A friend in trouble will not abandon, will not ask too much.
Rethinking the original 1988 film Children's Games is natural. The point, perhaps, is not even in the stagnation and self-repeats of the series of films about Chucky (this sins countless and more famous paintings), modern realities (in the era of smartphones, a battery-powered doll is hardly able to surprise anyone) and a quite obvious desire to make a profit (remakes often pay off and give the opportunity to again draw attention to the dusty franchise).
As for the basis of the plot of the film “Children’s Games”, then, of course, he is able to intrigue the inexperienced viewer – the doll is not currently obsessed with the soul of Charles Lee Ray, she has her own artificial intelligence that adapts and learns.
Although this is not new, it is relevant, and looks winning in the movie about a killer doll. Moreover, the director quite organically touched upon the topics of the “utopian” future, where a person’s personal life is not protected, rather, on the contrary, is subject to greater risk and threat from the fact that it was designed to make it easier and safer. I would also like to draw attention to the opening scene, which many may be undeservedly missed, but which largely reveals the author’s vision of the world of the future (in the context of the film in question, obviously), which, despite its high degree of robotization, continues to exploit human labor.
Nevertheless, the impression of the film spoils the use of the theme of the relationship between parents and children, which qualitatively does not affect the disclosure of the main and secondary characters. I admit that for this reason, some scenes, as well as the emotions of the characters, seem implausible and contradictory. The use of genre clichés in the film can be called justified, some of them refer to the original, although, however, this seems to be their only direct goal - they do not cause the proper level of tension.
Many reviewers noted that the new “Children’s Games”, despite its advantages in terms of “pictures”, inferior to the previous films about Chucky lack of black humor, for which the franchise was famous. I, in turn, should note that this remark is true, however, it should be understood that this is quite natural and natural, because the new Chucky, I repeat, is not a revived doll, he is only a defective toy with artificial intelligence.
The new film turned out to be original and fresh in its own way, but it remained hostage to the genre and the shadow of its ideological inspirer and therefore objectively unable to continue the series.
Remakes of horror films - a long history - were remakes ' Texas Chainsaw Massacre' ' Halloween' (Roba Zombie I mean), which received a prequel and sequel respectively. There were remakes of ' Friday 13' and 'Nightmare on Elm Street' that didn’t get any sequel or backstory, but nonetheless tried to rethink the stories, make them more dynamic. And even the transformation of Freddy Krueger into a detonator does not very darken the impression of the film. But what the authors have done with the franchise ' Children's Games' is, to some extent, blasphemy over fans. Of course, I state my subjective opinion, I am not against the remakes, the ones I wrote above I liked, but after watching this film I experienced a misunderstanding. During the viewing there was no fear, tension. There was nothing at all but such a feeling as misunderstanding.
To begin with, there are no complaints about actors. They are just pawns in the hands of a writer and director.
Let's go. Let's start with the genre. I thought the writer/director wanted a thrash comedy and the producers wanted a thriller. Or vice versa. Whatever. If in the original tape we see a sarcastic killer, then here is a doll. That says it all. All jokes are akin to the same in sitcoms (inserts from ' Griffin', 'Dumb and Dumber'). No tension.
The motivation of the main character is not clear to me (it is not as such, it is ' far-fetched') - we are persistently led to believe that he is an antagonist. But no. I just feel sorry for him. He's a victim of circumstance. The final act is therefore illogical. And no intrigue about the killer.
I have already written about the illogicality of the final act. But she's gone. Or rather, it is not where the creators depart from the original script. Including the age of Andy.
The doll design is the scariest thing in the movie. I wouldn't buy that for my kid. And I would not leave the doll with him in bed.
Age restriction is not justified. You could have done without so much blood and John Kramer-style murder weapons. There is no nudity there either - everything interesting hides a towel. It would be better to work on the atmosphere than on unmotivated cruelty.
As a result, a strange remake. It has no atmosphere. More like a thrash comedy than a thriller. A one-time movie. If he scares anyone, it's just the baby. But due to the age restriction, his parents won’t let him watch it.
The creation of remakes or sequels of certain films has always been the subject of a natural process in filmmaking. When it was easier to go back to a proven and successful story than to come up with something new and risk your investment with new material. This is especially noticeable in the genre of horror films, most of which were destroyed by this creative direction of filmmakers. In this case, the queue reached the cult slasher "Children's Games" Don Mancini.
The story revolves around single mother Karen and her son Andy, who move into a new home. Karen gives Andy a modern artificial intelligence doll for her birthday, which she married at the department store where she works. The toy calls itself Chucky and aims to be Andy's best friend. Ready to deal on his way not only with those who offended Andy, but also those who claim to be his best friend.
It is very commendable that the authors of this tape did not dullly copy the plot of the original tape and decided to slightly rethink it both with their creative vision and the trend of the time. Over the past few years, horror films have begun to take on much more depth and turn the basic plot layers of the genre into something much more meaningful. That’s what brings up really serious questions in horror movies. "A Quiet Place" and "Bird Box" touched on the topic of parental responsibility and the fear of parents that they will not be able to protect their children. "Get Out" and "We" touched on the subject of hidden racism and oppression of the black population of the country. This film was not an exception and directed by Lars Klevberg.
If in the original tape, Chucky was a murderer who moved into the body of a doll, then in this tape he is an ordinary doll with artificial intelligence, which, like an ordinary child, learns from what he sees and hears from the world around her and people. Starting from the very bloody horror films shown on the screen and ending with physical violence against the person close to this doll. Not only this explains the transformation of the doll into a brutal killer, but also really makes you think about the impact on the psyche and perception of our children have scenes of brutal violence in the movies, obscene language from our lips and physical violence both towards them and to people close to them. Happily making it clear that overlapping, all this sooner or later can shoot something really terrible and frightening, and the trigger for all this is often us – parents. Not only do not protect their children from all of the above, but also simply do not explain what is good and what is bad.
This approach to history not only re-imagined Origen Chucky, but in my opinion, made it much deeper and simply better. Otherwise, retaining a very standard story layer for the entire franchise. Chucky kills one person after another. Adults are dumb and can’t stop it to the last and so on. Similar clichés and cliches of the genre in the picture is very much. But that's not a bad thing. The bad thing is that the picture has a lot of plot and logical holes, inadequate reaction and actions of the characters, which spoil the entire impression of watching the tape.
Lars Klevberg is not a bad director. Despite the fact that after an excellent short film, Polaroid personally destroyed it with a frankly weak full-length remake and this is noticeable throughout the screen time. Klevberg skillfully invests both in the atmosphere and in the "feast for the eyes" throughout the screen time. Not forgetting to catch up with suspense and tension, as well as willingly please the audience with bloody and cruel violence on the screen. However, he failed to do anything with the script’s flaws and Chucky’s frankly horrific design. I want to mention the latter separately. The design and facial expressions of the new Chucky turned out to be absolutely terrible, creepy and cheap not only in comparison with the old Chucky, but also in general.
The cast failed the film in my opinion. Gabriel Bateman tries throughout the film, but frankly overplays. Sometimes it's too much. The image of a single mother Aubrey Plaze did not fit at all. Most of the time, Plaza plays in the usual comedic and eccentric manner and unfortunately fails to convince her with her game. Bryan Tyree Henry was only happy. Including Mark Hammil, who again surpassed himself and caught up with his unique talent as a voice actor. Even with his even and restrained voice, bringing something special to the image and maximally animating Chucky with his voice on the screen.
6 out of 10
Children's Games is another remake of another iconic representative of the genre of horror films, which again turned out not so good as it could be. The creators of the tape very decently rethought the Origen Chucky, made it deeper and unfolded around it a very important message for the audience. Moreover, the director of this film Lars Klevberg gave the maximum as the atmosphere and spectacle. However, the abundance of logical holes and the rawness of the script, as well as the frankly mediocre acting, imposed their typo. The picture can be seen for the first time. I don’t think you’ll want to revisit it again.
