Serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) is being chased by Chicago police detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) when he runs into the Playland toy store. As the murderer bleeds out among the toys, he chants a voodoo curse and screams that he’ll be back to get his revenge. Immediately afterwards, the store is struck by lightning.

A couple days later single mother Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) worries about how she is going to afford the present her 6-year-old son Andy (Alex Vincent) really wants for his birthday—a talking Good Guys doll. Her friend Maggie (Dinah Manoff) tells her there is a man selling a doll in the alley outside of the department store where they work, and so she jumps at the opportunity. (She doesn’t know this doll came from the burnt-out toy store.)

Andy is thrilled to receive his new friend, who says his name is Chucky. That night, while Maggie is babysitting Andy, she gets frustrated as Andy constantly disobeys her rules and blames the actions on Chucky. However, she soon discovers that Andy’s far-fetched tales were actually true when the doll comes to life and attacks her with hammer. Karen is shocked when she returns home to a crime scene—she doesn’t believe Andy’s stories about the doll and thinks there might be something wrong with her son. However, she soon starts to notice Andy having long conversations with Chucky—who’s only supposed to be able to say three pre-recorded phrases. And when another person is killed while her son is around with Chucky, she suspects that the doll may contain the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Can she convince Detective Norris to believe her and help her stop Chucky’s murderous spree of terror before it’s too late?

I had never seen Child’s Play before watching this Blu-ray release, and I have to admit I’m glad—if I had watched this as a child when it was originally released, I would have had nightmares for weeks! The premise could have resulted in a low budget, really cheesy movie, however, this film is genuinely entertaining and terrifying with excellent production value. The story is expertly-crafted to build the tension and make you jump, and just when you start to relax, Chucky’s back at it again. It’s amazing how realistic Chucky looks and acts, especially since this film was made when things were primarily done using practical effects, before everything was computer-generated. The filmmakers make use of creative camera angles and shots to add to the mystery and tension. Before we see a full body shot of Chucky moving around, we just hear his scampering or get shots from his perspective, only seeing a glimpse of a hand as he runs around doing his murderous deeds. There are a couple of scenes where I found myself giggling at the absurdity of seeing this tiny doll hand opening doors, or the doll cursing like a sailor. But those also served as momentary releases of tension—the big showdown at the end was genuinely terrifying and had me on the edge of my seat.

For this release Shout! Factory has created a new 2K scan from the inter-positive. I compared this release to the previous release from the Universal Studios box set, but couldn’t see much of a difference—both look incredible. The picture contains some grain—as is to be expected from a movie shot on film—but is never excessive. The picture looks crisp and clear and just as good as any modern-day film. The soundtrack is equally impressive. It constantly makes use of the stereo and surround channels to add dimension to the on-screen action—whether it’s the sound of bullets flying by, or Chucky’s terrifying scampering coming up from behind. The subwoofer is also utilized well to add some boom to the explosive scenes.

Shout! Factory has been doing an excellent job with the supplemental material in its line of Collector’s Edition Blu-rays, and this release is no different. In addition to porting all of the features from previous DVD & Blu-ray releases—three audio commentaries and jst under an hour of behind-the-scenes, vintage and retrospective featurettes—this release also includes a brand new commentary with the film’s director, Tom Holland, as well as an hour of behind-the-scenes home video footage and two new 40-minute interviews with special effect artist Howard Berger and actor Ed Gale.

The Blu-ray comes packed in a standard Blu-ray case with a slipcover. The insert inside the cover is reversible, giving the viewer a choice in how to display this title in his or her collection. The alternate view for this title features the original poster art for the film. (Note: The white dot in the artwork below is due to a hole punch in our screener copy—the released version will not have this.)

What’s Included:

