My History With the Film:
My fiancée Brandy is terrified of the original Child’s Play. So, when I heard a new one was being made it quickly became a must watch for us. The trailers looked great (I loved the use of BJ and the Bear’s theme song) and Mark Hamill’s casting created excitement for me.
I missed Child’s Play in the theaters, but did rent it as soon as it hit Redbox.
What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
A defective smart doll reeks havoc on a family.
What I Liked About It:
-The idea to turn Chucky into a piece of smart tech was ingenious. It made the story more believable than the original film and as a guy who is very cautious about smart tech, I thought it made for a great plot device.
-Mark Hamill gave a chilling performance as Chucky and the rest of the cast was adequate, with no one truly standing out. I’m usually a big fan of Aubrey Plaza (Andy’s mom, Karen), but I found her just okay in this role.
-The Buddi doll looked great. The mix of both practical and digital effects worked without taking me out of the film, which is usually a problem with the Chucky movies.
What I Didn’t Like About It:
-I’ve never been a fan of the Chucky films and this one is no different. I do like it better the original films, and I thought the use of smart tech updated the franchise into a believable and actually scary situation but the killer doll genre just doesn’t do much for me.
Additional Notes:
-Creator Don Mancini had nothing to do with this film, nor did any of the original actors. The film was created as a separate franchise outside of the pre-existing Chucky universe. A television show is in pre-production to continue the original Chucky storyline.
-Mark Hamill voiced Chucky in a 2005 episode of Robot Chicken.
-The film was released the same day as Toy Story 4 and did a great job marketing against it.
-The original script was set at Christmastime like the original Child’s Play, but it was eventually changed. However, there is a death scene involving Christmas lights that remains.
-The toy car that drives by Andy says, “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me” which is an homage to Robocop, another film released by Orion Pictures.
-The deaths in this film could not resemble deaths in the original Chucky franchise since Universal owned the rights to all of Child’s Play sequels.
Rating:
I like that they reinvented the franchise and really committed to making a unique film. It was by far the most enjoyable Chucky film for me and while I don’t see myself watching it again, I enjoyed the time I spent watching it. For fans of killer doll movies I think they will really enjoy this.
I rate Child’s Play as a three out of five and say its a must rent.