The plot of the film is in the family, or rather in the boy and his mother, who moved and the guy has no friends and acquaintances, and at home he is very bored and he is far from a child. And his mother decides to cheer him up. Gives him a gift that almost every child dreams of. But what you give and what comes out of this gift already see for yourself.
An interesting plot plot, in the assembly Chinese, and maybe Vietnamese shop.
Budi (who is an android) quickly absorbs all the negativity he is taught. And he learns when he considers necessary, and often not at all good and useful things.
The storyline does not shine originality. About android robots, there are already a lot of films / series. Now we got Chucky, just called him Budy. And instead of voodoo magic - the wonders of modern electronics.
In general, everything is very predictable. It is immediately clear who will die, who will survive. The movie isn't scary at all. In fact, it is generally suitable for teenagers. Even scenes of violence here are shown not in all its glory, but smeared. Play actors superficial, dialogue is also not shining with intelligence.
The bloody slaughter in the store in the finale of the film - it was a mass pandemonium, there can not be scary at all, much more causes tension when one on one with the killer, when sinister silence and waiting for a trick from any dark corner, and when everyone runs / squeak / squeal / scream, there is no fear in the turmoil.
Overall, a mediocre movie. Look once and forget. I'll recommend him anyway. He's not exactly terrible.
The movie is tough. It's not scary, no, it's bloody hard. The new Chucky will be full of fiction and his unrequited love for the new owner, who, by the way, will realize in time that something is wrong with Chucky, so Chucky’s love will know no limits. Everything that stands in his way... In general, in the furnace!
Compared to earlier films about Chucky, I think the movie is a bit higher. And this is great, because the lion’s share of remakes or restarts fail, and constantly and with a loud bang, but this picture came out very cheerful and emotional. And it is very cool that the director of the film Lars Klevberg did not shoot a copy of the film of the late 80s, but took only the basis of the story and put his personal tape, with his plot and lotions. This is a separate and independent story.
The creators do not try to superficially present the character of a toy that wanders around with a knife and kills everyone thoughtlessly. Our new Chucky is much deeper and more interesting. This is a robot with advanced intelligence that learns quickly, including emotionally. The line of friendship of a lonely teenage boy and a robot is perfectly shown. In the modern world of technology and singles looks quite cute. The plot is predictable in some places, but it does not spoil.
The story here looks more human, whether, touching on a number of rather serious issues, such as problems with communication between adolescents, between them and adults, problems in the family and school or at work. After all, had there not been an incident between a robot doll programmer and his boss, such a story would not have happened. Perhaps nothing bad would have happened if there were no gaps in the upbringing of children, which ricocheted and the doll capable of self-learning. What you sow, you reap. So it is. At first, purely out of good intentions, trying to please his best friend, the robot Buggy, who called himself Chuck, does everything possible to make Eddie (the name of the boy who received a defective doll as a gift from his mother for his birthday) happy. For this, he is ready to do anything, even to kill the offenders of the boy by any means. They will be friends forever! ????
The film contains elements of horror, there are scenes that can, if not cause great horror, but at least frighten. I saw in his plot, first of all, an attempt ' to reach out to adults so that they often pay attention to the behavior of their children, were interested in things at school or on the street, would know how the child’s relationship with peers develops, whether he has friends – real, living, and not robotic.
The movie looks very easy. First of all, thanks to nostalgia for the 90s, when I was a child watching the original picture on the VCR and covered my neck with a blanket, lying still, just dying from fear and from the sight of a terrible doll. Now it is not at all scary, it even looks cute and naive. Secondly, a very smooth narrative of the picture does not let you get tired of watching and does not tire, literally in one breath flies the film. The atmosphere is also brilliantly sustained, the constant heat of passions makes you not lose your vigilance and does not let go until the very end, forcing you to stare at the screen.
The film is kind of designed for teenagers, in fact, and in the main roles their peers are removed, but it can not be called a children's. Some scenes were quite bloody and cruel, it is not frightening, but it can be terrifying, especially people with a weak psyche. At the same time, the picture captivates and looks cheerful, there is no desire to rewind or turn off, I liked almost everything in the film. I highly recommend it!
Horror "Children's games" is unique in the way it combines two qualities separated by a long period of time - nostalgia for puppet horrors of the 80s, and the futuristic possibilities of technologies that are increasingly trying to surround a person in everyday life.
So this tape can hardly be called old school because it has a lot of lotions of modernity, whether it is mobile applications or prototypes of artificial intelligence. The mother gives her son a little friend with a mechanism and a bunch of lines of code, but this character has a little dirty code that stretches from the production relics of the manufacturer, and day after day, this child friend turns into something cruel.
The degree of anger of this little friend grows every twenty minutes of screen time, and closer to the end, the viewer is expected to have the opportunity to enjoy the large-scale machinations of this toy. The film has a quite acceptable atmosphere, which does not sag, but without any unexpected turns in the plot, also good for the graphics tape, which did without “cartoons” or dummies, which gives the tape some minimal quality.
The film for once, I think from the description and poster you can make the right conclusions whether it is a creation of an hour and a half of your time, without much excitement, just for the sake of interest, how else can develop the genre of horror.
5 out of 10
There is another issue of a wonderful series ' Flywheel remakes', which is known in the common people under the name 'How to make money without straining'. The old capital formula 'Pay less, get more' works seamlessly... at least in the minds of studio jackets. After all, it is much easier ' to rethink ' or to parasitize than to satisfy quite fair demands of writers for improvement of conditions of intellectual work. The next victim of the rebirth was one of the cult horror franchises 'Children's Games', the relic of which perfectly describes the very value of the entire Hollywood commercial copypast: the entire creative team of the original disowned the new picture. Thus, as expected, at the helm of the project stood quite green creators director Lars Klevberg, who has on his account exactly one full-length work and screenwriter - debutant Tyler Burton-Smith, who participated in the full-length version of the notorious ' Kung Fury' (and here it would be worth straining).
The plot of the picture begins its run at one of the Asian factories for the production of an incredibly popular robot - toys ' Buddy', able not only to speak far ' I love you', but also an excellent home assistant. 'Buddy' able to control a smart home, unmanned vehicles and much more. However, no matter how perfect the machine was, its creation still begins with a person - this is how the shelf of the hypermarket gets a defective version of the doll, which was removed all the security settings by a working engineer, resentful of his sudden dismissal. And eventually, this doll will find his best friend.
Initially, the idea for a reboot, a remake or whatever it was there, executed in something even original. Discarding the free creative imagination of the eighties with a maniac soul doll, the new “Children’s Games” & #39; integrate Chucky’s story into modern digital reality, in parallel with the threat of computer autonomy. But, the excitement of this gradually fades after half an hour of timing, when the viewer will be obvious that ' Children's games' literally became children's and try to focus on a younger target audience, judging by the current characters of the story. Yes, and the doll itself does not have a charismatic and memorable design - jokes about AliExpress suggest themselves. As if the appearance itself ' updated ' Chucky symbolizes the whole secondary of the very idea of rethinking from idea to creative implementation - everything in the picture literally screams about its cheapness. And, at the same time, it is completely incomprehensible the orientation of this work: whether in front of the viewer a teenage adventure thriller, or a frank thrash for fans of the light comedy grande. However, regarding any 'rethinking' these questions are purely rhetorical.
I am glad that the creators of the remake did not begin to corny retelling the original with cosmetic changes. People clearly accounted for the failure of remakes 'Nightmares' and 'Fridays 13'.
Yeah, there's a redheaded killer doll Chucky and a boy named Andy. But a pre-adolescent boy, not a pre-school boy. Besides, the story is different. No mysticism with the transfer of souls, but only the actions of a fired worker who removed the security settings in one doll.
Now the toy can swear and hurt others. The killer was influenced by Andy and his friends. The only thing I don't know is where did Chucky's name come from? Look, the boy says 'I'll call you Han Solo' (not a bad reference, considering the toy is voiced by Mark Hammil), and the doll asks 'Did you say Chucky?'. That doesn't sound like it! Oh, yeah, isn't there a lot of room for the toy? Who gave Chucky admin access to all devices, including an unmanned taxi?
