Child's Play Review

Don Mancini’s legendary 1988 film Child’s Play quickly amassed a cult following that has allowed the series to have six sequels over its now thirty-year lifespan. A part of what makes the franchise so successful has always been its willingness to push its narrative boundaries into absolute madness. From becoming possessed, to getting married, to having a child, the arc of Chucky has always been unpredictable, never being afraid to become comedic for the sake of remaining engaging. With Mancini writing all seven movies and directing the latest three (the most recent being 2017’s Cult of Chucky), the collection of films have been able to keep a consistent campiness and B-movie quality to them. The new 2019 reboot of Child’s Play produced by Orion Pictures goes in a somewhat different direction, Mancini has no part in this new remake, and it shows. Lars Klevberg’s directing and the screenplay from Tyler Burton Smith ignore many of the charming qualities that makes the original memorable in order to create a large budget studio release with a wider scope. Many of the characters and events are vastly different than the original with mixed results. While there are welcomed changes and enteraining moments throughout, the inconsistent humour and lack of quality horror elements makes the film lose steam well before its ridiculously over the top and anti-climatic third act.

Child’s Play follows 13-year-old Andy and his mother Karen, a single parent who works at a local retail store. With Andy’s birthday approaching, Karen manages to convince her manager to let her keep a Buddi doll that has been returned due to apparent defects. The Buddi dolls are a high-tech line of AI companions designed by the Kaslan Corporation. While Karen thinks that the defects of the doll are only minor glitches, it couldn’t be further from the truth. A disgruntled and suicidal employee from the Buddi factories in Vietnam disabled every safety protocol in the doll that has eventually found its way to Andy. Naming itself Chucky, the dolls foundation of good intentions eventually becomes an uncontrollable killer that must be stopped.

The use of modernization by making the Buddi toys an advanced AI over a possessed murderous doll creates a scenario that is grounded in a more digestible reality and becomes one of the more effective changes from the original source material. Though many of the other creative decisions are underwhelming or don’t fit, the CGI rendering of Chucky often looks awkward and never compares to the practical effect version used in the original. Child’s Play also resorts too heavily on its black comedy elements, creating scenes that add little to the overall film while feeling obligated to end on some sort of punchline.

The performance of Karen by Aubrey Plaza and the voice acting of Chucky by Mark Hamill bring a needed energy to many of the films slower scenes. Hamill’s ability to project the array of emotions that the manipulative and maniacal doll has throughout the film is often effective despite the characters lack of depth in comparison to the original. Aubrey Plaza’s now trademark sass also gives Karen some entertaining characteristics that help elevate her past the generic single mother character, creating a chemistry and dynamic between mother and son that feels somewhat refreshing.

Overall, the changes to the source material that Lars Klevberg and Tyler Burton Smith have made offers little in terms of consistent entertainment. The ongoing franchise that Don Mancini created basks in a practicality and schlockiness that oozes personality. The reboot of Child's Play removes all of this and delivers a somewhat enjoyable yet overly generic effort.

Child’s Play has its moments but never stays consistently enjoyable despite notable efforts from Mark Hamill and Aubrey Plaza

Produced By: Orion Pictures
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rating: R