Child’s Play (2019): A Case Study in Missing the Point

Like a lot of iconic horror franchises, the intellectual property rights of Child's Play and the character of Chucky himself are as messy as one of Charles Lee Ray's crime scenes. Different studios and distributors have resulted in two competing Chucky franchises, one with a series on SyFy and another we last saw on the big screen in 2019. The more mainstream Child's Play from 2019, featuring the voice of Mark Hamill, might've had a bigger budget than Chucky creator Don Mancini's campier continuity starring franchise stalwarts Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly, but it failed for one simple reason. The film fundamentally misunderstood it's main character.

With Chucky now back on TV, it's worth taking a look back at the critically panned big screen installment from 2019 as a case study in missing the point. While the film featured a talking doll with cherubic looks and red hair who loved murder, that wasn't enough to be an effective Chucky movie. We dug into three crucial ways that the film glossed over the essence of Chucky.

This video was written by Charlie Lopresto and edited by Tom Jogensen.
This video was originally published on CineFix - IGN Movies and TV on 10/12/21.

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