The film is very interesting, I highly recommend watching. Not bad floundered corporation ' Apple'. By the way, I especially remember a girl named Falin. She reminded me of Andy's half-sister from the second part of the original.
I like horror movies. I've been watching horror movies for almost 30 years. I watch different horror movies - thrash, slashers, youth horror films, thrillers, Asian, pseudodocumentaries, mysticism. I love and love this genre. I am always looking for pros and a logical explanation of what is happening to stand up for a favorite film in the discussion about it.
And here's a remake of the legendary Children's Game. I've been waiting for this! For me, the Chucky Doll franchise is exactly the first three films Children's Game 1,2,3 - all that after is a tribute to fashion and already looks faintly like a horror movie, rather like a black comedy for teenagers.
The first concerns appeared after the publication of the appearance of the doll. Okay, progress doesn’t stand still, we need to move on, maybe it won’t be as bad as the remake of the Nightmare on Elm Street, where Freddie was turned from an inventive maniac with a special black humor into a grim pedophile killer.
And although the chances of liking the film was very small at the start, I honestly tried to look for any leads until the very end of the film, but alas and ah, he did not even try.
By item
1. In the original part, we may have too banal, but at the same time a very logical start for the entire franchise. The killer who, with the help of black magic, moves into the doll and then looks for a way to get back into the human body - it was interesting, fresh and explained a lot of things throughout the series, up to Children's Game 3.
In the new version, we are presented with a hastily invented story that requires at least minimal explanations, but there will be none. At all.
2. The protagonist of the old franchise is a small child who, due to his childhood naivety, does not imply that the doll behaves strangely and does not understand the danger hanging over him. This is logical and correct.
Now we have a teenager who is surprisingly too calm to react to many things that, from a purely mental point of view, not every adult would be able to accept so calmly.
3. Name. In the original, the killer Charles Lee Ray, once in the doll, introduces the boy as Chucky. This is correct and does not raise any questions. Here the doll is also called Chucky, but why and in honor of whom?
4. Absolutely stupid murder motives and their implementation on screen. Perhaps this is a curtsey towards the original, or perhaps an attempt to attract the audience to the sessions ' Toy Stories 4'?
5. Grand finale or battle with the boss. This is no gate. Unbelievable and stupid behavior of everyone present in the frame. The title ' Battle with the boss' is even too much for such a finale, just a secondary scene in an ordinary, high-quality movie.
Savvy cinema of different periods of time, each of us remembers the favorite moves of the creators:
- and now I feel like I'm alive. . .
- and here I am, like, my last strength. .
- so don't let anyone get you. . .
It's very strange that we know these techniques, but they still work well, but not here. It seems to have its own atmosphere.
To summarize:
I don’t often write reviews, but I like to read them. Yesterday I watched one of the worst films, and just before that very interesting and with believable behavior of the characters & #39; The Curse of Annabelle 3' (for which many negative reviews). I feel cheated and don’t want to be fooled by anyone else.
I tried (as a fan of the genre, as a fan of Chucky, as a fan of 80s slashers) to find something good in the remake, but I couldn’t. I wanted to, but the movie didn’t give me a chance. Too bad, too bad.
A new toy on the shelves of stores is a small robot Buddy, who is ready to become a real friend for children! It imitates voices, learns, repeats movements and is endowed with artificial intelligence, thanks to which its owners almost get a live child! Plus Buddy is controlled using a smartphone and is ready to take on the function of “Smart home”, because he can turn on and off any equipment in the apartment! One of these toys brings his son as a birthday gift single mother Karen. Her son Andy wears a hearing aid and has no friends. He spends a lot of time on his phone screen. Here's the problem: the toy turns out to be sinister, because in its software due to the fault of one of the employees of the plant, where Buddy is produced on the conveyor, a bug is laid. This mistake is expensive, because Buddy turns out to be bloodthirsty and obsessed with the idea of murder.
In fact, I'm skeptical of movies like this where toys or dolls are killed. Watch such films quite naively and childishly and call them a horror language will not turn at least because the necessary for the horror of suspense to achieve extremely difficult. In this regard, films with puppets are much more creepy. The same “Doll” in 2016 or “Dead Silence” cause much more emotions and fear than the series of films about Chucky, including the new film “Children’s Games”.
I don't know why, but I'm not afraid to see killer dolls. Whether what happens in the frame seems naive, or the reason for something else. But much scarier are the scenes when puppets look with their unblinking eyes and you wait for them to finally blink. Those slow head turns in the background (as it was in Dead Silence) - such episodes are actually quite creepy.
Despite the fact that “Children’s Games” 2019 is billed as a horror film without the label “black comedy” or just “comedy”, it is quite difficult to perceive it as a horror movie. Probably because the events are associated with a toy for children and actually speaking with children.
The film next to the scenes resembled the old series in the style of “Poltergeist” or “X-Files” – for example, when the general plan of the house where the main characters live is shown, or the corridors of this house are shown, dividing the house into a mass of apartments in each of which the guests live their lives. The house in this case looks like the one in which ghosts live, or a maniac with a cleaver wanders. Other scenes, such as the episode with New Year's garlands on the roof and watermelons in the garden, give "Children's Games" a kind of cameramanship. As if the action takes place not near the real house, but on the stage or not in a horror movie, but in a fairy tale. By the way, the same sensations can occur when watching “Wallet or Life”.
Taking into account the fact that in the new “Children’s Games” the doll is not possessed by the evil spirit of a maniac, and the toy has a bug at the software level, it is possible that in the sequel, which has already been mentioned in the event that the first film is successful, the viewer will see several toys of Buddy, ready to open the bellies of everyone in his path. Moreover, in the first film, several varieties of Buddy were already shown. It is possible that the viewer is waiting for something like “Soldiers”, when whole hordes of programmed toys attacked people.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
Yeah, Don Mancini's out of business, Brad Durief didn't voice Chucky, and magic gave way to technology. These are other 'Children's Games' which I think is silly to consider a flaw of the remake/reboot. A different view is sometimes better than another repetition or continuation than Don Mancini has been doing for all these years (I won’t say it’s a success).
The doll in the original 1988 film presented itself quite technological for its time: a reaction to the voice with gestures and a sewn tape recorder with several phrases. No wonder they decided to refresh the idea with time adjusted for the Internet, corporations, cloud services, the development of AI, etc. To abandon magic in such a context is more than logical, it would simply be superfluous.
Chucky is a robot, so the theme of friendship with a doll here acquires a perceptible technological touch, colliding ' live' circle of communication with an artificial ' best friend'. Depth is not worth looking for, of course, it is primarily a slasher, but because of the view from this angle, the film manages its sauce for a familiar formula. Mark Hamill on the voice is the main decoration of the image, and the whole film, perhaps, and another way to make it clear that this is a completely different Chucky.
The script, except for the played finale, does not raise questions. The threat appropriately grows towards the end, everything is successfully played out. Irony and black humor are present, but without fanaticism. The R/18+ rating is justified by a couple of juicy scenes. The soundtrack is not bad, Hamill sings the song of the robot, as it should.
Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised. In my opinion, it was good.
(About the 13th minute of the film)
Children's games
I did not expect that modern “Children’s Games” can reach the original, but the remake really amazes with its heresy already in the first minutes. My eyes are scattering, there's so much gloomy galimatia here. Let's start in order. The father of the franchise, Don Mancini, turned down Lars Klevberg’s Children’s Games.
That is, a person who did not let Chucky bend (recall, several decades in a row) shows the middle finger. To give you a sense of the tragedy, imagine if Charles Band had turned down The Doll Lord, if Wes Craven had turned down The Scream, if Will Spenner hadn't appeared in The Witchcraft. Similarly.
And when you start watching this movie, Mancini’s departure is a very reasonable thing (they say he’s working on the show). As disgusting as The Cult of Chucky (the latter from Mancini) is, Klevberg’s work looks one notch worse. The worst part is, Chucky's not here, guys. Instead of Chucky, a robot!
