‘Child’s Play’ Review
Considering what a mediocre year 2019 was for mainstream horror, I didn’t walk into 2019’s reboot of Child’s Play with big expectations. That turned out to be a wise decision as I did find myself having fun while watching it and not being all that disappointed after it ended. Sure it’s hard to say that the movie is anything to tell friends about but there also isn’t need for bashing.
As a film it’s a mixed bag since the elements keep balancing each other out. Things that make it shine are led by a couple enjoyable performances from Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky and Aubrey Plaza as the hot-young-mom Karen. Hamill is an amazing voice actor and after lending his skills to many notable characters in past, he once again delivers as Chucky. He definitely puts his own little twist on it but it never comes off overworked. Plaza brings her deadpan delivery to the table which is kind of refreshing considering how larger-than-life most horror moms are nowadays. The gory stuff on the other hand was surprisingly well done when compared to other films that have this many kids in them, usually they are a bit more safe. Other than that most of the jokes land pretty well, the story moves forward nicely and the score is fairly original, though it fades out as the movie goes on.
There are however many bits and pieces that keep it from being a fun, constant rewatch. Hamill’s and Plaza’s work is balanced very noticeably by David Lewis as Shane and Ty Consiglio as Pugg. Lewis’ performance seems like lazy line-reading while Consiglio overacts way too much especially since he’s paired with more controlled actors in Gabriel Bateman and Beatrice Kitsos. The screenplay is fairly juvenile due to many outlandish scenarios involving especially Andy (played by Bateman) and how it introduces most of the poorly written characters. Overall Child’s Play and director Lars Klevberg's vision feel very scattered and consisting of puzzle pieces from different puzzles.
Smileys: Mark Hamill, Aubrey Plaza
Frowneys: David Lewis
It’s a fun, bad movie. You’re not probably going to hate your time with it.
3.0/5
