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Child's Play (2019 film)

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Child's Play
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLars Klevberg
Screenplay byTyler Burton Smith
Based on
Child's Play
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBrendan Uegama
Edited byTom Elkins
Music byBear McCreary
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 19, 2019 (2019-06-19) (Paris)
  • June 21, 2019 (2019-06-21) (United States and Canada)
Running time
90 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[3]
Box office$44.9 million[3]

Child's Play is a 2019 horror film directed by Lars Klevberg from a screenplay written by Tyler Burton Smith. Serving both as a remake of the 1988 eponymous film and a reboot of the Child's Play franchise, the film stars Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, and Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky. It follows a family terrorized by a high-tech doll that malfunctions and becomes subsequently hostile and murderous.

Plans for a Child's Play remake began in the early 2010s, with original Chucky voice actor Brad Dourif set to reprise the role. However, it was turned down and the project entered development hell. By 2018, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced a remake with a different creative team than the original film series. Klevberg signed on as director from a script by Burton Smith, saying in an interview he drew inspiration from the 1982 science fiction film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Principal photography for the film began in September 2018 and wrapped in November in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Child's Play premiered in Paris on June 18, 2019, before being theatrically released in the United States and Canada three days later by Orion Pictures through United Artists Releasing and Elevation Pictures respectively. The film grossed $44.9 million worldwide against a $10 million budget and received mixed reviews from critics, with the Rotten Tomatoes' consensus calling it "predictably gruesome" and "generally entertaining".

Plot

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Multinational Kaslan Corporation has just launched Buddi, a revolutionary line of high-tech dolls designed to be lifelong companions to their owners, learning from their surroundings, and acting accordingly via artificial intelligence. It quickly becomes a worldwide success. At a Kaslan assembly factory in Vietnam, an overworked employee is verbally abused by his supervisor. In retaliation, he sabotages a Buddi doll by disabling all of its safety protocols before committing suicide.

In Chicago, widowed retail clerk Karen Barclay and her twelve-year-old hearing-impaired son Andy have moved into a new apartment. In an attempt to cheer Andy up about the relocation and the presence of her new boyfriend Shane, Karen blackmails her boss to procure a defective Buddi doll; it is revealed to be the tampered one. Once activated, the doll names himself "Chucky" and becomes attached to Andy. Chucky helps him befriend two other children, Falyn and Pugg, but also begins to display violent tendencies.

Chucky kills the Barclays' pet cat after it scratches Andy and then terrorizes Shane, which leads him to rudely confront Andy. Misunderstanding Andy's pleas for Shane to disappear, Chucky follows him to his home, where it is revealed that Shane is married with children. Chucky breaks Shane's legs and activates a cultivator that scalps and kills him. He delivers Shane's skinned face as a gift to a horrified Andy.

As police detective Mike Norris begins an investigation, Andy, Falyn, and Pugg disable Chucky and throw him into the garbage. Voyeur electrician Gabe finds and fixes the doll, who then kills him with a table saw. Meanwhile, Andy fails to convince Karen that the doll has become murderous. She takes him along to her job at the local shopping mall to keep an eye on him. When Chucky kills Norris' mother Doreen in a controlled car crash, Norris suspects that Andy is responsible for the murders and arrests him just as Chucky takes full control of the mall.

Chaos is unleashed as employees and customers are brutally killed by rampaging Buddi dolls. Norris is wounded amid the massacre while Andy and his friends escape. However, Andy is forced to return when Chucky reveals that he is holding Karen hostage in the mall's storage. Andy saves his mother before Norris shoots Chucky down and Karen beheads him, both realizing Andy was telling the truth. As the police and paramedics tend to Karen, Norris, and other survivors outside the mall, Andy and his friends burn Chucky's body in a nearby alleyway.

In the aftermath of Chucky's killing spree, Kaslan CEO Henry Kaslan announces a massive Buddi dolls recall. As one of the dolls is placed into storage, his eyes flicker red and he smiles, revealing that Chucky transferred his artificial intelligence into a new body.

Cast

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Production

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In the early 2010s, before Curse of Chucky started its development, a planned remake for the original 1988 Child's Play was announced, with Brad Dourif set to reprise his role as Chucky. There is not much information about the remake, but it was subsequently cancelled. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced the development of a Child's Play remake in July 2018, with a different creative team than the original film series.[4]

Polaroid director Lars Klevberg signed on, with a script by Tyler Burton Smith, following his work in Quantum Break. It and It Chapter Two collaborative team Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg served as producers.[5] Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza, and Brian Tyree Henry were announced to star in September,[6][7] followed by Ty Consiglio and Beatrice Kitsos in November.[8] Mark Hamill was cast to voice Chucky, replacing Dourif.[9] Grahame-Smith elaborated on Hamill's casting in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

We asked, thinking there was no way it would ever happen, and he said, 'Yes'. He was the first choice, a big swing, and it just happened... I mean, first of all, to have an icon reimagining an iconic character is an incredible gift, and to have an actor and a voice performer who is as celebrated as Mark Hamill, and as gifted as he is, I mean it's incredible. He's taking on this challenge with a huge amount of energy and really come at it in a very serious way. And it's really something to watch him create a character, and sort of embody it, and I get to sit there and watch Mark Hamill record. It's just incredible.[10]

