CHILD’S PLAY (2019) REVIEW
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill, & Gabriel Bateman
Directed By: Lars Klevberg (Polaroid)
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Chucky, the killer doll, has been terrorizing audiences since the late 80s.The biggest problem the franchise has had is walking that razor thin line between being a serious horror movie and the absurdity of its own existence.Dolls can’t come to life and murder people.Even if they could, don’t you think you could fend off a two foot tall doll?Child’s Play has always had a nice balance of the gore we’re here for and not taking itself too seriously over the course of seven previous films.
The new reboot has a high-tech take on the killer doll trope.Chucky is no longer inhabited by a serial killer who put a voodoo curse on a doll.He’s now a warning for those with Alexas and other such smart devices in their homes.That makes sense.Doesn’t bother me.This new film’s other big change is the voice of Chucky.For the first time Brad Douriff does not inhabit our star, instead Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker has the honors.He’s got a great voice actor resume, so don’t sleep on his skills.
The 2019 version of Child’s Play is a bad movie.But it’s so close to being a home run, that I am confused.This movie is extremely violent, funny, suspenseful, doesn’t take itself seriously.It gives you almost everything you want in a movie.But Josh, why is it bad?
I think they got Chucky so wrong that it hinders the movie.The dolls eyes are so much like a Japanese anime doll that it bothers me.A lot of practical effects are used with the doll, except for the eyes.The eyes are CGI almost always.
If you’ve ever seen Mark Hamill play The Joker on the animated versions of Batman, you know he can be downright frightening.So I was excited when the casting choice was announced.But Hamill is so muzzled, so restrained.He never gets to really go full psychopath in this.I mentioned this on Twitter over the weekend, it’s almost like the casting director knew Mark Hamill did voice work, but had never actually seen or heard any of it and didn’t know what he was capable of, so they didn’t ask him to do too much here in this movie.
I would venture to say that Child’s Play got just about every single thing right along the way except the most important thing.Chucky.This movie is working for a lot of people.It’s getting pretty positive reviews from critics, and even more positive buzz from the fans of the series.So don’t let me the detractor that keeps you from seeing this if you want to.Going in I didn’t think this movie’s portrayal of Chucky mattered all that much.I’m not overly attached to the movies.They’re fun, but dumb.I’m almost certain I haven’t seen all of them.So I’m not standing on my soapbox trying to keep Chucky pure or anything like that.I just thought they got him SO wrong in every way that I ended up hating the movie.
Very few jump scares which surprised me.It’s a cheap and easy scare tactic.A lot of movies use it.This one rarely did.Instead it goes for hyperviolence.Deaths almost reminiscent of the Saw franchise.Elaborate and bloody.We talked about characters that stole a movie in Toy Story, Child’s Play gets stolen by Brian Tyree Henry.Paper Boi for fans of the TV show Atlanta.The movie was edited by an Omaha guy, Tom Elkins.Trying to connect with him and get him on the show in the weeks ahead.Child’s Play does so much right that I’m tempted to rate it higher than I want to.But it gets the most important things wrong and was significantly kneecapped by it.
On a scale of "See It/Stream It/Skip It" -- Stream It – Worth a watch.It’s a quick 90 minutes.Not a total loss by any means. I seem to be one of the few detractors this movie has
If you liked Child’s Play (1988), Saw, or Annabelle you might like Child’s Play (2019)
2 out of 5 stars for Child’s Play (2019).Warning track power does not a home run make.