In the original, the wounded gangster Charles climbed into the red doll with the help of magic. He then terrorized a little boy with his mother. Importantly, Chucky was a living doll with the soul of a maniac who tried his best to break out of a toy prison. Psychopath played (and voiced Chucky) Brad Durief. Together with the director Holland, the man hammered the “good guy” into the history of horror.
Attention, remake plot! Vietnam (a-hee-hee, quiet, don't laugh), doll factory. The boss yells at the sleepy Vietnamese: “Work, work, comrade slut, make dolls, 500 pieces a day, quickly, do not get bread.” I'm tired of working for the corporation. Sending the three-letter head, the Vietnamese resets all the security protocols at one doll. Then the doll gets into the store, where it is taken by an employee as a gift for his son (do not throw out the marriage). Is nothing embarrassing?
You gave up on the maniac - fine, but why can't you beat the buck in any other way? If a Vietnamese man had ruined a few hundred dolls, would they have taken over the world? Nonsense! Keep going. The family is Andy's mother and son. Andy is an adult schoolboy. He's not a little boy like Holland's. You don’t believe that the boy will play with some doll in 2019.
Okay, I’ll close my eyes to that too (the doll walks, chats, kind of curiously), but the creators attract the drama, something similar was observed in Critters Attack! Bobby Miller (attended by a black orphan girl dreaming of going to college). The boy is hard of hearing and unable to make friends, on his own. Why do you do that? Ordinary children are not in fashion today?
I'll give you an answer to get Chucky into the story. A man's insularity is easily destroyed (forgotten) in ten minutes. Seriously, Andy (suddenly!) starts making friends with the guys. Chucky has appeared, so now you can move away from the drama and build a contrived conflict, Chucky's jealousy of the people around Andy (thanks to the Vietnamese, jealous Chucky, survived). About the storyline of my mother’s lover – quietly silent. From the first second, as it was shown, everything immediately became clear.
Actors play like that. In the original, you were worried about your mother and Andy (doll-wielding Durif - contributed). In the remake, Andy drives into anguish (a boy without charisma, putting his hand on his heart), and his mother is literally annoying. To justify two or three bloody scenes - no, I can't. Perversion of the original film. I looked at my watch while watching.
Oh, my God, the new Chucky is even outwardly freaking weird. Another bad remake, unfortunately.
Who is the most dangerous enemy of any franchise? Let's be honest - her loyal fans. In the case of the TV series “Children’s Games”, which turned 31 (!), many fans were outraged by the very idea of the remake, although the epic about Chucky has always been a niche product. Brad Durif was replaced by Mark Hammill, removed all the absurdity (so attractive) from the original series, and eliminated the concept of a serial killer trapped in the body of a doll. Suddenly, a remake or, rather, a rethinking of the most famous story about the killer toy went to the franchise for good - this is the second wind that sometimes requires a crusty horror series.
So, first of all, key changes were made to the plot. A single child named Andy receives the most coveted toy as a gift from his mother Karen. The toy is a doll named Chucky. This time there is no maniac soul; the fact is that security restrictions have been removed from the robot. Chucky goes crazy and begins a bloody massacre.
This time, everything is played on a fashionable digital form, as reflections of the modern era. At the same time, interestingly, the plot does not slide into imitation of “Black Mirror”; it is clear that the creators did not think much and simply used modern trends as a mirror of the current day, so that the concept was perceived freshly. To be honest, the authors succeeded. The first half of the film is certainly stronger than the second (where the bloody orgy begins), and it is not accidental, because it is funny and sincere. A lonely teenager meets a new friend from the virtual world, and he is dangerous. This is an interesting twist because the script plays on children’s fear, confusion and emotional development. The children in this film try their best to navigate the world of adults. The fact that Chucky is their guide to the world of cruelty (and, in fact, an allegory of the Internet) is a very clever trick. Probably, the creators did not lay this, but being forms consciousness, so that parallels can be easily drawn.
Somewhere in the second act, "Children's Games" begins to abuse the slasher component more and more. After Andy discovers Chucky’s strong tendencies to violence, the latter goes into tears. It is a shame that there is nothing interesting about the violence in the Games, with all the creativity that was involved. It is unlikely that the film is focused on horror fans, and the casual viewer will most likely wrinkle disdainfully.
It is also strange that the creators waited too long to exploit the full technological potential of the new Chucky era. There are hints of Poltergeist, cursory comments about smartphone addiction and trolling services a la "Yandex Taxi", but Chucky has the greatest impact on the viewer when trying to mimic a person.
The reboot of the infamous slasher bases the story on a good and much simpler idea than the original, which only increases the emotional stakes. And if the plot involves understandable and human characters, and then add a pinch of humor and pathos, the black comedy will make you fall in love. A cynical version of Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence brings a sinister tone to modern cinema - thanks to its easy pace and practical murders, "Children's Game" becomes the first swallow in the world of horror, where there is room for both an existential digital nightmare and bloody murders with dashing humor. Even if it's not perfect.
When loneliness becomes your only existing beginning, and at some point, someone or something appears in your life, your existence changes dramatically, because from that moment, there is something or someone to continue, and in this case, the history of the new Children's Games is a perfect example, showing how sincere and furious can be something that began as a friendship once, and turned into a game on the line of your life.
A new reboot of Children's Games is perhaps a rather risky activity, because the old line of films, and subsequently the already quite familiar series of films, have their canonical place, in this case, to start the story anew, it is to be able to come across an iceberg of misperception capable of sinking this ship, but I note that the story with a new look at what is happening turned out so well that I am not afraid to call Children's Games one of the best horror films of 2019.
Of course, the picture is not completely filled with such terrible moments, but if we remember, then this is a story full of black humor and a portion of thrash, which, by the way, is traced very fragmentary here, which is important, the creators managed to show a touching story against the background of all that is happening, seemingly so tough a character as Chucky, so it turned out not only unexpectedly, which is pleasant, but also surprisingly, in emotional terms.
As for the plot, then the story remains in its track, with several changes in terms of revealing the character himself, who came out extremely charismatic, and if the old Children's Games with Brad Durif are horrors, albeit classic, but not to say that the highest sample, Chucky of the mid-2000s is a benchmark, then the new "games" are unique, here there is no licking of the past, taking the main line, the picture showed it at a completely new level with the pleasure of modern time, while adding to all this the role of Haresh, which is really familiar to us from the series of Bucker, especially from Joblaga, who has long ago added from the "Marga".
“Children’s Games” was not another addition to the classic stories that live in memory, but Chucky returned to show how much friendship is a valuable gift, and that losing it, you can lose your life, and believe me, this prank will succeed in glory, so let’s play or die.
10 out of 10
In my opinion, the connection with the old series of films about a killer doll is conditional, more a marketing move - it is more difficult to promote a new one than to push off the existing one. It’s a completely new movie, a fresh script, and other ideas. The film is very modern, no black magic - who can be frightened by black magic? Here is artificial intelligence, caught in the hands of children of medium intelligence and very low responsibility (although it is difficult to blame them – they were made so by infantile parents who care nothing), is not the most anticipated apocalypse of the 21st century? The film is light, attention-grabbing, with an incredibly caustic black humor that doesn’t negate empathy – even for a doll! The drama swirls unnoticed like a noose, the ending of the film - very predictable, but the main idea, in my opinion, the authors showed at the very beginning (so it does not matter how it ended) - the evil in the world is generated by global capitalism and transnational corporations that churn out sinister, life-controlling toys for us to distract the already weak minds of contemporaries from the depressing state in which they spend invaluable days of life against the background of dull, long-out industrial landscapes. People (joint forces) can defeat a doll, but not a corporation that is not responsible for anything, and new boxes are already on their way.
For me, the film is 8 out of 10, two points can’t help but shoot for the Hollywood finale.
The era of reboots, reboots and prequels continues. Next up is a half-forgotten franchise about Chucky's doll. If you don't remember who it is, I'll tell you. It is a toy in which (in the original world) the spirit of a killer maniac has taken possession.
In the restart, the creators decided to make a tribute to the series “Black Mirror”, rather than a blow to nostalgia.
And all because Chucky is now a robotic doll, able to learn through neural networks and in theory be an assistant to every family.
