Child's Play 2019 is set in modern day and follows struggling young mom Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) and her hearing impaired son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman). Andy feels isolated, alone and outcast in the new city they've moved to. In an attempt to cheer him up, Karen brings Andy home a recalled Buddi doll (voiced by Mark Hamill) from her workplace. Buddi is designed to bond with its user and can connect to other electronic devices made by parent company, The Kaslan Corporation. While at first Andy shuns the doll (who names himself Chucky in a funny scene), it isn't long before Chucky and Andy are best friends. When Andy makes new friends Pugg (Ty Consiglio) and Falyn (Beatrice Kitsos), Chucky finds himself cast aside. Hurt and jealous, Chucky sets out to prove to Andy that he is his best friend...even if he has to kill everyone in his way to do so.
For starters, this new Chucky doll can't hold a candle to Brad Dourif's original. Chucky 2019 is not possessed by the soul of a serial killer, instead this version was tampered with by a disgruntled worker (leading to Chucky being unstable and murderous). The doll itself isn't well designed and looks terrifying in an unintentional way. The puppeteering and animatronics were less than impressive as well (not to mention, sometimes Mark Hamill's lines didn't match Chucky's mouth). This new Chucky just wants to be Andy's best friend, and will do anything for the boy...including murder. Chucky here has few one-liners (I remember maybe two), and isn't sarcastic or witty...instead resembling more of a robot doll with minimal personality. The filmmakers tried to make their Chucky different from the original, and while they succeeded at making something new....Brad Dourif's version of the doll is still the best one. I can't see the new Chucky becoming a beloved horror icon, but the mayhem and murder he doles out are gory, gruesome, great, fun and memorable.
As for the human characters, they are likely one of the strongest aspects of the film. Gabriel Bateman makes for a great, sympathetic and likable Andy. His reactions were believable, and he fits well into the hero role. Aubrey Plaza is completely believable as a mom who just wants to do good for her son. She is at her hottest and most likable here. Brian Tyree Henry was great as Mike Norris, a detective who lives in the same apartment complex as Andy and his mom. He befriends Andy, and there are small hints at sparks between Karen and him. Ty Consiglio as Pugg reminded me of 'Gibby' from 'ICarly' (an old Nick TV show) at times and was pretty funny, and Beatrice Kitsos as Falyn made for a smart, ass-kicking girl that kids can look up to.
This Child's Play is very different from the original franchise, but that's not necessarily a bad thing (This film definitely feels more simple than previous outings). The tone is pretty different as we start out with Andy actually befriending Chucky and showing him around his world (think E.T.) before Chucky goes crazy. The film also has a wicked dark humor streak (aided by a solid script by Tyler Burton Smith) that I wasn't expecting and absolutely loved. The directing by Lars Klevberg is competent and well-done, and the cinematography (Brandon Uegama) and lighting shines in some scenes. Child's Play 2019 isn't that scary, though some of Chucky's antics are dark and disturbing, and there is plenty of blood and gore to please any horror nut.
One thing I think a lot of Chucky fans may have trouble admitting is that the original Child's Play franchise is pretty silly. The same goes for this re-imagining. It doesn't shy away from some of the silliness, and maybe that is why some ideas that shouldn't work do. For example, a finale set inside a toy store where Chucky has taken control of all the toys sounds dumb on paper, but on screen the scene is chaotic, bloody and fun.
Child's Play 2019 is not the best Chucky film, but it's certainly one of the better ones (Definitely better than Seed, Curse, and Cult). It is competently made, well-acted, with an unexpected but more-than-welcome dark humor streak, memorable, gory kills and perhaps most surprising....some heart. Simply put: It's a ton of hard-R rated fun.
3.5 stars
