When I first heard they were doing a remake of Child's Play, my initial reaction was one of befuddlement and annoyance. The original series was still going strong with Cult of Chucky having just been released. It just seemed like a shameless cash grab with a familiar title. But, then a funny thing happened. They actually hired filmmakers who decided to try something new with the premise that resulted in a film that was actually pretty good? I certainly didn't see that coming.
Struggling single mom Karen Barclay (played by Aubrey Plaza) is newly divorced and living with her young son, Andy (played by Gabriel Bateman) in an apartment they just moved into. In an attempt to help him socialize and cheer him up, she brings home a Buddi doll for him that was returned to the department store she works at. Buddi dolls are equipped with the latest in AI technology and can sync with other automated home technology. The Artificial Intelligence within the Buddi doll is state of the art and imprints on the owner, in this case Andy. However, this particular doll is defective and had the safety protocols turned off at the factory by a disgruntled employee. Without those this Buddi doll, named Chucky (voiced by Mark Hamill), has free reign to learn to emulate all sorts of actions, including stabbing and murder. As he bonds with Andy, he becomes more protective of him and anyone that threatens him or his family, such as Karen's douche bag new boyfriend, or threaten to replace Chucky as Andy's best friend fall within Chucky's cross hairs. Andy has few options to turn to for help, with his mom working and their neighbor Detective Mike Norris (played by Brian Tyree Henry) more likely to suspect him, he is going to have to take down the murderous doll himself.
The film was directed by Lars Klevberg from a script by Taylor Burton Smith. They do a good job of taking the basic premise of the original film and fashioning a whole new movie from it. They kept the names of the three main characters, as well as the doll, and basically jettisoned everything else. Rather than a doll possessed with the spirit of a deceased serial killer, this doll is a malfunctioning toy equipped with state of the art technology. This is an intriguing direction to take the premise and adds a much needed freshness to the material as well. It also allows for a new take on Chucky himself, who starts out glitchy but innocent and only becomes dangerous through a warped sense of what he is supposed to do. The filmmakers also come up with some intensely original sequences as people come face to face with the new Chucky, who only becomes more lethal with his upgraded ability to interface with other household implements created by the same company that makes the Buddi Doll, with items such as drones or thermostats becoming lethal implements for him to exploit. Yet, the film also has a dark and wicked sense of humor at the same time and for the most part finds a nice balance between the horror and the humor. They also create a surprising amount of empathy towards Chucky, at least in the beginning, as Andy initially rejects Chucky due to his glitching and the fact that he feels too old for such a toy. There is an unexpected bit of tragedy as Chucky descends into his more homicidal ways because he starts out just wanting to help Andy, even if it's in a very twisted way. And to top it all off, we have a genuinely creepy score by Bear McCreary to up the creepy factor even further.
With any Chucky movie, the focus is going to be on the doll and I have to say Mark Hamill does an impressive job making the role his own. This is a very different role from the one played by Brad Dourif in the original series. Hamill is able to really give this living doll some unexpected depth as I found myself empathizing with him in the beginning of the film as he is trying to be Andy's best friend. It's here that Hamill's talents as a voice actor really shine though as they are flawlessly matched with some impressive puppetry. They also give Chucky a programmed "Buddi Song" sung by Hamill that starts off sweet and innocent, but by the end of the movie when he sings it again it is genuinely creepy. Gabriel Bateman does well as an aged up Andy and therefore has a much more active role in the story as opposed to the original film where Andy was much younger. Much of the film revolves around Chucky and Andy as it falls to the kid to take down the homicidal toy when the parents and other adults don't believe him until it's too late. Aubrey Plaza does quite well as Andy's mom in a role that is much more serious than the roles she's known for currently and it's a great change of pace for her. She does a great job conveying Karen's stress and concerns as she tries to build a new life for herself and her son, even if she is not always making the best choices. Brian Tyree Henry steps into the role of Mike Norris quite well. I thought it was a nice touch to have him be a neighbor of Andy and Karen and already friends with both of them.
While it doesn't quite replace the original Chucky or the large impact he made on the horror genre (certainly the killer doll sub-genre), there is a place for this new iteration too. Aside from the broadest strokes and a few characters, this iteration of Child's Play is a whole new beast. Some people have said they shouldn't have titled it Child's Play but gone with an original title instead. Then, of course, everyone would have been calling it a rip-off instead. So, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Instead, they went for it and created a remake that broke new ground and did something different, taking the premise in new and exciting directions. I can't help but appreciate that.
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