By Geno McGahee
In 1988, CHILD’S PLAY introduced the character “Chucky”, voiced by Brad Dourif. The serial killer’s spirit went into the body of the doll and a series of films branched off the idea. As the films went by, the story got more diluted and scares were replaced with painful attempts at humor, much like the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series. It’s fair to say that outside of the original 1988 CHILD’S PLAY, the series was very weak and that is why I wasn’t one of the horror fans getting angry that they dared to remake the film or re-imagine it. They couldn’t do worse than CULT OF CHUCKY.
The 2019 remake of CHILD’S PLAY is a totally new film with a few similarities. Karen (Aubrey Plaza) works at a department store and is barely eking by as a young mother to her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman). Andy wants a very special gift for his birthday. He wants one of the Buddi Dolls, which can do all sorts of things. It uses AI to learn and to perform tasks that will make the lives easier of those that own it and will also provide companionship, which Andy needs. He’s an outcast and doesn’t have many friends. Buddi will fill that void, but the price makes it tough to get on a cashier’s salary.
Fortunately for Karen, there was a return on the doll and she had enough dirt on one her employees to be able to take it home and give it to her son. Unfortunately, Chucky is defective and has some really amusing quirks. Chucky is voiced by Mark Hamill this time and the doll has a different look, even though it looks similar. The combination of the new style and Hamill’s approach create a totally different character that was really great. The AI is a great alternative to voodoo and the soul of a serial killer. It was a smart idea to go this direction and avoid copying the first film entirely.
Chucky learns and has the sole purpose to make Andy happy. With his defects, his learning and mistakes are very amusing. At one point, Chucky says “don’t forget your science book” and hands Andy toilet paper. As Chucky learns, the more bad things he picks up. He is trying to make Andy happen but doesn’t really understand that certain things are not so literal. When Andy and his friends watch TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 and laugh, Chucky begins to realize that killing people is funny.
What bothers Andy starts to really bother Chucky, especially his mother’s asshole boyfriend, Shane (David Lewis). Shane is a real prize. He’s abusive and is married with children, which he is keeping hidden. When he basically challenges Andy to a fight, Chucky has had enough and kills Shane, but he did it for Andy. Andy comes home to discover the skinned face of Shane on his dresser with a big bow on it, TCM style. It was hilariously gruesome.
Unfortunately for Chucky, Andy and his friends decide to get rid of him, but he proves durable and takes great offense at their attempt. Using technology and driven by anger, Chucky now goes after a lot of people in the department store, leading to a great conclusion to a very fun film.
CHILD’S PLAY is a tremendous film that I found incredibly amusing. The new Chucky is new in every way and it’s a nice change from the stale story that we’ve seen in the majority of the entries in the original series. The film was funny and they leave room for a sequel. It is yet to be seen if they can make a quality sequel to it, but this one is a great popcorn movie that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend it.