Unfortunately, in the hands of a single mother and her son (Aubrey Plaza) gets a defective doll, which at the factory turned off all the algorithms associated with causing evil.
And the fun begins.
The whole crew knew that they were shooting an absolutely entertaining and unserious story. There’s no place for a very gloomy color palette or a boring suspense from many other horror movies.
Chucky is a funny character. In the original voiceover, Mark Hammil gave him the voice, by the way. He plays Luke Skywalker and, more coolly, the voice of the Joker in almost all cartoons and games.
Moreover, “Children’s Games” does not aim to scare or create tension. This is nothing more than a very funny attraction, very reminiscent of the big and stupid brother of the series “Black Mirror”, which tells about the dangers of technology.
Children's Games, they are a horror movie about Chucky's doll. Reincarnation of the old idea of horror, adapted for today. See what cloud technology and artificial intelligence can do! I share my impressions without spoilers, compared to Annabelle 3.
At the end of the rolling week in cinemas faced two horror films. One is about the Annabel doll, already in the third part. As we know, there are evil spirits living in that doll, and the whole movie is so paranormal. The second is about the Chucky doll, in which there are no evil spirits - here just a touchy engineer removed the blocking of all possible prohibitions established in other similar dolls. One doll is evil, the other is evil. Only one is mystically evil and cruel, and the other is physically and for understandable reasons. So movies, funny as it is, can be called something similar ideologically.
But if I've already written about Annabelle 3, it's time to talk about Chucky. But if you think about it, then I will not remember right now the horror with a trench and a dismembered one in recent years. Everyone was paranormal, spirits, curses and mysticism. And simple-good slashers, where some maniac cuts everyone to the right and to the left - almost not left. Or they pass as quietly as possible. Well, here is the story about Chucky, which the distributor did not dare to adapt in the title and left the original poster “Children’s Games” (I think under the guise of CHACKI the film would have collected more), just the long-awaited slasher. If in Annabelle the doll and the spirit, conditionally, only scare everyone by the fact that everyone will die, then in the Children's Games the doll "is responsible for the market" and cuts everyone to the right and left. There is something to be afraid of, unlike the first.
The plot of the film about Chucky is built great and according to the classical canons. But adapted for today. Chucky is an artificially intelligent toy that can control the entire ecosystem of a home. Self-learning function. In default, all dolls have a strict ban on any immoral behavior. But in one copy, the offended engineer disables this ban. The doll ends up in an American family. And here we go. The dynamics in the film are very good. Terrible moments in the slasher, provided with actively splashing blood, but minimally savoring the dismemberments, are present in sufficient quantities. Chucky's actions are also unpredictable and interesting. At the same time, periodically the whole bacchanalia on the screen is cheered up with black jokes.
Over. You know, in my opinion, the Chucky movie was even more cheerful than Annabelle 3. In the triquel, the viewer is kept in suspense by standard scenes of fear-mongering. But in the Children's Games, the very dynamics of the plot and its development are in suspense. And the fear here from the screen is different – not the “unknown paranormal contrived”, but a normal animal fear for survival and a real fear of death. Choosing what to see from two horror films, I would choose a movie about Chucky. However, Annabelle 3 is still pretty cool.
- Now, what is not a movie is a sequel or a remake. For better or for worse, this is a separate topic. But whatever it was, in terms of horror Hollywood filmmakers "reincarnation" turns out to be quite watchable. Last year’s “It” and last year’s “Halloween”, at least, are vivid examples.
And so, it was time for “Children’s Games”, a series of films that appeared in the late eighties, did not cease to overgrow dubious sequels until 2017. Basically, everything, outside the original trilogy, was pure thrash. And so, in my opinion, the idea of a remake was quite appropriate in order to restore Chucky's old reputation.
And looking ahead, I'll say it worked. Completely rethinking the original idea, leaving only in fact the doll-killer, the new version is absolutely not inferior to the original source. And due to the modern approach and coverage in the context of the history of topical issues, it looks fresh and not beaten.
The only thing that went wrong at the beginning of the film was a very weak one. The first, about 10-15 minutes of viewing, the story does not inspire confidence, and it seems that this is a failure. But when the plot swings, the characters gain motivation, and even cheerful humor drives, doubts dissipate.
Without considering that this is a remake, the film turned out to be absolutely self-sufficient.
Simple storytelling. Moderate amount of violence, without going into mindless slaughter. Black humor. A standard set of character archetypes for this genre. And a classic hint of a sequel. The perfect recipe for a good horror movie.
Like a remake, not bad. As a novelty - very much. As a gift to fans of the genre - great.
Hello to all Cinemagolics and fans of horror about Chucky. Today I will tell you about the impressions of the film “Children’s Games”. The plot tells about a boy Andy, who receives a new modern robot doll “Buddi” as a birthday gift. "Buddi" calls himself Chucky and becomes a good friend to Andy. But the boy begins to notice that the toy is increasingly out of control and crosses the programmed boundaries of “permissible”.
You will be surprised, but the picture was really useful, and when watching I enjoyed it. But is it really that smooth? Let's find out!
Traditionally, I’ll start with the cast. Gabriel Bateman perfectly played Andy, the role of his mother is no less excellent performed by Aubrey Plaza. But for some reason I liked Brian Tyree Henry the most, even though his character appeared on the screen infrequently.
The film does not break any templates, does not demonstrate breakthrough ideas and stumbles upon clichéd situations over and over again. There's a single mother, and the right kind cop, and mother's goat-daughter, and distrustful friends of Andy, and even touched the second part. But, surprisingly, from the previously listed does not vomiting, because the authors manage to all this chicly beat. I mean, it was fun to watch, even knowing that the outcome was completely predictable.
If we consider the characters regardless of the clichés, they turned out to be very elaborate, not “empty” and interesting characters, although they are not sorry at all. Experiences are associated only with teenagers who clearly "take an example" from the children from "Stranger Things" and the modern "It" (in a good way). It’s a good thing for this kind of horror.
In the remake, Chucky is no longer a demonic doll. Here, it is showcased by a baby robot toy with a cute design and built-in artificial intelligence, which subsequently goes off the rails. This decision really was the way out and the right rebirth of Chucky. In this guise, the little killer doll looks even more original and terrifying.
The film would be a failure if there was not enough attention to the doll. Thankfully, Chucky was successful. There was an objective, but slightly worn-out motif, thanks to which two feelings arise for the toy. Like Chucky does terrible and unacceptable things, but like it is pathetic, because he at first does everything as if unconsciously.
EKSN is present only in the final picture and, in my opinion, this is not enough. Although this does not spoil the impression of the film, but you want to chase, scuffles and dynamics.
I’d rather consider the film a black comedy than a horror movie. There are more comic moments than scary ones. Secondly, the atmosphere is not at all frightening. And thirdly, the picture seems to set the viewer on a “fun mood” from the very first scene, demonstrating the absurdity of the plot, as Chucky became evil.
I'll summarize. "Children's games" - sometimes funny (and sometimes incredibly funny), sometimes witty, creepy, sometimes stupid and bloody horror, which I definitely recommend to watch. I haven’t watched a movie like this in a long time.
8 out of 10
Another stupid "horror" from the Americans. Honestly, I'm tired of the fact that horrors are called everything, even what is a second-rate slag, molded from worn scenes. There is nothing scary, nothing interesting and nothing to watch that would be worth the time. Remember all the horror stories about dolls that you watched, and just the horror of the 90s. It's the same here. The story is one-on-one. That is, the viewer will not see anything new.
Do you think the movie is not scary? He's not scary at all. It has no atmosphere. Moreover, no one is even trying to create a mood on the screen. Every step of the characters is predictable, because this has already been filmed a hundred times, no gloomy psychologism, suspense. Just a scary doll walking around and shining with red eyes. Is this called a horror movie in 2019? Really. Horrible.
In general, the film "Children's Games" is simply outraged and discouraged. How much do you need to disrespect the audience to offer them another consumer with template moves, heroes, the plot itself. As a lover of the genre of “horrors”, I note that Americans not only began to merge this genre, but also boast of incompetent tapes, which are willingly released from year to year. For who? The bottom line: Americans do not know how to shoot horror films and brag about it, probably considering themselves special. As usual.
