The Premise

Andy is a shy boy with a hearing disability. One day, his mother gives him a present - a doll named Chucky which has an AI chip. The doll is capable of connecting to the internet and learning all the things it sees. Unfortunately, it learns all the wrong things, and without any inhibitions against violence or understanding of boundaries, it soon becomes possessive of Andy and this snowballs into a bloody homicidal spree. Along the way, Chucky even picks up the ability to control other toys via the Internet of Things, and as you may expect, it's total mayhem from there.

Unlike the original Child's Play which was a supernatural thriller about a serial killer whose soul got transferred to a doll, this movie is a tech horror thriller about the Internet of Things and wayward machines. Nothing new there; that theme has been pretty much done to death (pun intended) since Skynet in the era of The Terminator. Still, we're here to watch Chucky stab some hearts and slit some throats, and trust me brother, that little bastard delivers just the same.

The Characters

Mark Hamill voices Chucky, the friendly toy turned slasher robot. And just in case you think Hamill is too much of a good guy to voice Chucky, remember that he was the voice behind The Joker in the JLA Animated Series.

Gabriel Bateman puts in a strong performance as Andy Barclay. Bateman plays the shy antisocial Andy well, isolated as much by his hearing disability as by his awkward social skills, and later on his increasing paranoia. He reacts superbly to the growing horrors that Chucky introduces to him.

Aubrey Plaza is Karen Barclay, single mother to Andy. Plaza brings a certain sardonic wit to her character, and shares good chemistry with her onscreen son. She also provides a fair amount of fanservice later on when a voyeur peeks at her in the shower.

Brian Tyree Henry as Detective Mike Norris, the good-guy cop who befriends Andy and acts as a potential love interest for Karen at the end. Equal parts badass and jolly everyman. I last saw him in Widows as a very different character, and I think it was a good casting choice here.

Carlease Burke as Mike's mother Doreen. Burke is a hoot. Her Doreen is a nagging mother and sassy black woman all in one. I was sorry to see her die. She gets easily the best pre-death line in the entire movie.

Ty Consiglio as Pugg, the crass teenager who ends up befriending and helping Andy. Fun to watch, hope to see more of him in the inevitable sequel.

Beatrice Kitsos as Falyn. She personifies Girl Power here, and is a reassuring voice of reason.

Marlon Kazadi as Omar, a bratty teen who also winds up becoming Andy's friend.

David Lewis plays Karen's cheating boyfriend Shane with as much unlikeability as possible, and his eventual death is both horrifying and satisfying. I actually groaned aloud at the scene where he broke both legs. It was so good.

Trent Redekop as Gabe, a creepy voyeuristic basement-dweller who happens to be very good at electronics.

Tim Matheson as Kaslan CEO, Henry Kaslan. He had this prim, proper signified air about him and I was hoping he would make an appearance beyond onscreen advertisements. Alas...

The Mood

It starts off with a storm, and we're introduced to the factory where these dolls are made. After a cringey starting sequence I honestly could have done without, it's pretty much sunshine and daisies, and gradually gets more unsettling as Chucky is introduced. There are plenty of laughs here, and even later on when Chucky starts embracing his inner psychopath.

At the end, things go way over the top with the violence, but it's all rip-roaring hilarity.

What I liked

The tech-themed update on this old-school horror flick was great. I loved it, not just as a tech; but as a person living in the now, it appealed to me. It made things relatable. Chucky is now a WiFi-enabled gadget that can be accessed via a mobile app. Neat!

The Child's Play franchise is famed for its unflinching delivery of the good old blood and guts, and this movie did not disappoint.

Aside from Shane and Gabe who were supposed to be detestable, the other characters were likeable and this contributed to me, as the viewer, being emotionally invested in seeing them survive. The actors really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Pugg, Falyn and even Omar warmed my heart when they stuck with Andy to put Chucky down. Mike and his mother were a lovable bickering mother-son pair. Karen and Andy had a great dynamic going, too. Damn, I even felt sorry for Chucky! All the pint-sized maniac ever wanted was a friend!

The theme song was deliciously cheesy. It keeps running through my head now!

Cheeky references to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Robocop!

What I didn't

The factory sequence was pretty lame and illogical. It was set in Vietnam, and the suicidal worker was seen programming Chucky to remove his violence inhibitors. In Vietnam, if you are this skilled, you probably don't need to be in a factory taking shit from supervisors.

The updated 2019 look for Chucky is not an improvement over the original. One of the reasons why Chucky was so frightening was because the doll was really cute and innocent-looking before it began its rampage of carnage. The doll in 2019 looks creepy from the outset (resembling a midget Steve Buscemi from Con Air), and when it starts exhibiting malevolent behavior, somehow this takes away from the menace.

From this...

...to this? Seriously?!

Chucky is seen needing to stand on a chair to get to knives on a table. How is it at the end, he can leap at Andy? Makes no goddamn sense. Totally inconsistent.

Conclusion

The reboot of Child's Play isn't for everyone. You might be a huge fan of the original and hate this one on principle. But honestly, as a techie, I loved this version. It gave me all the in-your-face bloodshed I've come to expect, along with dark humor and sinister vibes.

All in all, if you don't take your movies too seriously, it's a real scream. I know I had a ridiculous amount of fun.

My Rating

7 / 10

This movie absolutely kills it!
T___T