A mother gives her son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature.
Created by Don Mancini, Chucky the Killer Doll has had quite an epic cinematic journey, with no less than seven installments in the “Child’s Play” saga. What started off as Tom Holland’s straight-up horror flick (albeit with its tongue planted firmly in cheek) gradually morphed into a parody of itself, with titles like “Seed of Chucky,” “Curse of Chucky,” and especially “Cult of Chucky” devolving into straight-up camp, neither shocking nor amusing. There’s only so much you can squeeze out of the “possessed doll” concept, even if you provide said doll with an evil wife, an offspring and an entire cult.
These days, however, dolls are back with a (literal) vengeance. “Annabelle Comes Home” next weekend, after two highly successful films and appearances in “The Conjuring” universe. Director Lars Klevberg and screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith follow in her tiny jagged footsteps, revamping Chucky for the current generation. Call him Chucky 2.0. This Chucky does not possess the soul of a murderer. Instead, he possesses an Alexa-like functionality-gone-wrong; he is a technical malfunction, a purposeful glitch implanted by a disgruntled Vietnamese factory worker, a personification of our collective fears of technology turning against us. Despite a few glitches of its own, “Child’s Play” is more shrewd, frightening – and plain fun – than it has any right to be.
Klevberg and Smith wisely keep the plot simple. Single mother Karen (Aubrey Plaza) attempts to bond with her angsty son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) by getting him the brazenly creepy Chucky doll as a means to alleviate his loneliness. Little does Andy know, it’s a “refurbished,” corrupted Chucky, and activating him leads to an obsessive friendship that rapidly escalates to a demented codependency.
In a way, the filmmakers have devised a cautionary tale about adolescence, acting upon your darkest prepubescent desires. Chucky solves all of Andy’s problems: the annoying cat (beware animal lovers!), mom’s borderline-abusive boyfriend (David Lewis), the creepy voyeur who installs cameras in Andy’s building and spies on everyone… but at what expense? The finale, which takes place at a tech/toy store, is suitably bloody and berserk.
The film’s themes of the perils of technology, as seen through the prism (eyes?) of a technological toy, have recently been scrutinized in the “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” episode of “Black Mirror” (some of the similarities are uncanny). “Child’s Play,” however – and I never thought I’d say this – is more concise, fun and unabashedly gory than the entire dismal fifth season of the otherwise-great show. The deaths – when they finally arrive (the film takes a lil’ while to get going) – are gorier and more shocking than you’d expect; the humor is mostly on-point, and the throwback-1980s vibe works to the film’s advantage.
The casting’s on-point, too. Aubrey Plaza can do no wrong, and here plays a relatable, hip heroine, wrestling with her affection for her son and her desire to piece her life together, “Atlanta”’s Brian Tyree Henry provides hefty support as Detective Mike Norris, Karen and Andy’s neighbor who lives with his mother (a scene-stealing Carlease Burke). Kudos to Gabriel Bateman, who carries the film on his fragile shoulders, and Mark Hamill, who replaces Brad Dourif’s sardonic, outspoken Chucky for a more reserved, “malfunctioned” version of the character.
Sure, there are stumbles – like in your typical horror flick, characters do dumb things and there are plot contrivances that forcefully lead us to the final battle. Yet there’s a Spielbergian feel to the proceedings, from the POV of a young boy juxtaposed against the grisliness, to the “Gremlin”-like finale and overall macabre tone. Whether “Child’s Play” reintroduces Chucky to millennials remains to be seen – but it sure gives it a damn good try.
In theaters Friday, June 21st
