Child’s Play (1988) (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Tom Holland

Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent

Release Date: August 16, 2022

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis:

The “chills come thick and fast” (Los Angeles Times) in this riveting, jolt-a-minute thriller about an innocent-looking doll inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who refuses to die. From the director of Fright Night, Child’s Play comes complete with “excellent special effects” (Leonard Maltin) and a slew of special features that make this 3-disc set your “friend to the end!”

In this “clever, playful thriller” (The New York Times), only six-year-old Andy realizes that Chucky is responsible for a spate of gruesome murders, including that of his unsuspecting babysitter. But the real terror takes hold when the deranged doll becomes determined to transfer his evil spirit to a living human being … Andy!

Please Note: Shout! Factory provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

The original 1988 horror classic ‘Child’s Play’ tells the story of a young lonely boy named Andy who wants a Good Guy doll more than anything this year yet his mother is simply unable to afford it right now, at least until she comes across a man on the street selling one for a steal and can’t help but take advantage. Ecstatic with his new friend ‘Chucky’, Andy couldn’t be happier, at least until his new friend starts coming to life and murdering people. Naturally assuming that it’s just the wild imagination of a child, his mother and a local detective soon begin to realize that his doll just may be alive and possessed by the soul of a dangerous serial killer. So gather up your friends and get ready to revisit the original horror classic that introduced to the world to the lovably deranged killer doll Chucky!

‘Child’s Play’ was initially released in 1988 and Directed by Tom Holland from a screenplay he co-wrote along with John Lafia and series creator Don Mancini from an initial story by Mancini, it stars Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent and Brad Dourif. Even more than three decades after its original release, the film still serves up a solid, tense and just plain enjoyable ride with some pretty capable effects that don’t look nearly as dated as you might expect. While the original was definitely a somewhat different type of film in some respects (more of a horror-thriller than horror-comedy) you can see the roots of where the wisecracking, more darkly humorous take on Chucky began here and after decades of this story continuing and evolving it’s quite fun to go back and see its progression over the years and just how many elements are still retained in the storyline today.

Scream Factory’s new 3-disc Collector’s Edition release of ‘Child’s Play’ brings home the original horror favorite that introduced us to our favorite foul-mouthed and murderous doll and kick started the ongoing storyline that is still active today, most recently in the Chucky TV series. Now the first film makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD courtesy of Scream Factory in this impressive 3-disc Collector’s Edition set that features a pretty stellar new Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 and a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The release also offers a truly massive collection of bonus material including numerous brand new extras created specifically for this release, along with countless archival extras and the end result is a magnificent 4K disc debut that any fellow fans of the franchise that are fully 4K capable will probably want to make a definite point of picking up whenever possible.

Overall, the new 3-disc 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition release of ‘Child’s Play’ from Scream Factory brings home the beloved horror classic for the first time on 4K disc which delivers an altogether pretty solid and source faithful 4K Ultra HD presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 from a new 2022 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. The new video presentation is only further complemented by a notable new Dolby Atmos soundtrack for the movie and a thoroughly sizable collection of bonus content new and old that should keep you entertained for hours after you finish (re)watching the movie itself. Fans should be absolutely thrilled with this altogether great release that brings the horror favorite home for the first time in 4K UHD with a release that’s worthy of the film’s legacy and fan base. If you’re a fan and already considering a purchase, this one is highly recommended!

VIDEO:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Child’s Play’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio, from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole and brings home the original horror classic with a sharp, clean and source faithful new video presentation that doesn’t disappoint. The details within all look rather fantastic and everything from the backgrounds, city streets and even character clothing and facial details look better than ever, while still retaining a heavy grain level that provides a naturally filmic appearance which should thoroughly please those who appreciate these kind of faithful transfers that don’t overly gloss and scrub the grain and other welcome artifacts representative of the source. The Dolby Vision addition only benefits all of it and adds some rich, vibrant colors that frequently stand out beautifully and are complemented by deep, crush-free blacks. Overall, this is a very solid Ultra High Definition video presentation that stays true to the source and improves upon the quality in almost every possible way.

The 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition release additionally includes the Feature Film on Blu-ray which is also taken from the new 4K scan of the movie.

AUDIO:

The Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack sounds quite impressive itself and offers a crisp, clean and notably immersive audio presentation throughout. It utilizes all seven available channels regularly in order to send some music, plus action and vehicle effects throughout the various speakers, along with some creepy additions such as Chucky scurrying along throughout the rear channels and other fun additions that help to make this one even more immersive and thrilling, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or negatively affected along the way. Overall, this is a quite nice Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that expands the audio experience throughout and should easily excite the fans.

The included Feature Film Blu-ray disc also includes the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Child’s Play’ features a truly impressive collection of noteworthy bonus content that fans of this cult classic should thoroughly appreciate, the majority of which can be found on the 2 included Blu-ray discs. For the sake of simplicity and easy navigation the extras have been broken down by disc below:

Disc One (4K UHD – Feature Film) includes 4 different Audio Commentary tracks. The first is an ‘Audio Commentary with director Tom Holland’; the second is an ‘Audio Commentary with Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and “Chucky” designer Kevin Yagher’, while the third is an ‘Audio Commentary with Producer David Kirschner and Screenwriter Don Mancini’, as well as a fourth track featuring ‘Select Scene Audio Commentary with Chucky’.

Disc Two (Blu-ray – Feature Film) features the same ‘4 Audio Commentary’ tracks featured on the UHD disc (see above) in addition to a collection of brand new Interviews created specifically for this new release. The new interviews include ‘Birth of the Good Guy with Writer Don Mancini’ (running approximately 12 minutes in length), ‘Friends Till the End with Actor Alex Vincent’ (running approximately 15 minutes), ‘Believe Me Now? with Actor Chris Sarandon’ (approximately 11 minutes), ‘Chucky the Great and Terrible with Producer David Kirschner’ (26 minutes) and ‘Windy City Chills with Production Manager Robert Latham Brown’ (5 minutes).

Disc Three (Blu-ray – Special Features) is dedicated solely to more extras and features which are broken down into Three Sections. The first section is ‘Making Chucky’ which includes ‘Behind-the-Scenes Special Effects Footage’ (running approximately 1 hour in length), ‘Howard Berger: Your Special Effects Friend ‘til the End’ (running approximately 41 minutes) and ‘Life Behind the Mask: Being Chucky’ (approximately 40 minutes). The second section of extras on the disc is ‘Featurettes’ and includes ‘Evil Comes in Small Packages’ (25 minutes), ‘Chucky: Building a Nightmare’ (10 minutes), ‘A Monster Convention’ (5 minutes), ‘Introducing Chucky: The Making of Child’s Play’ (6 minutes) and a ‘Vintage Featurette’ (5 minutes). The last section on the disc is ‘More Child’s Play’ which features a ‘TV Spot’ (17 seconds) and the ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) for the film, along with a ‘Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery’ and a ‘Posters and Lobby Cards Photo Gallery’.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

–

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

–

The Original Horror Classic ‘Child’s Play’ is Now Available to Own in a 3-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Set from Scream Factory!

–

You can purchase your copy of the ‘Child’s Play: 4K UHD Collector’s Edition’ by clicking on the Amazon icon below, or purchase it directly from Shout Factory HERE!

–

*Screen-Connections.com is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases