Child’s Play review and discussion

By Justin Hopkins

Spoiler warning ahead

Figured I should lead with that. I try not to talk to in depth about third act but I’ll probably go into some with this because wow, was this not only a great addition to the Child’s Play library, but almost the perfect example to what a remake should strive to be; a new spin on an old idea. Took Chucky back to its core and created something new and unique and a true joy ride. Started out slow and by the time the climax began, kept you enthralled to the end. Lets jump right in and talk a little more, about how this became one of my favorites in the series.

It starts off with the Kaslan company commercial, for the Buddi dolls, explaining everything these dolls are capable of doing, and then you are taken to Vietnam sweet shop where you see them being made, and a disgruntled worker being yelled at and being told once he was done with the doll he was working on, would be fired. To exact revenge, he removed all of the dolls safety features. Giving it a sense of freedom and able to do whatever it chose to. Very quick, and getting the exposition out of the way, and allowed them to get to the story moving and while it may not be the most spectacular origin, but gave the movie the ability to continue at a steady pace, and didn’t have to stop and explain along the way. From there you meet Karen, played by Aubrey Plaza, and Andy, played by Gabriel Bateman. While the character development could have been better. Not enough time was spent building up Andy and his friends, and animosity between Andy, his Mom and Shane, but at the same time, the chemistry between Andy and Karen was perfect. She was a single mom, who was struggling to understand and make her introvert son happy and go out and have friends and Andy going through so much and struggling to keep up with his changing life. the relationship was only out shadowed by him and Chucky.

The inevitable conclusion that you are tempted to do, is compare this Chucky to the one we have come to love, and you can’t do that because, this is his own entity, and this Chucky is awesome in his own right. He is not the soul of a serial killer. He is simply just a doll trying his best, to make Andy happy. You get to see a friendship happen between him Andy. They created an emotional story, that makes you sad for Chucky himself at times. After Andy scolds him, and he is sitting alone. Shoulders sunken and staring downward. He doesn’t understand how bad his actions were, because he thought he would make them laugh, and Mark Hamill brought it so well. Voice carried a friendly tone and while it didn’t sound outright threatening, the tone and atmosphere around him, made him chilling. He went from a friend to full blown killing doll and the tone stayed the same creepy, friendly tone. None of which would have been possible with Chucky we knew. His appearance has caught a lot of hell and a ton of jokes, but I really liked it. The loose bits of plastic and slowed, sharp movements gave him a disturbing look even when he is still or being nice. Perfect for what they were going for. Lastly, he was allowed to show off his power, and damn was he able to be devastating in the climax. Taking control and just dropping people left and right and was so glorious.

The pros definitely outweigh the cons. hoping this is not a one off, because this movie has plenty of legs to grow from here. Would love to see most of the cast return for the sequel. Especially Falyn ( Beatrice Kitos) and Detective Mike ( Brian Tyree Henry) Both characters still have a lot more to add if given the time, and Mark Hamill’s Chucky could carry this story for quite some time. Ignore the internet hatred over remakes, because this one bucks the trend in all the right ways, go out, and enjoy this new retelling of Child’s Play. You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for reading

 

 

 

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