MGM and Orion have released the first official trailer for the upcoming remake of the classic horror franchise Child’s Play. Purported to be a re-imagining of the classic ’80s horror movie, This is a completely separate version of the original Child’s Play movie series created by Don Mancini, which featured Brad Dourif playing a serial killer trapped inside the body of a Good Guy Doll.
The new version of the killer doll won’t be a doll possessed by a serial killer but will be a defective Buddy doll whose programming code was hacked so that he has no limitations to learning and also proclivity for violence. Starring newcomer Gabriel Bateman as Andy Barclay, a young boy who comes into the possession of a murderous doll. Aubrey Plaza stars as Andy’s mother, while Atlanta fan-fav Brian Tyree Henry plays the local detective investigating all of the recent murders.
Check out the teaser for Child’s Play below:
A short teaser, it nevertheless establishes its diversion from the original Chucky films. This Child’s Play is going back to the scary basics. However, will this Chucky throw down with some quippy one-liners and slashing zingers or are we looking at more robotic narrative in nature? Voodoo is completely out of the picture as this film is revolving around technological terrors. A fair modification as the Voodoo element of the original films, though more or less appropriate for the film’s quirky nature, would feel out-of-place in a contemporary update. The teaser also establishes that this Andy is near-deaf, making us wonder if Chucky is speaking to him through his earpiece or something else altogether? There’s still so much to be seen, especially since the filmmakers keep Chucky in the shadows throughout this first teaser footage.
Reactions to the new reboot have been mixed, as fans are happy to see their beloved franchise getting a big budget treatment while others are frustrated that the film will lack many of the core narrative beats of the original franchise. Those key figures would be creator and writer Don Mancini, producer David Kirschner, and actor Brad Dourif, who all continue on in the original franchise’s timeline.
Mancini and Kirschner are currently working on making more Child’s Play movies, as well as a TV series, with Dourif still voicing Chucky, this new take on Child’s Play by MGM will essentially be a competing property, and Mancini and company will not be involved at all.
“Obviously my feelings were hurt,” Mancini said last year as production started. “You know, I had just done two movies…forgive me if I sound defensive, [they] were both at 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though they didn’t get theatrical releases, they were well-regarded. And I did create the character and nurture the franchise for three fucking decades.”
This new iteration of Child’s Play is directed by Lars Klevberg, the Norwegian director best known for adapting his 2015 horror short Polaroid into a long-delayed feature film, which still hasn’t seen a theatrical release.
You can check out the film’s official teaser poster as well:
Child’s Play will debut in theaters on June 21.
Sources: MGM, Orion Pictures
Grizzly Bomb 