The Child's Play Movie Isn't Bad
Once upon a time I used to run a website called micro-shock.com and I used to write almost exclusively about horror movies. It was a fun gig, but I got to tell you, the horror scene is pretty insufferable at times. Going to conventions, going to screenings, getting screeners in the mail, there was always this component of negativity swirling around the whole scene. There’s a large component of fans that can’t see anything positive with anything produced in the genre since the 1990s. This is especially so when it comes to the horror remake or a sequel to a beloved franchise. Fans will typically hate on a remake of a horror movie without having even seen it and form an opinion based on a movie trailer. There was a certain point where I just lost all interest in commentating or reviewing on horror films because of this negativity. It sucked a lot of the joy out of writing on the subject because I’d get flooded with e-mails from some obtuse jackasses whose opinion was parroted by a legion of fans who have nothing better to do than hate on the genre they allegedly love.
Granted, there are instances where the negativity is rightly deserved, such as with the 2018 Predator movie. However, I’d argue that these instances where fans were right to assume a movie is crap are far and few in between. A movie that proves the case that most horror fans are grumpy and full of shit is 2019’s Child’s Play remake. As usual, I’ve held off from watching/reviewing a horror movie once all the reactionary shit-heads are finished with their one-note “hot takes”.
Most fans wrote off the Child’s Play remake as awful without actually watching it and that’s a shame because I would say that, for a remake, it’s actually one of the best that I’ve seen. That’s a very small group of movies on my list, but it’s up there with the Night of the Living Dead ‘90, Amityville Horror, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and Evil Dead. It’s that good. Here are some reasons why you should give this movie a fair chance:
Great Casting and Great Character Development
After years of Parks and Rec I didn’t think Plaza could open her eyes that wide.
I have to take my hat off to the casting in this one when they chose Gabriel Bateman to play Andy alongside Aubry Plaza as his mother, Karen. I’ve always enjoyed Aubry Plaza since her role on Parks and Recreation. Her role as the dour don’t-give-a-shit April Ludgate was always a hilariously played off of the rest of the cast, particularly Chris Pratt’s Andy Dwire. Plaza has always played a sort of straightf-faced cynical character, but here she plays a slightly warmer character. She’s a single mother trying to care for a son in a new city with no friends. She is a vulnerable character who cares deeply for her son There’s still some of Plaza’s signature snark here and there. Andy in this movie is much older than the original film. I think that was a smart move.
Going back and watching the original Child’s Play and I feel that there is a huge disconnect between Alex Vincent’s Andy and Catherine Hick’s Karen. In the original film, the family situation is the same but I don’t feel as though Don Mancini did a very good job building their characters. They’re very one dimensional and only exist to be terrorized by Chucky. Other than trying to steal Andy’s body, Chucky doesn’t really have much of a use for him.
In the remake, Tyler Burton Smith actually takes the time to make us care about Andy and his mother and actually root for them. This is a huge difference from the original, where frankly Andy really annoyed the shit out of me. They spent three movies on Andy in the original franchise and he was nothing more than a prop, it really says a lot when the change of protagonists in Bride of Chucky is seen as a breath of fresh air.
The other interesting take on Andy in this movie is that he wears a hearing aid. While most movies would find some way to beat this into the plot (I’m looking at you The Predator) This movie doesn’t make this a defining character trait for Andy, you know, kind of like how in real life. His hearing aid didn’t even really play into the plot or impede the character very much other — perhaps — act as a metaphor for how isolated Andy feels at the beginning of the movie.
Then there’s Chucky, who if you wanted a pastiche of Brad Dourif you’ll be very disappointed. I think completely changing the character was a good move and Mark Hamill does an excellent job as the new Chucky. He can make the character go from charming, to sad, to disturbing at the drop of a hat. The character, in other words, has more range than the original Chucky, who has a one-trick pony. He was always Charles Lee Ray, serial killer, trying to get a human body. This Chucky is basically childlike and his evolution into a deranged killer is a much more fascinating transition than him being a killer right from the start. This Chucky is also a dark reflection of Andy’s desire to have friends.
