CHILD'S PLAY [2019] (REVIEW)

Dir. Lars Klevberg

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

CHILD'S PLAY [2019] will have you quoting Don Corleone as you scream to the screen "Look how you massacred my boy!" As far as remakes go, the 2019 version of the 1988 classic does the right things, very wrong.

Modernizing the doll with Wi-Fi compatibility allows for a wealth of destructive ways for the Chucky doll to kill those around him, unfortunately it's all saved for the last 10 minutes by which time any element of enjoyment is drained quicker than batteries on Christmas Day.

Messing with such a fan favourite is a hard game for anyone and for those who've succeeded (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, EVIL DEAD, MANIAC, SCREAM), many have failed (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2022], FRIDAY THE 13TH, HALLOWEEN [2008], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and unfortunately CHILD'S PLAY falls in the list of the latter as a soulless and dull film where the original was the complete opposite.

The CHUCKY series has done well and meandered between terrifying (CULT OF CHUCKY) to downright hilarious (SEED OF CHUCKY) and yet has still managed to capture the hearts of horror fans across the globe even making a return in surprise TV hit CHICKY. It's even stranger then that while the cannon films and series continue, this popped up to distract fans and try and revamp the killer doll into something scarier, and uglier only to fear fans from any future instalments. Fortunately, the canon series has all but eclipsed this stain on the franchise.