Child’s Play

This reboot of the Chucky franchise serves up a different origin story for the maniacal doll. Instead of the voodoo curse that sent the soul of a Chicago-based serial killer into a child’s toy that appeared in seven films (1988 to 2017), the new Child’s Play opts for a more technological explanation. Kaslan Corporation is a huge company that operates a sweatshop in Vietnam where AI-enhanced “Buddi” dolls are assembled. An angry, abused worker deliberately changes one Buddi doll’s computer-chip safety settings by deleting its moral programming (relating to learning and violence) before committing suicide. This defective, deranged doll (voiced by Mark Hamill) winds up stateside in a Walmart-like superstore, landing in the hands of struggling single mom Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza), who gives it to her lonely adolescent son Andy (Gabriel Michael Bateman), who is coping with an auditory deficiency. The ginger-haired doll seems all-too-eager to become Andy’s best friend/constant companion, helping him with his homework and joining him when he watches Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. But soon that rogue smart-doll becomes out-of-control Chucky, who can wirelessly connect to all of the other Kaslan robotic devices: drones, cameras, modem software, TVs, automobiles, etc.—wreaking carnage everywhere. Eventually, a local detective (Brian Tyree Henry) becomes involved. Based on the mean-spirited character created by Don Mancini, Norwegian director Lars Klevberg’s savage saga of a sociopathic doll is a gore-filled slasher that will likely appeal to franchise fans. A strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)