Child’s Play: 5 things we want to see in the new version

The new Child’s Play movie comes with a lot of changes to make it modern, but there are a couple of things we still hope to see in it.

Child’s Play,  the original movie, is over three decades old. After six sequels (a wedding, and a baby), the franchise is going through a reboot, with Lars Klevberg as the director. A lot has changed over the years, so of course this new take had to make some adjustments to bring things up-to-date.

For example, the new doll, now called Buddi, comes with a bunch of technological enhancements, and the origin of its evil nature is way different (no serial killer with knowledge in black magic). Taking all of this into account, here are some things we hope to see in the new version of this classic horror film.

Child’s Play – 5 Things We Want to See:

1. More Psychological Horror, Less Gore

Unfortunately, the only way modern horror can impact an audience is by being as graphic as possible. Visually shocking fans works in some sub-genres but that’s not the case with Child’s Play. It’s not that we don’t want to see blood, we just hope the filmmakers don’t rely too heavily on gore.

A big part of the scare-factor of the story is that it plays with our minds: is the doll really alive or is Andy just perpetuating a hoax? The adults not believing him when he tells them that Chucky talks and does terrible things is another detail that resonates with everyone that watches this film. We were all children at one time and yes, grown-ups doubted us too (except our toys weren’t possessed, of course).

2. A Good Reason for a 12 year-old to Get a Doll

Who am I to judge what a kid gets for a birthday present, but one of the details that made the original movie scary for both children and adults was that Andy was a child. A six year-old child, to be exact. The new Andy is 12.

This has been one of the main complaints from fans, and I completely understand. From what we can see on the trailer, Andy is bullied at school and has no friends, hence why his mother gives him a Buddi doll. Still, isn’t it a weird solution for a bullied 12 year-old?

I want an explanation. And a good one, if possible.

Child’s Play -Chucky Photo Credit: Child’s Play/ MGM and Orion Pictures Image Acquired from Frank Publicity

3. A Believable Revenge Story

When Charles Lee Ray aka Chucky transferred his soul into the doll, he wanted revenge, so he went after his accomplice, Eddie Caputo, and Detective Norris, who killed him. He later went after his voodoo instructor as he realized that he couldn’t be hurt, and it was all because he was starting to become human, and the solution was to transfer his soul into the first human he revealed himself to – which was Andy.

Now, the new Chucky has a different origin story without a serial killer and black magic involved. As mentioned above, the doll has a number of technological enhancements, so it was (reportedly) programmed to be violent by a Chinese factory worker who later killed himself.

So, what now? What’s his motivation to go on a killing spree? Who is he going after? The CEO of the company? (Please don’t). And with no black magic and soul transferring involved, what’s the reason for going after Andy?

On that note…

4. Coherence between Chucky and His Actions

Of course a possessed, killer doll is fantasy at its finest, but all in all, his actions were believable – as in, the doll could have taken that hammer and thrown it at Maggie, he could have reached the stove and caused an explosion. You get it.

Again, from what we see on the trailer, are you really going to tell me the toy tied the mom to a wooden bar and lifted it so he could hang her and kill her? Even with all the technology involved, there’s no way you can sell that idea.

But hey, some scenes from trailers don’t always make it to the final product, or are changed for shock-value, so we’ll see.

5. Emotion

Whether you like the movie or not, you can’t deny that the heart and soul of it was Andy, and Alex Vincent’s performance at the tender age of seven was exceptional. That kid transmitted a lot of emotion without even talking.

And that scene in the hospital, where he cries out of fear and desperation because Chucky is coming to kill him? There’s no way that didn’t move some strings in you.

There’s also the desperation from the mom, first from not knowing what’s going on, the possibility of her child going through some serious psychological issues, and then the fear of a killer doll coming after her son.

And last but not least: a traumatized Andy. It’s not only that his doll is talking to him and doing stuff he ends up being blamed for, but the freaking doll also killed a doctor right in front of him and then attacked his mom. Hey, there’s a lot of emotion in this movie, you just have to pay closer attention.

That’s exactly what this new movie shouldn’t forget. Emotion!

Child’s Play, directed by Lars Klevberg and starring Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, and Brian Tyree Henry, will be released on June 21. In the meantime, we’ll wait for another trailer to drop and give us more hints at what to expect from the movie.

What do you want to see in the new Child’s Play movie? Do you agree with our list? Let us know in the comments.