Child's Play (2019)

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MILD SPOILERS

     Everyone’s favorite butcher knife-wielding doll returns in Child’s Play, a reboot of the 1988 movie that kicked off the Chucky franchise. Aubrey Plaza stars as Karen Barclay, who brings a refurbished Kaslan Industries “Buddi” doll home to her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman). The doll (voiced by none other than Mark Hamill) connects to a variety of Kaslan products via the Cloud, but it also has an unsettling new feature: a tendency to brutally murder people.

     The original Child’s Play is not exceptionally remarkable, apart from the fact that it introduces a classic horror movie villain. It is not, to my recollection, even particularly scary, at least not once Chucky was out and about and murdering; the idea of a living doll is more frightening than the actual thing. The 2019 Child’s Play doesn’t entirely escape that trap, but it makes an effort, infusing the plot with gore, humor, and some new technological tricks.

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     Those first two—gore and humor—have to do with Child’s Play’s knowing, winking attitude. The screenwriters understand the inherent absurdity of this whole thing, so they crank the dial up and invite us along for the ride. It proves to be a smart choice; it keeps the movie flowing, keeps the audience entertained, and makes amends for the movie’s lackluster scares.

     The latter device—the new technological tricks—stem from the way in which Child’s Play reinvents the original. The 1988 movie sees the doll possessed by a criminal named Charles Lee Ray with the help of some old-fashioned witchcraft. The 2019 film, by comparison, ditches the sorcery and the serial killer. Instead, the Chucky doll gets its malevolent impulses from a software malfunction (intentionally perpetrated by a mistreated sweatshop worker, no less).

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     Thanks to his new techy origin, Chucky can control all kind of household products… and much more. It makes Chucky a more formidable villain (the original Child’s Play always had me wondering why no one was just dropkicking this doll), and it also gives the movie a new thematic angle: the dangers of technology. Sure, it doesn’t mean as much post-Black Mirror, and sure, it could use a bit more creativity to really shine through, but it makes Chucky’s antics feel a bit fresher.

     Child’s Play wasn’t for everybody in 1988, and it still isn’t. If you don’t like gore or cheesy popcorn horror flicks, you’ll want to skip this one. Or if you’re the type who needs the story to make sense, you might be rolling your eyes here. Child’s Play frequently features lapses in logic that a witty screenplay can’t disguise, like, for instance, the idea that Karen Barclay is supposed to be plausibly dating her patently awful boyfriend Shane (David Lewis). If, on the other hand, you’re just looking for a scare and a laugh, Child’s Play will tide you over until Annabelle creeps into theaters next weekend.  

Child’s Play is rated R for bloody horror violence, and language throughout.

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