When the rebooted Child's Play positioned itself against Disney Pixar's Toy Story 4, we all chuckled over its gumption. It was a stroke of genius that certainly earned itself the headlines and suggested a tongue-in-cheek attitude that stood the film in good stead. As someone with no prior knowledge or experienced of the Chucky universe, is Child's Play worth unboxing?
When struggling single mother Karen (Aubrey Plaza) gets her hands on the revolutionary high-tech doll Buddi for her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman), he soon realises that youngHans Solo Chucky may have a violent, vulgar and killer mind of its own. From Lars Klevberg in his first major feature, does the 1980s-established killer doll find a place in our cineplexes today?
Child's Play screenplay is smarter and sharper than it had any right to be. While the narrative developments are hardly the most original or innovative in the world, there is more substance to its thematic musing than initally meets the eye. Free thought, media desensitisation and consumerism find themselves at the forefront of Tyler Burton Smith's tightly-crafted script, which successfully reconditions the Chucky concept for these contemporary times. Playing almost like a feature-length episode of Black Mirror - with striking, discernible similarities to the most recent, Miley Cyrus-starring Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, only far superior - this tech-fuelled genre flick takes a knife to our current-day obsession and reliance on media and gadgetry to largely impressive effect.
Klevberg's direction is slick and compact, with the set pieces combining violent terror and twisted humour in gleefully-indulgent abundance. Well-staged kills and an impressively-sustained intensity ensures that these 90 minutes race by, with only the transition into the final act facing any pacing difficulty. Klevberg spends time introducing the characters and developing our connection to them so that by the time they face a real danger, you are rooting for them. It's a surprisingly rare feat in modern horror filmmaking and Klevberg deserves plaudits for achieving this so confidently, with his clear vision for the film evident from the offset.
Child's Play's killer casting is arguably its most impressive element. Gabriel Bateman is a real find, truly impressive in conveying a childlike fear and desperation as he witnesses Chucky's reign of terror manifest. For such a younger performer, there is an astonishing amount of depth to his performance, with Bateman assured in his depiction of the teenage outsider. Aubrey Plaza, in the most Aubrey Plaza role imaginable, uses her dry, deadpan trademark humour marvellously, while Brian Tyree Henry imbues a real sensitivity into his performance in what could've been a throwaway, archytypical detective role, giving the film an additional layer of emotion and resonance.
Child's Play won't win awards for narrative originality but sometimes executing something simple well is more than enough and the filmmakers take the Chucky concept, contextualise its for a contemporary audience and run with it, demonstrating how to successfully reboot a past-its-prime franchise. With a heady concoction of horror, emotion and comedy, Child's Play is a great deal of fun for those with a penchant for the slasher sub-genre, with creative kills and blood-splattered fun.
7/10
Summary: 2019's Child's Play demonstrates how to successfully recontexualise a past-its-prime property for a contemporary audience, crafting a simple yet effectively scary and entertaining horror with an impressive thematic bite.
When struggling single mother Karen (Aubrey Plaza) gets her hands on the revolutionary high-tech doll Buddi for her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman), he soon realises that young
Child's Play screenplay is smarter and sharper than it had any right to be. While the narrative developments are hardly the most original or innovative in the world, there is more substance to its thematic musing than initally meets the eye. Free thought, media desensitisation and consumerism find themselves at the forefront of Tyler Burton Smith's tightly-crafted script, which successfully reconditions the Chucky concept for these contemporary times. Playing almost like a feature-length episode of Black Mirror - with striking, discernible similarities to the most recent, Miley Cyrus-starring Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, only far superior - this tech-fuelled genre flick takes a knife to our current-day obsession and reliance on media and gadgetry to largely impressive effect.
Klevberg's direction is slick and compact, with the set pieces combining violent terror and twisted humour in gleefully-indulgent abundance. Well-staged kills and an impressively-sustained intensity ensures that these 90 minutes race by, with only the transition into the final act facing any pacing difficulty. Klevberg spends time introducing the characters and developing our connection to them so that by the time they face a real danger, you are rooting for them. It's a surprisingly rare feat in modern horror filmmaking and Klevberg deserves plaudits for achieving this so confidently, with his clear vision for the film evident from the offset.
Child's Play's killer casting is arguably its most impressive element. Gabriel Bateman is a real find, truly impressive in conveying a childlike fear and desperation as he witnesses Chucky's reign of terror manifest. For such a younger performer, there is an astonishing amount of depth to his performance, with Bateman assured in his depiction of the teenage outsider. Aubrey Plaza, in the most Aubrey Plaza role imaginable, uses her dry, deadpan trademark humour marvellously, while Brian Tyree Henry imbues a real sensitivity into his performance in what could've been a throwaway, archytypical detective role, giving the film an additional layer of emotion and resonance.
Child's Play won't win awards for narrative originality but sometimes executing something simple well is more than enough and the filmmakers take the Chucky concept, contextualise its for a contemporary audience and run with it, demonstrating how to successfully reboot a past-its-prime franchise. With a heady concoction of horror, emotion and comedy, Child's Play is a great deal of fun for those with a penchant for the slasher sub-genre, with creative kills and blood-splattered fun.
7/10
Summary: 2019's Child's Play demonstrates how to successfully recontexualise a past-its-prime property for a contemporary audience, crafting a simple yet effectively scary and entertaining horror with an impressive thematic bite.