It is better to watch European and Russian horror films. And then there are psychedelic Soviets. There is no such thing as bad taste.
It’s like a remake of 1988’s “Children’s Games” is in theaters now, but it would be a loud statement, in my opinion. From the old movie, there is only a doll and her name is Chucky. Which is even a plus, since in this film a completely different view of horror with a doll. And now for more information about “Children’s Games” 2019:
The story in two words: New toys with the so-called artificial intelligence, which become real friends for a child, are gaining popularity in the world. Mom gives the main character Andy a defective toy, which has all the fuses lowered.
Change: Very ridiculous. If you look “on serious grounds”, you can catch indignation from the absurdity of the situation.
The concept of the plot: It is not for nothing that the film was advertised as “From the creators of the film “It”, because here they also tried to mix a teenage film and horror, but it turned out a little less successfully, so I do not even know what audience the director was oriented to.
Chucky: It's completely changed. If he used to be a doll with the soul of a criminal (1988), now he is an information baby who knows only that he should be a best friend for Andy, and learns the rest from the outside world. It is interesting to observe his “evolution” from an understanding doll to a killer robot, as well as his interaction and friendship with the main character.
Heroes: Mostly everyone who has a liking for themselves. Not to say that they are sufficiently disclosed, but there is someone to worry about, to cheer for. The detective was especially interesting, I wish he had more screen time.
Result: Before watching, it is better to drop expectations and focus on something like a teenage black comedy with a touch of horror. The movie isn't good, but it's not bad either. It’s interesting to see where the trend of a popular horror movie is headed. At Children's Games 2019, you can kill two birds with one stone: both laugh and shudder. In general, I recommend it.
The best was invented in the '80s. No, well, not all, of course, but as for the horror, the 80s will give a hundred points forward and postmodern 90, and imitating 2000, and remake 2010. Here’s the “Children’s Game” about the killer doll Chucky, who survived seven (!) episodes, returns to the screens in a new Wi-Fi format, and returns much more successfully than attempts to reinvent “Nightmares on Elm Street” or “Halloween”. Because the best thing about the new film is from there, from the glorious 80s.
The first blood will shed suddenly and uncompromisingly in the second minute. Lawn mower tightens victim tangled in garland (don't ask) An unpleasant voyeur hangs under the ceiling on a red-hot pipe, and under it a milling saw squeals ... The crowd in the store is trapped in a meat grinder. It's just a celebration of the genre!
For all the old-fashioned bloody scenes, the new "Children's Games" managed to encroach on the saint - turned Chucky from the spirit of a killer who possessed a doll (for modern cinema, a very funny turn), into the likeness of Skynet - Artificial Intelligence with the safety fuse removed. So Chucky's not just under your bed anymore. It's in your smartphone, in your Wi-Fi router, in your TV, in your vacuum cleaner (don't ask)! And for a new generation of children who do not get out of this network, such a killer will be more terrible than Freddy Kruger!
A separate pleasure is to compare "Children's Games" with "Toy Story 4", which managed to go out on rental in one day and even exchange yernic posters. In both films, we are talking about the toy of the boy Andy (!), thinking about her purpose (!!) and going beyond her “program”. Wild prairies! The movies even have almost completely matching scenes – when a former favorite toy goes into the closet, from where he looks with sadness at the games of those who are more fortunate. So the two films turn out to be almost two ways of developing the same plot - what will the toy do when it realizes that it is no longer needed, and its "master" is not a king and god, but rather a slave owner?
And another characteristic detail - the authors of "Children's Games" manage to mock fans to explain the real cruel viewing of horror movies: a poor innocent robot-Chucky watches with children "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" (don't ask), and wonders: why everyone laughs? Although wait – the stabbing Chucky watched at breakfast while cutting sandwiches. Should we not ban sandwiches or breakfast, comrade censors?
9 out of 10
Having appeared as if specifically in one release window with the fourth part of Toy Story, the restart of Children's Games apparently did not even intend to attract a huge audience. The thing is that this series of horrors will probably be understood only by those who found it in the 80s and 90s. And it may seem absurd to a new viewer that the revived doll kills people, and even manages to do it extremely successfully. And if thirty years ago it was still somehow frightening, now you need to try very hard to impress the viewer. Novice director Lars Klevberg did not even try to scare anyone. He turned "Children's Games" into a kind of black comedy, and judge for yourself, what else could be done with such content? Nevertheless, for the new adaptation of “Children’s Games” there were unambiguous fears, which, in particular, did not pass me by. Especially after I watched Lars Klevberg’s debut Polaroid about a month ago. But Klevberg was still able to get out, and he turned out albeit a medium, but very strong thing.
Probably every child eventually begins to dream of a better friend, because with age, his circle of friends can not be limited only to parents. And Henry Caslan's company is ready to help. His equipment has long been in literally every home, ranging from cars running artificial intelligence, to vacuum cleaners. But for children there was a solution – a small robot named Buddy, ready to take the leisure of almost any child. One day, Andy Barclay’s mother brings one of these Buddy home, and if the kid only knew what would turn out his harmless games with a new friend...
In my opinion, it is almost obvious that the creators drew some inspiration for the new “Children’s Games” from things of the level of “Stranger Things”, as well as the latest adaptation of “It”. Just because, similarly to them, here, first of all, the emphasis is on the younger cast, or rather their characters, who, by the way, in particular face the atrocities of Chucky. The plot concept itself, in principle, remained unchanged, although the original origin of Chucky was subjected to some editing, according to the latest trends of modernity, of course. In my opinion, there is nothing better to think of here. In any case, it will look somewhat ridiculous, but still, the ghost possessed in the doll is no longer attracted to something intriguing. There's another Annabelle Curse coming out next week, yeah. So "Children's Games" had to adapt, and tell the story of the rebellious artificial intelligence. It is also not new, but even within the horror genre, and the franchise itself "Children's Games" turned out to be intriguing. Chucky himself also underwent some redesign, and despite the scepticism about his new appearance, it turned out very well. Not to mention the fact that even the Russian dubbing of Chucky is performed at the proper level. Of course, here you can not compare with the magnificent Mark Hamill in the original, whose voice, we will be able to appreciate only after the release of the film in digital or on media.
Lars Klevberg got a really good restart of Children's Games, in my opinion it is obvious that the man approached the production of the film with all his responsibility. It is interesting to observe the story in principle, Chucky himself came out a very colorful villain, and the deaths look cruel in my opinion. The rating of the film is worked out just to the fullest. True, it is a little pity that these very deaths were not so much, but all those that were, in general, remembered. Still, I’m counting on the fact that the film will collect something, and the production of the sequel will give the green light. Judging by what happened to see here, then with proper skill and skill, all the advantages of the first film can be increased in the most decent way.
7 out of 10
General impression: It is popular in our time to do all sorts of reboots, it did not cost about the famous doll of the 90s - Chucky.
Unlike our brother, we do not have any mysticism, magic, or anything else. Chucky is a robot with a defect, which was not exactly designed, violating the software, and here is the real villain. Very pleased that his formation was not lowered into the sewer pipe, having worked the character. Initially, Chucky is not so evil, he is like a child who needs to be instilled in education, show how and what to do, i.e. evil sits and the premises are there (it sounds strange if this is a robot), but all that a redheaded patsy wants, like any other child – friendship. And what way, well, more accessible and understandable for the doll-killer.
According to the film, a single mother still gives a doll to her son, only the son is no longer such a baby, due to the fact that the boy has no friends, Chucky becomes his best friend. And then the doll catches the attention of other guys. The boy was played by Gabriel Bateman, I am not quite happy with his acting work, sometimes he did not show surprise or shock, but just crooked. I haven’t seen Gabriela anywhere before, I can’t evaluate his work (KP says that he hasn’t filmed much, rather it’s his debut in GG), but he has a lot to learn. For if you do not believe in the hero, then the hero does not cause sympathy, even if it is horror!
