Child’s Play: A shiny new toy

Here we are, with another remake of a classic horror film. What was weird about this one is that the original series is still going on! To be honest, I was not looking forward to this one heading in. I love the original films and the trailers for this movie did not give me any sense of hope that this would turn out to even be just ok. However, this remake ended up surprising me by being a lot more entertaining that I ever thought it could possibly be.

The similarities between the plots of the original and the remake can be boiled down to a killer doll named Chucky and a child who owns him named Andy. Other than those aspects the movies are very different. This one is a tech gone wrong story, dealing with how invasive technology has become in our lives, and how humans can abuse technology. This concept is not entirely original, but this movie does a great job of keeping it fresh by injecting it with humor and not taking itself too seriously. This is a movie that is just fun to watch. What made the experience even better for us was that our theater was empty besides us, so we got to talk and joke around like we were sitting at home. The acting is pretty solid from everyone involved, with Mark Hamill killing it as the voice of Chucky. The characters come off as believable, with Andy’s actions make sense for a child to make when dealing with that situation.

Another thing that stands out about the movie is the brutality. The violence in this movie is far beyond what I expected, with a surprising amount of gore. The deaths are vicious and result in a ton of blood flying everywhere. The final act features a section that sees a large group of people getting slaughtered and it is a standout scene in horror this year. Scenes like the one just mentioned combined with the story makes this a movie that feels like it knows what it is and just wants the audience to have a good time.

I do have some issues with this movie. One problem is why would anyone think this doll is a good idea to begin with. This is essentially a walking Alexa, that has control over a ton of devices in the home. It can learn as well and can imprint on people. Who would want their child to have this much control over the house? We see early on that it doesn’t take much for these dolls to be turned into a potential killing machine. I feel like there would be a sizable backlash to this device, and that isn’t something explored in the movie. There is also a scene in the movie where Andy and his friends are watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and for some reason the way they are watching the movie is way out of order, with scenes from near the end of the film coming before scenes from the beginning. I know this is a really minor and random critique, but as someone who has saw that movie a ton it took me out of the movie a bit.

This is a fun move overall that is certainly worth your time. It isn’t a serious film, which is a good thing when it does have a stupid plot honestly. However, this is a fun film to watch where you can turn your brain off, enjoy some good gore and laughs, and turned out far better than it originally looked like it was going to be. I recommend getting this at home release, because I believe the ability to riff on it added a lot to our enjoyment of this.

3.75 / 5