David Lewis knows that Chucky the doll isn鈥檛 really a killer. Lewis has been an actor for decades. He鈥檚 acted in horror films. He played a serial killer in Evangeline. He鈥檚 won a Leo Award. He knows that make-believe is just that, and that props 鈥� including creepy-looking dolls like Chucky 鈥� can鈥檛 kill him.
But that wealth of knowledge and experience didn鈥檛 stop Lewis from nearly jumping out of his skin several times while filming Child鈥檚 Play, the reboot of the 1980s horror series that hits theatres on June 21.
Like its predecessors, Child鈥檚 Play is about the fraught relationship between a kid (in this case, named Andy and portrayed by Gabriel Bateman) and his murderous doll, Chucky. Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza plays Andy鈥檚 mom, Karen, and Lewis plays Shane, Karen鈥檚 boyfriend.
In the new film, Chucky is voiced by Mark Hamill, and while the Star Wars star wasn鈥檛 present when the movie went to camera in 麻豆传媒映画last year, Chucky the doll was there for all of it 鈥� and that doll made an impression on Lewis.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got six or seven of the dolls and they鈥檙e two-and-a-half-feet tall, and sometimes they鈥檇 just be left around the set by the prop department, and it would scare the crap out of me,鈥� Lewis says.
鈥淚鈥檇 turn around and it would be there and it鈥檚 got this face and it鈥檚 looking right at you,鈥� says Lewis, whose credits include Unspeakable, Parked and Dirk Gently鈥檚 Holistic Detective Agency. 鈥淚 experienced legitimate jump-scares probably four or five times. One time, a member of the crew saw me jump and started laughing and said, 鈥榊eah, that鈥檚 happened to me, too.鈥欌��
OG Child鈥檚 Play films and the reboot lean into that special quality that makes rational adults like Lewis jump at the sight of a sinister-looking doll. 鈥淲e cling to these dolls when we鈥檙e little and they鈥檙e security blankets for us, and what happens when that turns on its head and it鈥檚 not a security blanket anymore, and it becomes something that wants to hurt us鈥︹�� Lewis trails off. 鈥淢an, that鈥檚 terrifying.鈥�
Where the reboot diverges from the original spate of films is in how the doll becomes an instrument of evil, says Lewis. 鈥淚n the original, the doll was possessed by the soul of a murderer, but this time, the doll is AI,鈥� he says, adding that the film delves into society鈥檚 relationship with AI and how dependent we are on it. 听鈥淚t鈥檚 all growing too quickly. Will we know when to stop it? Are we even capable of stopping it?鈥�
Filming Child鈥檚 Play wasn鈥檛 non-stop terror for Lewis, though. He鈥檚 got a lot of joy wrapped up in it, too, beginning with the presence of Luke Skywalker.
鈥淸Mark Hamill]鈥檚 been voicing the Joker for years, and every move they鈥檝e made with this project has added another layer of goodness to it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 know that, when you鈥檙e redoing these types of shows, the fan base can be like, 鈥榃hat are you doing to our franchise?! You鈥檙e changing it and we don鈥檛 like change!鈥� There鈥檚 a lot of ownership with this sort of stuff, and I understand that, but when they attached Mark Hamill to it, I think a lot of people will give it a chance now, and they should.鈥�
Filming took place on a soundstage, on location in the Fraser Valley, and at 鈥渢hat iconic red brick building in the West End where everyone who lives in the West End has to live for at least a month.鈥�
Lewis worked mostly with Plaza, who he describes as a 鈥渜uirky, interesting, funny, weird, charming human being,鈥� and Bateman. 鈥淸He鈥檚] 13 going on 34. He鈥檚 so good. The cameras would stop rolling and he鈥檚 running around the set like a normal kid, but when the cameras were rolling, this kid was dialed in.鈥�
Lewis savoured the opportunity to watch director Lars Klevberg and his team construct jump-scares. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 have somebody walk in front of the camera at the very last second as the camera is pushing in on a character,鈥� says Lewis. 鈥淚 jumped. You鈥檙e going to jump. There鈥檚 an art to this and they nailed it.鈥�
Child鈥檚 Play opens in theatres June 21.
Watch trailer below:
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