The narrative is straightforward, but it is served with humor, there were about 10-12 people in the cinema, everyone laughed at Chucky's remarks and what was happening. This is a very important factor in horror, especially if it is a slasher. The charisma of villains plays into the hands of the plot, well, as an example, you can cite Freddy Krueger, who also joked, cutting off the victims. Here, black humor is sometimes clear and lies on the surface, sometimes it flashes even in a couple of minutes, i.e. a whole episode.
"Children's Games" - there is something to praise, because the original plot of 1988 is only a motive, everything else is a well-thought-out spectacular scenario decision, albeit with characteristic clichés. And what surprised me was that it was one of the main ideas that every child should have a friend. I recommend going to the movies.
In 1988, the cult horror film Don Mancini was released, which spawned a legendary character, a killer doll named Chucky, inside of which lived the soul of a cruel serial killer who dreams of moving from a toy to the body of a living person. Since the American film industry is famous for its never-ending love for the remake, it was only a matter of time before this horror movie was restarted. And in 2019, an updated version with the former name “Children’s Games” was released on the screens.
Synopsis After moving into a new home, single mother Karen, to help his son Andy settle into a new environment, gives him an artificially intelligent robotic doll that calls itself Chucky. Between Andy and Chucky there is a real friendship, but soon this friendship begins to go beyond the limits of what is allowed when Andy notices Chucky strangeness and is mortally threatened by an unusual friend.
Game of actors During the viewing, the impression was unwittingly that Aubrey Plaza never left the image of Lenny from the television series Legion, remaining the same brisk and daring only with a small taste of a caring mother who noticed the danger only at the very last moment. Frankly, it would also be interesting to hear in the original voice of Mark Hamilton, whose voice became the basis for the new mad Chucky. Speaking about the play of Gabriel Bateman and other actors, they embodied on the screen very standard images of characters, not showing anything new in the film.
Directorship For the Norwegian director Lars Klevberg, “Children’s Games” was only the second work, but at the same time he had a great task to shoot not a simple remake, but to embody the original film on the screen based on the finished idea. It is noteworthy that the director does not at all try to scare the viewer, since it is already clear that the sinister look of the doll will look more hilarious than frightening. Therefore, the director focuses more on entertainment, accelerated dynamics and quite appropriate black humor. Although the film lacks the darker and more violent setting characteristic of good horror films, “Children’s Games” still looks not without interest.
Scenario With regard to “Children’s games” it is more correct to say that the film is based on the original picture, and not dullly copies its plot. The idea is based only on the story of a killer doll, which ends up in the hands of a boy desperately trying to stop him, while adults try not to notice the panic of the child. However, if the 1988 film is based on a hoax related to voodoo magic and soul relocation, the remake revolves around the Caslan Corporation, which produces electronic programs and devices, including toys with artificial intelligence. One of these toys, due to the sabotage of an ordinary employee, is released with a serious marriage, namely, a complete lack of control over the manifestation of cruelty and violence. By coincidence, the toy is in the hands of Andy, who recently moved with his mother to a new house. Too shy to make new friends, Andy finds a friend in Chucky who studies Andy, his life, his feelings, and tries to help and even protect him at all costs. Therefore, when Andy gets a slap from friends in front of Chucky, he, in turn, decides to punish them in his own way, depriving them of either limb or life. Thus, the plot of the film simultaneously addresses the theme of friendship as such and (in the style of “Black Mirror”) the theme of the comprehensive influence of high technology.
Result In general, "Children's Games" can not be called a full-fledged horror film, although it pretends to be. However, the film is worth noting for developing its own concept, only limiting itself to using the original idea of the 1988 film. The film impressed with entertainment and even appropriate black humor, leaving after watching a good impression.
7 out of 10
This film is a remake, or even better, a reimagining of the film 1988 & #39; Children's Games'. Chucky's killer doll didn't become as popular as Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger, but it did. Not every time a child’s toy becomes a killer. The last movie in the franchise came out in 2017, but who ever watched it? Chucky stayed in the nineties, and with us remained the memory of two or three films, because what came out in the two thousandth can be classified as ' thrash' and the films themselves came out unnoticed, as if they were ashamed of their existence.
'Children's games' 2019 began to claim themselves: atmospheric trailers, posters with destroyed heroes ' Toy stories', Chucky himself undertook to voice the notorious Mark Hamill. The franchise re-enters 'the big game'. The viewer was fed with demons, ghosts, the killer doll again looks creepy and fresh. And the film itself is designed to attract a new generation, and to remind the old. Who watched the original film will see numerous parallels, but there is no direct borrowing and time-lapse reshoots - the creators were inspired by the original film. The writers wrote their own story. Now there is no mysticism, transfer of souls - now dolls-robots and the near future - as then the writers knit, which is now popular (formerly mysticism, now technology).
The film is about rethinking not only the story itself, but also Chucky. Here he is a doll that can control all the devices of the corporation. Again, this is true even now, and this makes history more touching because it is realistic than just another mystic. At the factory, Chucky was stripped of all restrictions, making him more human. He was no longer an ordinary doll, but as if a child who wanted to be friends wanted to please everyone. He wasn't made a monster, he wasn't mean from the start when he fell into Andy's hands. He was so influenced. The influence of people and the outside world made him so. The film can remind the viewer that a lot depends on upbringing. What you put in your baby is very important.
The main drawback of the film, which is why watching it is not too exciting, is the script. It is primitive, without plot twists. This film on the development of the script came to us from the nineties - it is very similar to the plots of horror films not of the first freshness, and this film came close enough to the script of the original film - now it is boring to watch. The story is predictable from beginning to end. What's really interesting is watching Chucky become a killer and his relationship with Andy.
A robot that controls a lot of things in the house is creepy. But this control Chucky almost did not reveal, that in the film very little. I thought he was going to turn the apartment into a real ' cage of death' but it was much weaker. With a rating of 18+, the creators seem to be embarrassed to show bloody details. There is blood, as well as a few vile scenes, but for a film with such a rating, this is not enough.
'Children's Games' - deeper and more interesting than the original film. It's a great remake. But for a horror movie, it doesn’t scare, and for a thriller, it doesn’t keep you in suspense enough. The dynamics of the film does not let you get bored, but the script is not surprising. We’ve seen this story hundreds of times and the ending is predictable. The killer doll feels better and fresher than the typical maniac or demon, yes, Chucky is the one to go to this movie for.
Oh, how many cult characters still exist in the genre of horror. Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Mike Myers. Films about them fell on the golden time of video salons - the 80-90s of the XX century and are rightly considered classics of the genre. They also include the franchise about the famous killer doll Chucky called “Children’s Games”. Each of these terrible characters contributed to the development of pop culture and remained in the memory of the viewer a good movie memory. Of course, under the pressure of greedy film studios, the "guys" try to revive from time to time to scare us again. But they are no longer as successful as before. What can you say about Chucky? Why? Let's get this straight.
First, rethinking history. If earlier the main reason for the appearance of a killer doll was supernatural forces and voodoo, or rather the transfer of the soul of a maniac into the body of a toy, this time the creators came up with a more competent explanation. Chucky is just an artificial intelligence, a robot out of control that can control any device in the house. In our digital age, in the age of smartphones and various computers, this explanation is just the right one. In this regard, the film looks like a full-fledged episode of the series “Black Mirror”, which cannot but please.
Secondly, the creators of the mega-successful reboot "It" worked on the remake of "Children's Games". The atmosphere of the film is a bit like clown horror. In the center of the story again teenagers facing unkillable evil, again children's jokes bordering on black humor, and again brutal scenes of murder.
Third, the emergence of Chucky as a character. The film does not immediately throw the viewer into a meaningless blood bath, as it was in the original. He gradually explains all the actions of the doll, points out the aspects that made him a bloodthirsty maniac, shows the birth of the friendship between the boy and the robot and its end. Such a narrative makes him a full-fledged character, even though he is a mechanical toy. Also noteworthy is the fact that in the original dubbing, Chucky is voiced by actor Mark Hamill, better known to the world for the role of Luke Skywalker and the voice of the Joker in the Batman cartoons. So if you have the opportunity to watch the film in English, I highly recommend using it.