Principal photography began on September 17 and wrapped on November 8, 2018, in Vancouver, Canada.[11] Reshoots occurred on December 15–16 and in April 2019.[12][13] MastersFX, a visual effects company, took six weeks to prepare and assemble seven practical animatronic puppets, each with interchangeable arms and heads that performed a variety of required actions on set,[14] with some help from Pixomondo, who provided the CGI for the film.[15] Bear McCreary composed the score through a "toy orchestra" inspired by "Chucky's toy-store origins" with toy pianos, hurdy-gurdies, accordions, plastic guitars and otamatones.[16] The soundtrack was released by Waxwork Records on vinyl which featured liner notes by the composer.[17]

Marketing

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The first official image of Chucky was released on September 29, 2018.[18] The teaser poster was released on November 12, revealing that for the film's adaptation the Good Guys dolls would be called Buddy referencing the My Buddy doll that influenced the original character's design.[19] A WiFi symbol over the "i" in "Buddi" teases the character's hi-tech functions, being similar to robot toys, such as Furby and RoboSapien.[20] Orion Pictures launched a marketing website for the fictional Kaslan Corporation, ahead of the film's release.[21] The first trailer premiered on February 8, 2019, with the release of The Prodigy.[22]

The film's theatrical poster and a second trailer were released in April 2019.[23] A behind-the-scenes video was uploaded to Orion Pictures' YouTube channel on May 16, which shows how Chucky was brought to life for the film.[24][25] Beginning in April, several posters alluding to Toy Story 4 were released, featuring Chucky brutally killing characters of the animated franchise, using the Toy Story 4's teaser posters' background. Both films had June 21, 2019 releases.[26][27][28][29] On June 24, a poster was unveiled to coincide with the release of Annabelle Comes Home, featuring Chucky killing the Annabelle doll.[30]

Release

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Theatrical

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The film was released in the United States on June 21, 2019.[31][19] It is the first film from Orion Pictures to be released through United Artists Releasing.[32]

Home media

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The film was released digitally on September 10, and on Blu-ray and DVD on September 24 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[33]

Reception

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Box office

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Child's Play grossed $29.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $15.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $44.9 million, against a production budget of $10 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, Child's Play was released alongside Toy Story 4 and Anna, and was projected to gross $16–18 million from 3,007 theaters in its opening weekend.[34] It made $6.1 million on its first day, including $1.65 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $14.1 million, and finished second, behind Toy Story 4.[35] The film dropped 68.6% in its second weekend to $4.4 million, falling to eighth.[36]

Critical response

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Child's Play updates an '80s horror icon for the Internet of Things era, with predictably gruesome – and generally entertaining – results."[37] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, tied with Seed of Chucky for the lowest score of the series.[35]

Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "nastier, more playful, and just as good if not better than the original film."[39] Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film a positive review, with 4/5 stars, calling it a "razor-sharp and exquisitely gruesome toy story".[40] Jeremy Dick from MovieWeb also liked the film, writing "Child's Play is the lowest horror movie remake and should now serve as a prime example of what others should do. It's highly entertaining and tons of fun, and I say that as a huge fan of the original."[41]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing, "MIA is the original's perverse originality... in a misguided satire of the digital era and millennial consumerism".[42] Variety's Peter Debruge was also negative, stating, "This is the new normal for horror movies: The screenplays have to seem hipper than the premise they represent, which puts Child's Play in the weird position of pointing out and poking fun at all the ways it fails to make sense."[43]

Possible sequel

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At WonderCon, Grahame-Smith said that if the film does well, they would love to make a sequel.[44] Director Lars Klevberg discussed his ideas for a possible sequel.

"For me, this was just trying to make this the best movie possible. Like, never foreshadowing any detailed plan of where you want to go as a franchise. But yeah, for me I think I love the Buddi bear concept".[45]

In July 2020, Klevberg said he would love to make a sequel, but due to Don Mancini creating the Chucky television series, it was unlikely.[46]

