A disgruntled employee at the toy factory manufacturing the Buddi high-tech smart doll does a bit of reprogramming to remove the learning limiters and safety nets on the chip of the doll he's working on. The doll winds up in Chicago where single mum Karen (Aubrey Plaza) brings him home for her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman), as a birthday present. As Karen and Andy have recently moved in, Andy is looking to meet kids his own age, and despite thinking the doll (Mark Hamill), who christens itself Chucky, is childish, he and it bond and eventually he meets some other kids in the building.
The doll learns from the world around it, however, but without the safety software in place Chucky begins to display some disturbing behaviour including murdering the family cat after it scratches Andy, and coming at the kids with a knife after seeing a serial killer movie on TV. Unfortunately, no one believes Andy's warnings and Chucky steps up his game dramatically before the adults begin to take note.
I'm a big fan of the original franchise, specifically the original film and, of course, "Bride..." and "Seed of Chucky" which are extremely good fun. Its difficult to separate this film from that franchise, but if you're able to the film itself is a fun ride, if not exactly flawless.
I felt Hamill's voice was underutilised and could have definitely been used more. The doll is pretty sympathetic, too. It's not evil, it's just doing what it's programmed to do from what it's been exposed to. Sure it does some vile stuff, but unlike the Charles Lee Ray we know from old, this Chucky is more of a chaotic character than a bad guy. The likelihood of a factory programming individual dolls is also pretty... sketchy. But I guess it has to glitch somehow.
The plot is more "Small Soldiers" than Chucky, but as a standalone film it was entertaining. The tone is a little odd; it doesn't seem to know what audience it's aiming for. The gore is pretty good and the acting is strong. The kids specifically give a great performance, and overall, I think if it had been its own thing, and not a reboot of a well-loved series, it would have likely been better received.
[Image: Orion Pictures]
Hani
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