The new reimagining of Child’s Play is being released tomorrow and it’s certainly a controversial reboot. The movie has not only changed the look of the villainous Chucky, but also completely changed his origin story. In the run up to the release fans have certainly been sharing their skepticism about the picture, and original Child’s Play creators have not been quiet about their distaste towards it. That being said, critics reviews are in and they’re not bad at all.
At the time of writing, Child’s Play had a 68% score on Rotten Tomatoes which is actually good, and much higher than I had anticipated. The reboot follows Karen (Aubrey Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll, unaware of its more sinister nature. Of course, the sinister nature of the doll is no longer due to it being host to the spirit of a serial killer, but now it is because it had been tampered with and the safety measures had been taken off.
Here’s what impressed critics…
- The Age: “The movie has something for everyone, even for those who deplore the corrupting influence of pop culture on today’s youth.”
- The Wrap: “They just want to make you laugh, and then make you jump, before you cringe. They succeed, to some extent, on all three counts.”
- Little White Lies: “this is still a cut above your average horror reboot.”
- The Guardian: “Child’s Play bubbles with entertaining bad taste.”
- Rendy Reviews: “Though it’s not developed enough storytelling-wise and often plays safe with its ideas, Child’s Play (2019) takes the initial tone of the original series, adds an updated burst of energy and thrills, and delivers a fun 90-minute horror rollercoaster that keeps you entertained. It’s a killer time at the theater that many will enjoy.”
Here’s what didn’t go down so well…
- New York Times: “In trying to build a smarter Chucky, the filmmakers have assembled something unfathomably dumb.”
- Entertainment Weekly: “Interesting story threads (such as Chucky’s attempts to set up Andy as the most likely culprit for his own crimes) barely have time to materialize before they get bumped out of the way to make room for the big climax, which is just one example of the film’s pacing issues.”
- Battleship Pretension: “But, of course, this isn’t just a movie; it’s a horror movie. And while it is occasionally grisly and creepy, I was never on the edge of my seat. As such, I was free to appreciate the film’s finer details, of which there are many. Unfortunately, terror isn’t one of them. “
- The Hollywood News: “It all ends up feeling very much like the Halloween episode of The Simpsonsduring which the Krusty doll has been accidentally set to evil. That in itself is a parody of the original Chucky films, but one that manages to capture the essence much more so than this.”
- Den of Geek: “despite all these one-liners and details, the movie still doesn’t work overall.”
So it looks like the new Child’s Play is certainly an entertaining watch, but it would seem that it lacks the element of terror that the original film thrived on.
What do you think of the reviews? Are you going to watch the movie? Let us know in the comments!