Our first look at Child’s Play reboot/remake/reimaging/whatever you want to call it is finally here. And it is surely one to get fans talking.
The spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray will be absent this go around (we will miss you, Brad Dourif), as the filmmakers have decided to take a different route and make Chucky’s murderous tendencies the result of a hack into an automated robo-doll.
This will no doubt ruffle some feathers with fans of the classic series. But will a new generation accept Chucky as an adorable miniature Terminator instead of a wise-cracking midget serial killer? Only time will tell. But for now, we have the trailer.
The trailer opens with with the playful Harry Nilsson tune, “Best Friend” as we see the doll make its way from the manufacturing facility to young Andy as a Christmas present from mother Karen (played by the amazingy talented Aubrey Plaza). The tune deteriorates into menacing drone as the trailer cycles through clips of Chucky creeping about, freaking people out, and doing what he does best (seriously injuring or killing people). The montage ends with a scene of poor Andy finding his mother tied up on some kind of mechanical contraption, zooming into Aubrey Plaza’s severely bloodshot eyeball. Someone please get this poor woman some Visine!
This trailer is short and sweet. We don’t hear a word from Chucky of even get to see his face. Which may actually work in the film’s favor (the old Jaws technique of not showing the monster until the end). This giver off a reminder of the ominous, small scale feel of the original film. Most of the the setting takes place in the small home of Karen and Andy. Chucky remaining silent and inanimate for most of the film. Building tension for the inevitable reveal of the demon doll’s true nature.
In what we saw, they did their job establishing the right tone. Whether this translates to the rest of the film remains to be seen. Modern Horror movie remakes are notorious for being soulless cash grabs. With the rare occurrence of them turning out to be a creative new taking that breathes new life into a classic franchise. This trailer makes it hard to determine which is the case for the upcoming film. So I think it’s safe to be open minded for the time being. Child’s Play releases nationwide June 21, 2019.
-Brandon Woodliff
