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No doubt every horror fan is familiar with (or tired of) the “Oh my god, my toy came to life and is trying to kill me” trope. I for one felt like this premise of a previously lifeless antagonist had been done to death until I watched Karl Holt’s 2019 film, Benny loves you. Playing as a mix between shaun of the dead and Child’s play, Benny loves you he’s curious, cuddly, over-the-top violent, and has a wicked sense of humor that will have Chucky rooting for the titular toy Benny himself from the sidelines.
Unexplained resuscitation
After a brutal opening sequence involving a little girl named Ashley (Bella Munday) executed by her old teddy bear, it’s implied that Benny isn’t the only sentient and sadistic toy out there. But we quickly forget about Ashley — who was kind of annoying to not overlook — when the story shifts to our hero Jack (played by writer/director/producer Karl Holt).
Jack is a 35-year-old man in every sense of stereotype you can think of Benny loves you. Jack lives with his parents, sleeps in his nursery with his stuffed animal Benny by his side, and works as an unattainable toy designer, so he doesn’t have much love for him other than the unconditional love from his parents, who are in my mind. at least somewhat responsible for the current state of stunted development of their adult child. After a freak accident with a birthday cake, both of Jack’s parents die, meaning he can no longer pay the mortgage and will have to sell the house.
It’s time for Benny!
Meanwhile, Jack is fired by his boss Ron (James Parsons) for not coming up with any lucrative toy ideas, but is later rehired on probation until he proves himself a worthy designer with the help of Dawn (Clair Cartwright). , a technical consultant working for a toy company. Realizing he has to grow up or shut up, Jack rids his soon-to-be-sold house of all his childhood posies, including Benny. Jack quickly discovers that he has made a grave mistake that determines the rest Benny loves you in motion when his beloved childhood toy comes to life with murderous intent.
Everyone who enters Jack’s house is brutally murdered one by one when they stop by to visit Benny loves you. As a result, cleaning up after Benny and running from the less-than-competent police on more than one occasion inspires Jack to design a toy based on Benny’s likeness and new personality, benefiting his career. As Jack grows closer to Dawn, his emotions are held hostage by Benny, who is willing to kill anyone Jack pays attention to except himself.
It’s not as cliche as it sounds
I know you’re probably thinking that Benny loves you is just another watered down and poorly executed version Child’s play franchises, like Gingerdead Man or Oh God. Shamelessly borrowing a few pages from the sentient-murder-doll playbook, Benny loves you it holds up because it plays more like a comedy of errors than anything else. Jack is certainly a talented designer, but his ineptitude is compounded by the fact that he needs to cover up a gruesome murder whenever someone approaches him, and often even when his guests are going about their business in the next room.
In fact, most of the comedy in Benny loves you consists of Jack haphazardly wiping up a large amount of blood while peering into the other room to make sure everything is okay.
And Benny, as adorable as he may seem at first glance, is one of the most brutal serial killers I’ve seen in this subgenre. Using any found object in the house he can get his hands on, Benny stabs, slashes, and on one occasion uses a vacuum cleaner to suck the organs right out of his victims, all the while chuckling to himself and saying his signature catchphrase, “Benny loves you !”
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel
After all, Benny loves you is another entry into the killer doll subgenre. However, there’s nothing wrong with a derivative plot device if it’s done well, which is why I prefer antagonists like Benny to the Annabelle doll found in magic universe. Benny loves you he takes a tired trope and uses his own self-awareness to drive his humor home. If you look closely enough, you can even see some subtle nods to Stephen King’s “The Monkey” in a few scenes.
While some of the violence may make you cringe, you’ll find yourself laughing at the most inappropriate moments because the stop-motion animation is so deliberately over-the-top that you can’t help but fall in love with Benny.
If you want to stay on Benny’s good side by showing him your unwavering affection, you can stream Benny loves you free on Tubi.
