Child’s Play is a 2019 horror film directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid, Happy Tree Friends: The Movie, & Dark Comes the Night). It’s a remake of the 1988 film. It was written by Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury 2 & Mimespeak). It was produced by Seth Grahame-Smith (IT, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Beetlejuice 2, & Gremlins 3), David Katzenberg (The Goldbergs, Schooled, & The Hard Times of RJ Berger), & Jason Cloth (Joker, The Addams Family, RoboCop Returns, Assassination Nation, Anna, & The Mule). Creator Don Mancini had nothing to do with this reboot, he decided to do his own limited series instead with the character. This is the first Chucky film that wasn’t voiced by horror icon Brad Dourif who played the role for the last 31 years in 7 films. It had a hilarious marketing campaign competing against Toy Story 4 which was released the same day. The budget was $10 million & it grossed $43.5 million worldwide at the box office!!!!
The multinational Kaslan (played by: Tim Matheson from Animal House, Van Wilder, Buried Alive 1/2, & Sometimes They Come Back) Corporation has just launched Buddi, a revolutionary line of high-tech dolls designed to be life-long companions to their owners, Buddi dolls can also connect to and operate other Kaslan products, quickly becoming a success for children worldwide. At a Buddi assembly factory in Vietnam, an employee is fired by his supervisor for insufficient work. In retaliation, the employee manipulates the doll that he is assembling by disabling all of its safety protocols before committing suicide. The doll is packed alongside others in preparation for international delivery. In Chicago, retail clerk Karen Barclay (played by: Aubrey Plaza from Legion, Funny People, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Safety Not Guaranteed, & Parks and Recreation) & her 13-year-old hearing-impaired son Andy (played by: Gabriel Bateman from Annabelle, Lights Out, & American Gothic) have moved into their new apartment. She encourages her son to make new friends while she prepares for his upcoming birthday. Karen blackmails her boss in order to procure a Buddi doll & introduces it to Andy as an early birthday gift. Once Andy activates the doll, it names itself Chucky (played by: Mark Hamill from the Star Wars franchise, Body Bags, The Guyver, Batman franchise, & Transformers franchise) & becomes attached to Andy. Andy meets Detective Mike Norris (played by: Brian Tyree Henry from Joker, Widows, Godzilla vs. Kong, & Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) & his mother Doreen (played by: Carlease Burke from Shameless, Death Warrant, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, & Toolbox Murders).
Chucky helps Andy befriend two other children in the building Falyn (played by: Beatrice Kitsos from iZombie & The Exorcist TV Series) & Pugg (played by: Ty Consiglio from Wonder, Woody Woodpecker, & Aliens Ate My Homework). Chucky starts to display violent tendencies. Andy & his friends gleefully watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Chucky starts mimicking the violence on the screen. Andy notices that Chucky is starting to take things too far so he tries to stop this new friend. Karen’s boyfriend Shane (played by: David Lewis from Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Parked, Man of Steel, & Harper’s Island) continues to bully Andy & he says he wants him gone. Chucky takes that as a command & he decides to take action on that request. Andy is horrified at the results & tries to distance himself from the demented doll. The toy of terror begins to cause chaos all over & the locals start to pay for it. Neighborhood kid Omar (played by: Marlon Kazadi from Riverdale & Ghostbusters 2020) takes possession of Chucky after Andy tried to destroy him. Chucky feels rejected & he is now out for revenge against his former best friend. The whole new line of Buddi dolls is about to be unleashed on the public. Can Andy outcome this monster with his friends & family????
When they first announced this Child’s Play remake, I had my doubts & I was worried what direction they were going to take this classic franchise for this new reboot. This one is very controversial because it’s not your typical shot for shot re imagining. They change so much here so I could see the reaction being split between the die hard Chucky fans, I will say that, I preferred the Charles Lee Ray story over this new one but I still enjoyed it. I understand what they were going for with this feature, social commentary is huge in cinema these days. This version of Child’s Play is way more comedic compared to the original. The later sequels were more towards that style. It does have good balance of horror & comedy in this. The script is actually really good & it’s a breath of fresh air for the series. It was a blast seeing Chucky losing his shit after watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. I love Aubrey Plaza & it’s a weird seeing her play a mom but let’s face it we are all getting a little older. It’s different type of role for her but she pulled it off & she was great. I’ve never heard of Gabriel Bateman until this, he carried the film & he gave a real solid performance.
No one can or will ever replace Brad Dourif as the iconic character but Mark Hamill is a top notch addition to the role. Besides being known as a talented & respected actor in many other projects over the years, Hamil is one of the best voice actors of all time. He is no stranger to playing evil parts, he brings life into this resurrection of Chucky. The rest of the supporting delivered the goods & boosted the overall quality of the production. The special fx were very impressive, it had some brutal & gruesome kills. Horror fans will be pleased with the gore & intense moments shown in Child’s Play. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the visual fx here, I didn’t like the new look of Chucky at all. That was the biggest disappointment when it came to this film for me. I understand they were trying to do their own version of the role & they wanted to make it stand out as their own but I felt like they went to far with it. Chucky looked more comical than scary to be honest which might have been done on purpose considering the tone of everything. I thought this remake was very fun & entertaining, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It’s one of my favorite horror this year so far, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from 20th Century Fox! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks amazing on blu ray. It’s one of the best looking films of 2019 & it really shines on this format. I am actually shocked that it didn’t get a 4K release. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 5.1, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks is top notch. It’s one to test out your home theater set up. The dialogue is crystal clear, all the madness gets a killer boost, & the music is elevated here. It also has English SDH & Spanish subtitles.Both picture & sound are at a very high quality, it’s a great home experience viewing this release!
Let’s discuss the special features from 20th Century Fox! “Audio Commentary” with director Lars Klevberg. He chats about the original film & doing his version to fit this new generation more. He talks about the screenplay, locations, music,& visual fx for the movie. He brings up the cast for the feature. He goes into his overall experience on the set. He covers almost everything that you would expect from a commentary for the production here. “The Making of Child’s Play” is a little over 5 minutes. It has interviews with director Lars Klevberg, actors Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, & various members of the production. They chat about the iconic character & the changes made to him to adapt to modern technology. They bring up that no one is born a villain, it is created. Lars Klevberg talks about his creative control for the role & how he put the new look together fir it. “Bringing Child’s Play’s Chucky to Life” is a little over 4 minutes. It has interviews with director Lars Klevberg, actors Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, & various members of the production. They bring up technology again. They chat about some similar material that was brought up earlier. It takes you behind the scenes for the fx & shows them bringing the Chucky character alive. “Soundtrack Trailer” is little over 3 minutes. Composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Happy Death Day 1/2, Wrong Turn 2, Cloverfield franchise, & Constantine) has a little fun performing music from the film in this video. “Lee Hardcastle Claymations” features two short segments which includes “Toy Massacre” & “A.I. Mayhem” from the British animator. It has a few promotional extras like the minute “Gallery” that all kinds of photos & the “Theatrical Trailer”. It has a sneak peak for “Ready or Not”. It also has a slipcover & a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
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Interesting remake and Mark Hamill did a good job…not my Chucky…but fun.