References

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  1. ^ "Catalogue - Elevation Pictures". Elevation Pictures. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Child's Play". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Child's Play (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Kit, Borys (July 3, 2018). "'Child's Play' Remake in the Works With 'Polaroid' Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  5. ^ Sneider, Jeff (July 3, 2018). "Child's Play Reboot In the Works at MGM From It Producers". collider.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  6. ^ Sneider, Jeff (September 19, 2018). "Exclusive: Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry in Talks to Star in 'Child's Play' Reboot". collider.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  7. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 20, 2018). "Gabriel Bateman To Star As Andy In MGM's 'Child's Play' Remake, Joining Aubrey Plaza & Brian Tyree Henry". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "Beatrice Kitsos & Ty Consiglio Join MGM's Child's Play Reboot". ComingSoon.net. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  9. ^ "Mark Hamill Is Voicing Chucky In Child's Play, And His Announcement Was Perfect". Cinema Blend. 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  10. ^ Collis, Clark (March 31, 2019). "Mark Hamill was 'first choice' to voice Chucky in Child's Play remake". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  11. ^ Gittins, Susan (November 9, 2018). "BIG MOVIE: Lars Klevberg's CHILD'S PLAY Reboot Wraps Filming in Vancouver". movies-review143.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Gittins, Susan (December 13, 2018). "RESHOOTS: Lars Klevberg's CHILD'S PLAY Back For Reshoots in Vancouver on December 15th & 16th". hollywoodnorth.buzz. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Michael Bateman, Gabriel [@gabrielmichaelbateman] (2019-04-13). "It's been a solid week.💚 #childsplay". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24 – via Instagram.
  14. ^ Collis, Clark (December 19, 2018). "'Child's Play' remake teased with behind-the-scenes photo of new Chucky". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "CHILD'S PLAY - The Art of VFX". artofvfx.com. 19 April 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Evangelista, Chris (April 10, 2019). "'Child's Play' Remake Score Will Be Composed by Bear McCreary Using a 'Toy Orchestra'". /Film. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Gervais, Jay (24 June 2019). "Bear McCreary's Child's Play Score is Headed to Vinyl". Dead Entertainment. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  18. ^ Collis, Clark (September 21, 2018). "See the first look photo of new Chucky in Child's Play remake". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Child's Play Reboot Gets Summer 2019 Release Date & Poster". ScreenRant.com. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  20. ^ Santangelo, Nick (2018-11-12). "Child's Play: New Poster, Release Date Revealed for Chucky Reboot". IGN. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  21. ^ "Child's Play Reboot Website Gives Chucky Some Modern Upgrades". Cbr.com. 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  22. ^ "New Child's Play Clip Promises that Buddi is 'More Than a Toy... He's Your Best Friend'". Syfy. 4 February 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  23. ^ @ChildsPlayMovie (April 16, 2019). "Meet the new CHUCKY. Full trailer coming Thursday. #ChildsPlayMovie pic.twitter.com/m2Jivm3FxW" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "CHILD'S PLAY - Behind the Scenes: "Bringing Chucky to Life"". Orion Pictures. May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Fiduccia, Christopher (May 18, 2019). "Child's Play BTS Video Shows How the New Chucky Was Created". ScreenRant. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  26. ^ Squires, John (April 30, 2019). "New 'Child's Play' Poster Has a Little Fun With the Shared 'Toy Story 4' Release Date". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  27. ^ Joyce, Kathleen (May 1, 2019). "New 'Child's Play' poster trolls upcoming 'Toy Story 4' movie". Fox News Channel. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  28. ^ Russian, Ale (May 1, 2019). "Child's Play Trolls Toy Story 4 with Bloody New Poster". People. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  29. ^ Collis, Clark (May 21, 2019). "Chucky barbecues a beloved Toy Story character in new Child's Play image". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  30. ^ Squires, John (June 24, 2019). "Doll Wars: New 'Child's Play' Poster Takes a Stab at 'Annabelle Comes Home'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  31. ^ "Child's Play teaser: 'I think Chucky did something...'". FULLINFORMATION. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  32. ^ Ellingson, Annlee (February 5, 2019). "MGM, Annapurna revive United Artists for joint distribution venture". L.A. Biz. American City Business Journals. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "'Child's Play' Remake Brings Your New Best Buddi Home in September". Bloody Disgusting. 13 August 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  34. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Tartaglione, Nancy (June 18, 2019). "'Toy Story 4' Will Cure Summer Sequelitis With $260M Global Infinity-And-Beyond Bow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  35. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 23, 2019). "'Toy Story 4' Eyeing 3rd Best Animated Pic Opening Of All-Time With $123M+, But Did Disney Leave Money On The Table?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  36. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 30, 2019). "'Toy Story 4' Holds Down No. 1 With $58M+ Before 'Spider-Man' Swoops In, 'Annabelle 3' Stabs 31M+ 5-Day, 'Yesterday' $17M+ – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  37. ^ "Child's Play (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. 21 June 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  38. ^ "Child's Play (2019) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  39. ^ Allen, Nick (June 20, 2019). "Child's Play Movie Review & Film Summary (2019)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  40. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (June 20, 2019). "Child's Play review – a razor-sharp and exquisitely gruesome toy story". The Guardian.
  41. ^ "Why 'Child's Play' Is the worst Horror Movie Remake". Movieweb. June 24, 2019.
  42. ^ Travers, Peter (June 21, 2019). "'Child's Play': Even Aubrey Plaza Can't Save This Botched Reboot". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  43. ^ Debruge, Peter (June 20, 2019). "Film Review: 'Child's Play'". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  44. ^ Konopka, Matt (April 1, 2019). "[WonderCon 2019] 'Child's Play' Panel Opens the Toy Chest with Big Reveals and Some Intriguing New Questions". Bloody Disgusting.
  45. ^ Burwick, Kevin (June 23, 2019). "Child's Play Remake Director Talks Possible Sequel Storyline". MovieWeb.
  46. ^ Fiduccia, Christopher (August 2, 2020). "'Childs Play 2' Reboot Sequel Lars Klevberg Update". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
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