CHILD'S PLAY (2019) - FILM REVIEW

DIR: Lars Klevberg
STARS: Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Mark Hamill, Bryan Tyree Henry, David Lewis

The remake trend of the noughties seems to have calmed down in recent years - and when you look at the quality of such stinkers as reimaginings of A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Fog, and Prom Night, that seems for the best.

However another iconic Eighties genre flick gets the remake treatment this week, in the form of definitive killer doll slasher, Child’s Play.

The story is a little simpler than that of the original, seeing a disgruntled factory worker disengage the safety protocols of the latest must-have toy, a Buddi doll. After messily ending his own life, the doll is dispatched to a sales outlet where single mum Karen (Aubrey Plaza) picks up the defective toy for her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman), who is struggling to make friends in their new home.

At first the doll’s faulty AI makes it amusing, almost sweet, but as it follows its primary objective to be Andy’s ‘best buddy ‘til the very end’ the people in the around the boy soon find themselves in terrible danger.

The problem with remaking a film such as Child’s Play is that it always raises the question ‘Why bother?’ The original was, and remains, a quality genre offering. So why return to it?

In this regard the story, written by Tyler Burton Smith, deserves some credit as it at least mixes things up and makes things different. The Chucky character is far different to that we are used to, while an older Andy opens up a host of interesting storytelling options.

I’d also like to praise the humour throughout the film. It manages to poke wry fun at its outlandish premise without ever diminishing it, and for the most part, the gags land.

It helps that the movie has such a strong cast. Parks & Rec’s Plaza is fantastic, as is young Bateman. They are ably supported by a host of strong actors, most notably the incredibly likeable Bryan Tyree Henry.

Now, there was a large outcry from fans when it was announced that the remake would not involve franchise creator Don Mancini or original Chucky Brad Dourif. However, by signing up Star Wars’ Mark Hamill to voice the deadly doll, the filmmakers really did strike gold.

Animation fans will already be familiar with Hamill’s impressive body of voice acting work, but those expecting a variation of his Joker voice will be surprised. Instead he almost channels Barney the Dinosaur, giving his Chucky a more child-like demeanour. This is all part of the film’s biggest strength - the doll is a sympathetic character at times, acting like he does not through cruelty or spite, but because something inside his head is broken and simply can’t be fixed. It’s a weighty theme, and one that really works.

Of course, not everything in director Lars Klevberg’s offering is quite so successful. Chucky may be an oddly compelling character but some of the sleazy side characters are decidedly unpleasant and seem to exist purely to bump up Chucky’s body count. As a result a number of the stalk and slash scenes feel like padding and at times a 90minute film seems to drag.

Furthermore, after building to a very strong climax with a cool setting and a pretty great new element of danger introduced, the actual final showdown feels rather anticlimactic.

In conclusion, Child’s Play is a fun film that uses a great cast and a wise decision to do something different with its source material. It provides laughs, a few well worked scares, and even a little unexpected heart. It’s not perfect, but those of you looking for entertainment could do far worse than this.