Why the 'Child's Play' Reboot Is Completely Unnecessary

As proven, Chucky is an icon, and a definitive character we, as fans, never get tired of seeing. His growth in film history has stretched past the media, and has entered online stores as actual life-sized dolls (Trick or Treat Studios), as well as figurines. In that case, Chucky is more than a character. He’s a souvenir, an ostentatious display reflecting our passion for not only the killer doll, but for the reign of terror he inflicts and holds with him on screen. Chucky, as an increasingly classical character in pop culture, has set such a mysterious and rare path that could seemingly lead the franchise on a broader outlook on what’s new to come out of this franchise, as well as the characters. There’s so much potential for this franchise to be continued... But something so unexpected and unwanted has happened, that either shocked us to the core, or made us hang our heads in disappointment—or both. That unfortunate occurrence was the announcement of this 2019 reboot, that is said to be a homage to the original 1988 cult classic, Child’s Play. “Homage?” I think not. While this reboot has went viral in the universal news of horror, it appears that it’s looked at as neither the revival of Chucky, nor the failure of Chucky. Well in my book, it’s definitely not a revival, and there are many reasons as to why that is. And, there are even more reasons why this reboot is completely pointless and serves no purpose for the fate of Chucky.

After this film was released, it got immediate reviews from every movie critic source you could think of. And, those reviews have ultimately been controversial, with both negative and positive aspects. In the end, everything’s all opinionated, which is harmless, right? It’s clear that there are the fans who never even cared for this reboot’s wellbeing, and has ultimately perceived it as nothing more than a gap in what the franchise could really progress to be. Before this reboot’s existence came to light, true fans of the Child’s Play franchise could say that it was on the right path in terms of continuation, while others disagree. But today, it seems like everything is being remade—everything, from Child’s Play to Pet Sematary, which are both true horror classics by two completely different directors, that withheld such a creative vision in how they wanted these films to turn out. It seems as if all of the well-respected horror back then is being brought back again today for recreational purposes. The Child’s Play remake being a part of that purpose is rather disappointing, considering this particular film is such an original. Not only is the idea of this remake completely inessential, but what we’ve gotten so far from the trailer and promo images of what to expect is totally not worth investing your entire interest, if you’re rooting for authentic Chucky. Granted, being a Chucky fan can be controversial at times, and somewhat conflicting, when it comes to hypercritical type fans who believe that if another supposed Chucky supporter wanted to watch this remake when released, they’re automatically singled out as a traitor against the one and only true Chucky... That’s a load of CRAP... There are many reasons as to why people would want to see this movie, hardcore Chucky fan or not. By what’s been shown to us in news and trailers, it does seem rather interesting to an extent. This interest level all depends on where a person stands, in either the horror universe or the universe of the franchise. For someone who hasn’t seen the original Chucky films at all, their interest in this film would be pretty high. For someone else who has seen these films and loves them whole heartedly, then all of their investment in this remake probably wouldn’t be taken too seriously. For that person, seeing this remake would just be something to do because, why not? The interest would be all out of curiosity—At least, that was MY only reason to watching.

So, why is this film so unnecessary in terms of its existence? Besides the fact that its intentions were meant to be honorable to the classic? Well, the answer’s simple... THE FRANCHISE WAS DOING JUST FINE. In fact, it’s almost coming to an end, and Don Mancini is figuring out how to wrap it up through the the upcoming Child’s Play TV Series, and possibly a final Chucky movie to seal the deal. Thankfully, he’s still continuing this franchise, despite this laughable film’s release that, I would assume, wasn’t taken too seriously as a potential stepping stone for the future of the franchise, being this remake had no real connection with the original whatsoever. Still, it had its moments of horror and comedy, which turned out to be rather entertaining to viewers. Other moments were hard to watch because of how cheesy and cringe-worthy they appeared. This was the start of the downfall of this film. The story, being the most important component of the film, failed at resonating with not only just Chucky, but with the the other characters as well. Let’s put it this way... If this reboot were to stand alone as its own and not as an homage to the original 1988 film, then it’s definitely up for interpretation. If it was intentionally meant to have some connection to the original story, then it didn’t live up.