Movie Info:
Writer: Don Mancini
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Dinah Manoff, Tommy Swerdlow, Jack Colvin, Neil Giuntoli
Rating: R
Studio: Fox

Release Info:
Theatrical Release Date: November 9, 1988
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $14.49

The horror franchise I remember most from my childhood is Child’s Play. We weren’t really allowed to watch horror movies growing up, but Child’s Play was a film I remember seeing. Apparently, a demonic doll isn’t as scary as a dude with a face mask. Honestly, I think a demonic child’s play toy is a lot more scary than a face masked dude, especially if you are a kid, like I was the first time I saw this.

In the grand scheme of things, Chucky really is one of the more mild horror villains. Yeah, he is a nasty little doll, but he is not as scary as Michael Myers or even Freddy. Still, Child’s Play is a fun horror series, and it’s one of the classics of my generation. If you do not know who Chucky is, then you have been living under a rock for the past 20+ years. Granted, the series has steadily declined with the more sequels that have been made, but the original Child’s Play is a must watch for any horror fan.

The success of Child’s Play is, in large part, due to the non-mechanical acting. Little Andy (Alex Vincent) is so innocent and adorable you do not want anything to happen to him. He is the pawn in the game of a serial killer turned doll. Before she was married to a preacher on Seventh Heaven, Catherine Hicks was Andy’s mom who would defend her little boy to the death and Chris Sarandon is good in pretty much everything he’s in. Hicks and Sarandon have decent chemistry and both play their parts well. Even Dinah Manoff is good as Aunt Maggie, who has one of the most hilarious looking/sounding deaths in horror history.

You can’t go into watching any horror film with a realist’s point of view, but especially not Child’s Play. It’s about a doll that comes to life and tries to kill people. If you can look past everything to the silly, fun story Child’s Play has to tell, then you are going to enjoy this movie. Otherwise, I recommend not watching this and suggest you develop an imagination.

The Child’s Play Plot
Charles Lee “Chucky” Ray (Brad Dourif) is The Lakeshore Strangler. He has been pursued by the police and now, Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) has him cornered inside a toy store. When Chucky is mortally shot, he opens up a package of the store’s Good Guy Dolls, says a voodoo incantation and transfers his soul into the doll. The ritual creates a storm and the store is hit with lightening, burning down in the process.

It’s Andy Barclay’s (Alex Vincent) birthday and all he wants is a Good Guy doll. Andy’s mom, Karen (Catherine Hicks) has been scrimping and saving, but as a widow, her department store job isn’t enough to do much more than support Andy and herself. Desperate to buy a Good Guy Doll since Andy has been so good this year, she is willing to do nearly whatever she can to get one.

When Maggie (Dinah Manoff), who works with Karen and often babysit’s Andy, finds a Good Guy doll, Karen is willing to buy it from a smelly street vendor. However, this doll is no ordinary doll. It was taken from the burnt down store and contains the soul of Chucky. Strange things start to happen and it seems like Andy is to blame. When Aunt Maggie ends up dead, Andy becomes the prime suspect, especially when little good guy footprints are found on the counter top.

When Andy skips school and is at the scene of an explosion, the police want to have Andy’ committed, despite Karen’s protestations. However, when Karen takes Chucky home with her, she soon realizes that he has been moving and talking with no batteries and discovers that Andy is telling the truth. Now, all she has to do is convince the police her son is not crazy before more people end up dead. especially Andy.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Child’s Play does not look like a perfect Blu-ray transfer. In many ways it does not even look as if it was remastered for the experience. Don’t get me wrong, at times, it is easy to see the improvement in the visual transfer. You won’t find anything as impressive as you will with Misery, but this transfer is a step up from the DVD version that fans probably already own. The detail can be rather hit or miss. Occasionally you’re dealing with a nicely detailed movie and at other times it feels like you’re watching the DVD and the quality has not changed. The issues and complaints aren’t major, but they are present and they are noticeable. The colors are more than acceptable even if the blacks sometime need work. You might have better luck and be more impressed with the visuals than I am, but even though I was not wowed, it managed to get the job done even if the quality was not that of a new release.

The audio kicks the visuals ass and then some. It’s funny to think how much work they would put into renewing the audio, especially since the visuals often felt half-assed. The surround sound is used as effectively as possible. The dialogue is stellar, but it is the pitter patter of Chucky’s little feet that really stands out. The same can be said for the other background noises that the film uses to make things more interesting. In addition to the main, English DTS HD-MA 5.1 track there are English, Spanish, and French tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are a few special features on this new Child’s Play Blu-ray. I can’t say that I am wowed by any of them, but some are certainly better than others. The commentaries (yes, there are two of them) are just what I mean. The first commentary features Kevin Yagher, Catherine Hicks (Karen) and Alex Vincent (Andy). The biggest problem with this commentary is that the three are not in the same room and it’s badly mixed. Catherine and Kevin are together and having a normal enough conversation. Alex is not in the room and his comments are thrown in here and there as the opportunity presents itself. It ends up feeling broken and there are certainly issues with flow as a result. The next commentary is with David Kirschner and Don Mancini. This is the commentary to listen to if you’re looking for something more technical.

The “Chucky Commentary” is one of the more amusing featurettes on the disc. This commentary mainly occurs during any of the action/murder/attack scenes and Chucky has plenty to say. This is purely for entertainment sake. It’s worth listening to, especially if you’re a Chucky fan. Of course, once you’ve heard it once you probably won’t have a reason to hear it a second time.

“Evil Comes in Small Packages” offers all of the behind the scenes information that you might want to learn. Here you have information about the production, the development of the story, and various interviews with cast and crew. There is a good amount of technical talk here, which separates it from a lot of other behind the scenes featurettes.

“Chucky: Building a Nightmare” is definitely the best featurette available for Child’s Play. Kevin Yagher offers up how he brought Chucky to life using animatronics. It’s quite interesting, especially considering this is when things were done by hand, without things like CGI and other enhancements.

“A Monster Convention” includes the Monster Mania 2007 panel that includes Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, and Catherine Hicks. This only lasts for around five minutes, so there isn’t much to chew on here. Only one or two questions make it worth listening to.

“The Making of Child’s Play” is not so much a making of, as it is a making of Chucky. This deals with the animatronics, much like “Chucky Building a Nightmare” does.

The special features finish up with a photo gallery and a trailer presented in standard definition.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Child’s Play is a must watch/must own for true horror buffs. However, the quality and bonus offerings on Blu-Ray are just okay, and not spectacular. It would be a safe bet to say you will enjoy this as much on DVD as you will Blu-Ray. So, until a better BD release comes out, save a few bucks and buy this on DVD, or if you already own it, don’t feel compelled to upgrade just yet. There’s bound to be another Blu-ray upgrade attempt for Child’s Play soon enough.

Overall Rating:

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