The Genre Shifting Makes This Work
A lot of fans out there complain about how this remake changes the premise of the film. Hating the idea of Chucky being a case of technology run amok rather than a serial killer’s soul possessing the body of a toy doll. They even go so far as to mock the remake version of Chucky being a “smart” toy that can connect to other smart devices. It just goes to show how long time horror fans lack any actual vision.
When this Chucky gives the finger it’s usually more than a fuck you.
Yeah, they could have just done an updated version of the original film, but the creative team behind this remake realized that trying to copy every aspect of the original Child’s Play would have been a forgettable affair. That’s because the original franchise is still ongoing, with Don Mancini still working on sequels and a new TV series.
Also, fans complaining about Chucky using smart technologies in this film are really out of touch and are kind of missing the whole component about Chucky being a doll. People seem to forget that the original Chucky was inspired by a brand new toy tech at the time. Chucky had an animatronic face and a cassette player built into him because that was what was the cutting edge of technology at the time. To do a Child’s Play movie and not update the Chucky toy would have been entirely stupid. If you’re going to make a movie that has to make an excuse to do the vintage Chucky of old, why even bother making a new movie? Also, having a smart toy that can connect to your wi-fi network isn’t outlandish. There are toys out there that do this today. It’s something that Don Mancini is aware of as well, as he’s addressing the advances in technology in his Chucky television series. It’s the way the world is going and horror movies have long ignored technology for so long. How many movies have you seen in the last 20 years where they find convenient ways to get rid of cell phones?
Also, Chucky’s technological capabilities aren’t overly used, most times the doll kills his victims that old fashion way: With whatever he can get his tiny hands-on. It’s only later on in the film does Chucky become deranged enough to use his connectivity to kill victims. This only happened when he was in a department store full of people. Also, the writers were intelligent enough to know that such a capability could be utilized all willy nilly. First of all, Chucky can only connect with devices made by the same company, an Amazon-esque company called the Kaslan Corporation. Also, the film takes into consideration that a single mother working in a department store couldn’t afford all of the smart gadgets for the apartment she shares with her teenage son. So it’s not like there are killer drones and raging thermostats all over the movie. So Chucky using this aspect of his abilities is far and few between, believable, and there are some limitations.
This movie is like a 2 hour long, R-Rated version of Black Mirror. It’s fantastic. Chucky’s origin — that he is a doll that was intentionally programmed to be dangerous by a disgruntled sweatshop employee, grounds this new movie with a believable premise. This is something that actually happens in the real world. Maybe not to the point where an animatronic doll with artificial intelligence goes on a killing spree, but it’s still something that happens.
On top of this, the movie does a wonderful job of developing an actual relationship between Chucky and Andy. Chucky is brought home so Andy would have a friend. In changing the premise of the film they had to find a reason for Chucky to be in Andy’s life and a motivation to terrorize him later. Watching the first half of the film you almost wonder if you’re watching a children’s movie since it’s mostly about Andy and Chucky playing with each other and bonding. It even addresses the problems with a teenager having an artificially intelligent toy that is meant for children as Chucky — who doesn’t really understand the context — gets exposed to the sorts of things a teenager do — watching a horror movie, making juvenile YouTube videos — and without the proper guidance, this warps his ideas of right and wrong and Andy isn’t equipped to teach his robot to not kill the family cat. This is incredibly important as Andy starts making real friends and the Chucky doll feels rejected and in turn acts out in violent ways. It’s a wonderfully written script that doesn’t take itself too seriously, because let’s be honest, the premise to any Child’s Play movie is fucking ridiculous. Like any Child’s Play movie all of the kills are over the top because they have to be, it’s a killer doll movie, it would be boring if it wasn’t.
The last point, if you really want to know-how superficial fans were of this movie, a lot of them mocked the image to the left saying that it was proof that a CGI version of Chucky looks bad, without knowing the proper context.
In reality of this image is of Chucky trying (and failing) to make a scary face when Andy decides to use to doll to try and creep out his mother’s dirtbag boyfriend. It’s supposed to look ridiculous.
If anything, 2019’s Child’s Play is an example of why you should never judge a movie based on the trailer. Child’s Play is a fun film, that doesn’t take itself very seriously. If you think a Child’s Play movie needs to be serious then I don’t think you’ve been watching the same movies I have or you need to spend some time without your head up your ass.