Film: (1:27:12)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Audio Commentaries
  Four audio commentaries are provided for the film, one of which is brand new for this release.
  • Commentary with Director Tom Holland NEW (1:27:12)
    New to this release is a commentary with director Tom Holland. Moderator Nathanial Thompson of Mondo Digital does a great job of keeping the conversation going and getting the director to provide interesting stories about the production, the actors, the effects, the story and more.
  • Commentary with Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and “Chucky” Designer Kevin Yagher (1:27:12)
    Separate commentaries by Alex Vincent (“Andy Barclay”), and the husband and wife team of actress Catherine Hicks (“Karen Barclay”) and “Chucky” designer Kevin Yagher, are spliced together to form a single commentary. The participants provide an entertaining retrospective commentary for the twentieth anniversary of the film. They give a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film, but sometimes the jumping back and forth between the two commentaries can be a bit jarring.
  • Commentary with Producer David Kirschner and Screenwriter Don Mancini (1:27:12)
    Producer David Kirschner and the original screenwriter (the first of three), Don Mancini, provide an entertaining retrospective commentary for the twentieth anniversary of the film. They give a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the casting and making of the film, mention how the final film differs from Mancini’s original script, and more.
  • Commentary with Commentary with Chucky (Selected Scenes)
    Chucky himself provides a really fun, tongue-in-cheek commentary on selected scenes from the film—offering a joyous curse-filled play-by-play of his murderous scenes. This is so entertaining, but it would have been nice if there had been an easy way to just view the scenes that have the commentary.
• Making Chucky
  All of these features are brand new for Shout! Factory’s Collector’s Edition release.
  • Behind-the-Scenes Special Effects Footage NEW (1:00:08)
    Special effects artist Howard Berger heads into the the effects shop with his home video camera to talk with the artists and get a look at the various creatures being sculpted and other practical effects and models being prepared, tested and filmed. There is also behind-the-scenes footage from the set, such as when actor Ed Gale (“Chucky”) gets set on fire, and other portions of the final showdown. The raw footage is presented in Full Frame format.
  • Howard Berger: Your Special Effects Friend ‘Til The End NEW (40:53)
    In this brand new retrospective interview, special effects artist Howard Berger recounts stories of how he got involved with the film, the various practical effects techniques used to bring Chucky to life, working with actor Ed Gale, and more.
  • Life Behind the Mask: Being Chucky NEW (40:02)
    In this brand new retrospective interview, actor Ed Gale talks about how he got the job playing Chucky, working with the director and other actors, mime lessons, the challenges of playing this killer doll, shooting the fire stunts, the sequels, being typecast, and more.
• Featurettes
  • Evil Comes in Small Packages (24:49)
    This three-part retrospective is broken into three segments. In “The Birth of Chucky”, the filmmakers discuss the evolution of the film’s script. In “Creating the Horror”, the cast talk about landing and preparing for their roles, filming their scenes, and working with Chucky. And in “Unleashed”, the filmmakers talk about editing the film, watching the films with an audience, and the fan reactions to the movies. Includes rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writers Don Mancini and John Lafia, producer David Kirschner, director Tom Holland, Chucky puppet designer Kevin Yagher, and actors Chris Sarandon (“Mike Norris”), Brad Dourif (“Charles Lee Ray”), Catherine Hicks (“Karen Barclay”) and Alex Vincent (“Andy Barclay”). This feature was originally created for the 2008 20th Anniversary DVD release.
  • Chucky: Building a Nightmare (10:05)
    The filmmakers talk about designing Chucky and bringing him to life. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with Chucky puppet designer Kevin Yagher, producer David Kirschner, writer Don Mancini, special EFX experts Tom Savini, Alec Gills and Shane Mohan, and visual effects expert Tom Woodruff, Jr. This feature was originally created for the 2008 20th Anniversary DVD release.
  • A Monster Convention (5:26)
    Footage from the cast reunion panel at Monster Mania 2007. Actors Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and Chris Sarandon answer questions from the audience.
  • Introducing Chucky: The Making of Child’s Play (6:15)
    This vintage promotional featurette includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director Tom Holland, producer David Kirschner, creature designer Kevin Yagher, and actor Chris Sarandon. Presented in full frame format.
  • Vintage Featurette (4:54)
    This vintage promotional featurette was originally created for the film’s theatrical release. It introduces the premise of the film and the cast, and shows some behind-the-scenes footage of Chucky being brought to life.
• More Child’s Play
  • TV Spot (:17)
  • Theatrical Trailer (2:02)
  • Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (3:09)
    Allow this slideshow of 36 rare behind-the-scenes and promotional photos to auto-advance every 5 minutes, or use the remote to manually step through the photos.
  • Posters & Lobby Cards Photo Gallery (1:45)
    Allow this slideshow of 19 foreign and domestic poster & lobby card photos to auto-advance every 5 minutes, or use the remote to manually step through the photos.

Final Thoughts:

I had never seen Child’s Play before, so I was expecting something a little hokey, but instead found myself watching a thoroughly-entertaining, genuinely-terrifying thriller. Shout! Factory has put together a fantastic Collector’s Edition of the film, with amazing picture and sound and a wonderful selection of bonus features, including almost 4 hours of new material! This is a Must Own for fans of the film/franchise and Highly Recommended for anyone else who, like me, maybe wrote off the film previously based solely on the premise.