Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Lars Klevberg, Roadshow Entertainment.
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry.
Child’s Play is not a riotous prototype, but when its tempo picks up, the storyline is anything but boring.
The 2019 horror film, Child’s Play is written by Tyler Burton Smith and directed by Lars Klevberg, It’s a remake of the 1988 film of the same name and a reboot of the Child’s Play franchise.
American writer, producer and director Don Mancini is known for Child’s Play (1988), Bride of Chucky (1998) and Seed of Chucky (2004).
The plot for the 2019 version follows a family terrorised by a high-tech doll that becomes self-aware and subsequently murderous. It’s a reboot of the 1988 slasher film about a killer doll named Chucky (now voiced by Mark Hamill). This version is less about serial killers and dark magic and more about the nature of friendship, but it has even more explicit, gruesome violence than the original.
In Chicago, retail clerk Karen Barclay and her 13-year-old hearing-impaired son, Andy, have moved into their new apartment, where Karen encourages her son to make new friends while she prepares for his upcoming birthday. In an attempt to cheer Andy up and make up for the unease caused by the relocation and her new boyfriend Shane, Karen blackmails her boss in order to procure a Buddi doll and introduces it to Andy as an early birthday gift. Once Andy activates the doll, it names itself Chucky and becomes attached to Andy.
Over time, Chucky helps Andy befriend two other children in the building – Falyn and Pugg – but also begins to display violent tendencies. He strangles the Barclays’ hostile pet cat after it scratches Andy, and one night, while Andy and his friends gleefully watch a horror film, Chucky starts mimicking the violence on the screen and approaches the trio with a kitchen knife before Andy disarms him.
When police detective Mike Norris (Henry) begins an investigation Andy, Falyn and Pugg disable Chucky and dispose of him in the garbage. It’s all to no avail though, as the murderous rampage continues. Chucky carries on doing what he does best.
Do take note of the film’s ‘MA’ rating due to its strong horror themes and violence.
