How dependent are we on our technology? Furthermore, as we become reliant on our phones and devices to perform what were once everyday tasks, what would happen if something were to go awry in the programming? These questions are posed in the new reboot of the classic horror franchise, “Child’s Play”, starring Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry, and Mark Hamil as the voice of Chucky.
The film takes place in the present day, a single mother Karen Barclay, played by Plaza, works at a big box store to make ends meet and provide for her son Andy, played by Gabriel Bateman. While working she processes a return on a brand new “Buddi” doll (with a wireless router symbol to dot the “i”) and decides to bring it home to Andy for his birthday. Little did she know, this particular doll’s AI engineering had been altered, by a disgruntled worker at the Kaslan Corporation manufacturing plant, and set to be able to carry out dangerous and negative acts in response to its surroundings. As Andy shows his new friend, Chucky, his rough neighborhood and voices his disdain for his Mom’s jerk of a boyfriend, Shane, Chucky gets some new ideas on how to keep Andy his best friend forever.
This evolved new version of Chucky, voiced with equal parts menace and heart by Hamil, is a bit more modern than the original film, with total access to its owner’s cloud and home entertainment and security systems to, you know, gain their trust and friendship. All of this is set in the opening scene of the film with an infomercial from the Kaslan Corporation unveiling the new doll. This intro is a shocking bit of foreshadowing for the viewer, and even took the film’s star Brian Tyree Henry, by surprise upon reading the script.
“When they gave us the script, it wasn’t called ‘Child’s Play’ at the beginning,” says Brian Tyree Henry, who stars as Detective Mike Norris whose mother lives on the same hall as the Barclays in the film. “It was called the ‘Kaslan Project’,” remembers the Emmy and Tony-nominated actor, “And, so, I’m reading the story not really knowing exactly what it’s about and I’m going through it and I was like… And I see the name Chucky and I’m like, no way. There’s no way they’re doing this, right? Are they really gonna do it?”
Oh, and they really did it. The film, directed by Norwegian director Lars Klevberg and written by Tyler Burton Smith, brings both the camp and scares in equal measure making for one of the most purely fun fright fests to hit the theaters this summer. But while the film veers into slasher territory, it definitely sends home a message that in order to create and maintain relationships, you need to work on nurturing a loving environment to set sqan example. After all, Chucky wasn’t programmed to be evil from the start. It is the hostile environment at home that throws him off of the deep edge.
“That’s why I kind of like the horror genre so much,” says Henry with a laugh, “because, in the horror genre, they literally are commentaries on us as a people, in our society. Horror movies literally reflect kind of where we are as human beings on this earth, sometimes. And turns that mirror back on ourselves and be like, ‘oh sh-t man, maybe we’re actually kind of awful and we need to make some kind of change?’ But at the same time it is, the thing I love the most about our ‘Child’s Play’ is that it’s really fun at the end of the day. You find yourself rooting for certain, for murder sometimes I’m like, you did that you didn’t necessarily think you wanted it just… It brings us together in a way.
‘Child’s Play’ hits theaters Friday, June 21.
