From the producers of It comes this shocking re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic. Realizing that her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman, The Fabelmans, Lights Out) is lonely, Karen (Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus, Ingrid Goes West) buys him a seemingly innocent, AI-enhanced doll named Chucky. But Chucky’s safety restrictions have been disabled, and soon, a gruesome series of events unfolds. Unable to convince his mom that the doll is responsible for the carnage, Andy becomes the target of the bloodthirsty Chucky!
For thoughts on Child’s Play (2019), please see my colleague Ryan Wardak’s review from its theatrical release here.
Video Quality
It feels just like yesterday that Warner Bros. released Child’s Play on Blu-Ray in 2019 and opted not to provide a 4K UHD Blu-Ray option for fans, which was not a huge surprise given the state of MGM titles on physical media at the time. While disappointing, that release was seemingly the best we were going to get until we were given a glimmer of hope when Scream Factory started tearing through the Chucky films on 4K UHD Blu-Ray the past few years. This may not be in the same continuity as the mainline series, but we are thrilled they are allowing fans to have the complete Chucky experience on the format. The new 4K UHD Blu-Ray provides a fresh 4K master in 2160p/Dolby Vision which offers a rich uptick in quality over the new accompanying Blu-Ray derived from the same master. It is certainly not a night and day difference, but this is as nice as you would hope this Child’s Play to look.
This 4K UHD presentation impresses with strong gains in clarity throughout the feature. The surprisingly complex production design is explored in nice depth along with the gory makeup effects which are spotlighted in all of their goopy glory with this transfer. Every room with atmospheric lighting is handled with the precision of a deftly authored disc. The few instances of compression artifacts and banding present on the Blu-Ray are nonexistent with this 4K UHD disc. The highlights in the film are more controlled with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming that we noticed.
A majority of the film takes place in shadows or at night, and on this disc, these scenes are more vivid and finely delineated. Black levels are strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. The biggest gains in this presentation come from the contrast and color. The implementation of Dolby Vision really makes itself known as colors are given a bit more prominence even if you are not looking at a Technicolor spectacle. The increased range of the color spectrum is a welcome sight in the lighting effects, especially. There is a greater sense of accuracy to the palette compared to the Blu-Ray. The Blu-Ray is solid, but Scream Factory has delivered another tremendous transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 lossless track that brings this to life to perfection. Dialogue comes through clearly in the center channel without getting overshadowed by the music or any sound effects. The score from Jason La Rocca and Bear McCreary comes through with a peerless fidelity. Kinetic sequences have a dynamic sound design that springs to life when it calls for it. This disc showcases the thrills with nuance and clarity. The activity in the low end is substantial and never lacks strength.
The characters mostly roam around the apartment building and the store, but no matter the environment the surround speakers deliver a fully three-dimensional experience. Every sound is carefully deployed for maximum effectiveness. The track engages all of the channels with sound effects and ambient noise that push the level of immersion to great heights. Scream Factory has offered a dynamic audio experience for this film. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Lars Klevberg provides a decent commentary track in which he discusses the production of the film, adapting the Chucky character in a different way, how the film evolved from the script, working with the performers, and more.
- A New Start – Actor Gabriel Bateman on Child’s Play: A new 11-minute interview with the lead actor in which he discusses how he prepared for the role, his relationship with the performers on set, the direction of Lars Klevberg, performing opposite of the doll, and more.
- Head of the Patch – Actor David James Lewis on Child’s Play: A new nine-minute interview with the actor who plays “Shane” in which he discusses the audition process, his penchant for playing this type of character, his dynamic with Aubrey Plaza, shooting the death scene, and more.
- A Beautiful Darkness – Production Designer Dan Hermansen on Child’s Play: A new 13-minute interview with the production designer in which he discusses coming on board for his first feature credit as a production designer, adhering to legal limitations for this interpretation, repurposing existing locations, and more.
- The Making Of Child’s Play: A five-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the basic plot outline, the fresh interpretation of the iconic doll, the facets of the characters, the special effects work, and more.
- Bringing Child’s Play’s Chucky To Life: A nearly five-minute look at the creation of this character through both practical and digital effects.
- Soundtrack Trailer: A three-minute trailer is provided for the soundtrack.
- Lee Hardcastle Claymations: Two brief violent claymation promos are provided that are quite a bit of fun.
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- Toy Massacre (0:48)
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- A.I. Mayhem (0:46)
- Still Gallery: A gallery of stills from the film is provided.
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-long trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Child’s Play is not a great Chucky film, but it is quite a bit of fun if you judge it as its own thing independent of the iconic franchise. This may have a “Chucky” in the story, but this has more in common with M3GAN…only a lot more fun. Any rational person likely has a bit of concern about the rising capabilities of technology, and those fears are realized to outrageously gory effect in this outing. The kills are inventive and the gore is in full effect, but this would mean nothing if you didn’t care about the characters. Thankfully, there is enough emotional heft to the script paired with talented performers that everything mostly plays well. Scream Factory has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation along with some great new and archival special features. If you approach this with an open mind, you will have fun with this “technology run amok” journey. Recommended
Child’s Play (2019) will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on March 19, 2024.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.