An entertaining movie, but **SPOILERS** **SPOILERS** , maybe
Okay, just to start things off, I skipped this one when it was in theaters, because I was against the idea of remaking Child's Play (1988). The idea of a doll being possessed by the soul of a dead serial killer made it scary enough. The fact that he was enjoying what he was doing and was well aware of what he was inflicting upon people was disturbing. Plus, Brad Dourif was perfect as the voice of Chucky. Also, he was seemingly unstoppable and even after he died (multiple times), nothing could keep him down. Chucky will always be one of my favorite horror movie icons.
Fast forward to present day. Every single movie under the sun seems to be getting either remade or rebooted. Even the classics, like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and even Nightmare on Elm Street, got the unasked-for reboot treatment. But at least they stayed true to the concept of a seemingly unstoppable killer that just killed because he just enjoyed doing it. When I heard Child's Play was getting remade, I initially thought that it was not going to get past pre-production. When it was revealed that Chucky was not going to be a doll possessed by a serial killer's soul, but instead a rogue AI, that's when I chose to totally skip it all together.
Last week, I decided for no reason to give it a chance based on what people were saying, that it was good as a standalone movie. So I sat down and gave it a chance. I still don't regret skipping it in theaters, but I will admit it was an entertaining concept. It just would've been a better movie if, instead of doing it as a Child's Play remake, it could have been about an AI toy that malfunctions, becomes self-aware, and start mimicking things that it's heard and saw. Plus, instead of making it look the way it did, it could have been made to look like a teddy bear, a harmless dog or even a cat. That would make it look more unnerving, that it looks like something that a child can trust. Most of all, it didn't have to name itself Chucky. Buddi would have been a perfect name for it, considering it was called a Buddi doll in the first place. Which would mean it could've had a different title together. "My New Friend" would make a good title.
So, all in all, this was an entertaining movie and an entertaining concept, but if retooled a little in preproduction, this could have been a great standalone film, without having to piggyback on the success and cult classic status of a landmark horror franchise.
7/10