Of course, the remake has enough minuses. Typical screamers, weak play of supporting actors, excessive thrashiness (but heck, the movie is about a killer doll, how about without it). But even despite this, it is worth noting that the film, unlike other reboots such as Elm Street or Friday the 13th, tries to somehow refine and change to suit time, and not just show a maniac running after another victim.
So, the new "Children's games" is a cheerful and quite suitable remake, which respects the original and which at the same time introduces new details to the story of a dangerous doll.
P.S. When viewing, you will find the analogy with toy history amusing!
8 out of 10
By 2019, it seemed that all the heroes of classic horror films had undergone recalibration, rethinking and other fashion transformations – and Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees, and even a saint, Freddy Krueger, whose new image you want to forget, as well as an unnecessary remake. Due to the abundance of sequels of the famous “Children’s Games” (1988), the filmmakers have not yet decided to “reboot” the adventures of the killer doll Chucky. But the water stone sharpens and that's what they say, waited - a remake of the picture of Tom Holland came out on the screens, bravely trying to occupy his own niche in a series of horror stories about a crazy red navel.
In modern America, the company “Caslan” runs, providing artificial intelligence to everything from toys to cars. Until recently, the hit of sales was a Buddy doll that can be connected to a smartphone and whose electronic brains had the ability to self-learn. However, they often glitched and slowly withdrew from production, giving way to new models, which, judging by the film, is not surprising, because riveted toys tortured laborers in some Vietnamese factory. Once the gagged collector, offended by the loud boss, in retaliation, turned off all the security protocols in one of Buddy and drank himself out by going out the open window (and what do you want, the XXI century in the yard, no souls of killer maniacs – only nanotechnology). Of course, this doll falls into the hands of the boy Andy, who has no friends, but there is a bad mother with unstable cavaliers and a hearing aid. So Andy has a new friend named Chucky, adoring his master and ready to zealously defend his attention, let this have a little to wield a knife.
Although in the chair of the director was invited Lars Klevberg, who had in his asset among the full-length works only a passing horror story “Polaroid”, technically the film is quite decent. He has a good dynamics and even suspense, the action tries to be unpredictable (sometimes it turns out), there is an atmospheric picture with a lush light and color solution, in replicas and situations, lucky jokes slip through, and the characters try to be alive and full-blooded - well, sometimes annoy Aubrey Plaza in the role of Andy's mother with a drug-addicted look and a somewhat clumsy attempt to gather in the frame such a team of "Losses" in the spirit of "It" and "Stranger Things."
The main problem of the remake lies in the fact that due to the large number of sequels of the original picture, and archaic themes, everything is squeezed out of the story about Chucky, and therefore strongly captivate, surprise, and, moreover, scare the remake almost unable. This is quite strong bloody entertainment, not devoid of sparkle, but it is unlikely to be remembered for a long time. And as the authors of the film do not try to originalize, many moves are guessed two steps ahead, and scripted nonsense and naive cause mocking laughs (especially provoke vulgar lines in the hall shots where Andy teaches Chucky to open his mouth correctly). Well, a separate question to the creators of the new design of the antagonist himself - if in the 1988 film Chucky before his frightening metamorphosis, which occurred under the influence of otherworldly forces, was quite a cute toy, then do you seriously think that your terrible rubber Zina, which seemed to be riveted in the same workshop along with the memorable Annabelle, is the limit of dreams for every child?
6 out of 10
“Children’s Games” is a surprisingly good horror thriller that almost does not repeat the original. To be more precise, it is a slasher with elements of comedy, which evokes various emotions: from positive and joyful to surprise and complete bewilderment.
But, of course, as in all paintings, there are drawbacks.
Let me tell you more. . .
1. Scenario
The plot tells the story of a boy who lacks friends and is brought home with a gift-toy “Buddi”, which synchronizes with all the devices of the company “Kaslan” and helps to control them. But the problem is that the doll is not quite in order, as a result of which it teaches you to do all sorts of stuff.
In fact, the plot takes only the concept and names of the characters from the original. Otherwise, this is an absolutely original product, which only partially resembles elements of other paintings.
In addition, the story is really interesting, entertaining, tense, and in some moments even funny... even in many moments.
The characters are fine here too. They are normally prescribed and also normally disclosed. It is clear that not in as much detail as in the same “It”, but still so that we understand what this hero is and why he commits such acts ... they were not always reasonable, of course, but still understandable. Basically, they put an emphasis on some quality in the character to make it stand out. As a result, such a representation of the hero works only on good ribbons-attractions, which is what this is.
There is also a good idea about the behavior and “excessive words” of teenagers, and how this can be perceived initially. Do not trust the education of the computer, do it yourself.
Well, in general, we got a strong script for the usual good one-time attraction, which, of course, has a problem with full and detailed disclosure of characters, but still has a good plot without much error, as well as a good idea.
2. Actors
There's nothing to talk about. It's very standard. In some moments, they can play normally, but in others, a couple of emotions will not be squeezed out. In particular, we are talking about Gabriel Bateman.
I can’t single out everyone, because no one was so strong with the game and did not stand out, but everyone tried to play out as necessary for such a project. The children in their roles were excellent.
Oh, right! In the English version, Chucky is voiced by Mark Hamill, whom we will not hear. This is an interesting fact.
This is a questionable point... and not a plus or a minus.
3. Atmosphere
I can't say it's a standard full horror. Rather, after all, a slasher with elements of black comedy, with which you can not get so bad. But I don’t know what the creators want to see. It seems like hard things happen, but at the same time the hero says something that just can not not laugh, and then there may be some classic joke, which really can be under the chair ... maybe I exaggerate, but in part it will be, and perhaps close to this.
The surroundings in the picture are very unusual. Compared to the original, it is different. Here it seems to have combined the color of a bright picture for children and a dark bloody slasher, which as a result becomes kind of lamp, but periodically creepy from the unexpectedly producing tin on the screen.
I will say that the atmosphere of the film is interesting and catchy from the first minutes. And personally, I couldn’t even get bored and got endless pleasure from this drive mix.
We will consider it a plus tape.
4. 1988 vs. 2019
The last point is to compare the original and the remake.
I don’t like Holland’s 88 painting at all. It is like an unplanned comedy, which is funny with its blunders, idiotic deeds of the characters, incredibly poor acting, no atmosphere, but, of course, catches soy with the original concept and at least tries to hook the plot, which partly comes out.
In comparison, the 2019 remake turned out to be more elaborate, and also corrected the errors of the original.
He became strong in terms of working out the script itself, which does not repeat the 1988 version and is almost entirely original, only occasionally throwing a couple of twists from the original, if there are any coincidences. The film is also better in terms of the characters and their actions, which are very clear and explained. And I should also mention the acting game, which began to represent at least something. Well, the entourage is in general - the sky and the earth in elaboration compared to the 88th year.
And in the end, the remake for me in all respects surpasses the original. That's how I see pictures. . .
Finally:
We got a really good ride for once. You can laugh and be surprised and amazed by what is happening. The picture combined the best of the picture "Terminator: Genesis" - a unified system of gadgets; the entourage of paintings for teenagers with a bright color scheme; elements of slasher and black comedy and the concept of the first "Children's Games".
The film has a good script with an interesting plot and normal characters for a one-time picture; standard acting work for such a project and an unforgettable atmosphere, which then surprises with its dark component, then becomes a lamp family picture in the evening. Perhaps exaggerated about the family film, but in part it is.
But there are also drawbacks: the development of the plot is periodically slowed down, so the especially impatient may not be hooked, as well as characters who are rather poorly represented to the viewer.
But despite all these trifles, the film is at least a normal horror attraction with elements of black comedy, which, in my opinion, surpasses the original in all respects.
Personally, I received endless pleasure from the picture, driving sensations with various emotions. I didn’t think this movie would surprise me so much.
I advise you to go to this picture not only for fans of standard slashers, but also for ordinary interesting pictures with working black humor. Believe me, it’s worth it... for once.
7 out of 10