Spooky season is over, but Prime Video just gave horror fans a great surprise. The streamer’s horror catalog already includes titles like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Descent, and Nosferatu, but that lineup is constantly growing as the streamer updates its offerings monthly. The start of November brought one of the most iconic slashers to Prime Video, but subscribers will have to decide for themselves if the 2019 remake also streaming is just as good.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The original 1988 Child’s Play and its 2019 remake are now both streaming on Prime Video as of November 1st. Both films center around a killer doll named Chucky who embarks on a bloody rampage. The original film, directed by Tom Holland and starring Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky, spawned one of the biggest slasher franchises and remains one of the most iconic slashers from the ‘80s. Director Lars Klevberg revisited the film in 2019 amid the reboot era trend, bringing Mark Hamill on board as the voice of the terrifying doll.
The Child’s Play Remake Made a Major Change to the Original
When Child’s Play hit theaters in 1988, it created a new and iconic type of horror villain in Chucky, a murderous character who not only put a monstrous spin on the idea of a toy being harmless but was also far different from the hulking, silent slasher killers at the time. Although its 2019 remake mostly kept to the same premise and plot of a killer doll, it transformed the story from one based in the supernatural to something based in sci-fi.
The original film opens with Chucky’s origin story, showing serial killer Charles Lee Ray being chased by police and using a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into a Good Guy” doll. The 2019 remake, which holds a 64% critic score and 57% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, completely removed that supernatural subplot in favor of a more updated origin story for the killer doll, replacing it with a sci-fi origin in which Chucky is a high-tech doll with a malfunctioning AI. Whether that change worked depends on who you ask, and the modern-day update ultimately split critics and audiences.
The 2019 film’s decision to play into modern tech fears brought a more realistic take to the iconic villain, which some appreciated. However, for others, this also resulted in a less terrifying character in Chucky and a less compelling story overall. In both movies, Chucky is an unstoppable force of evil, and both feature some pretty gruesome kills.
Where to Stream the Rest of the Child’s Play Franchise?
Only the original Child’s Play and its more recent remake are available to stream on Prime Video at the moment, but there are six other films in the franchise. Unfortunately, none of those films are available on a major streaming platform. Fans looking to binge-watch Child’s Play 2, Child’s Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and Cult of Chucky can access them on VOD, though.
Child’s Play also spawned a three-season TV series, Chucky, that served as a sequel to Cult of Chucky. That show aired on Syfy and USA Network from 2021 until 2024 and is available to stream on Peacock and AMC+, as well as VOD.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios -
Image courtesy of Prokino Filmverleih
