A thug is gunned down in a department store. Just before he dies, he invokes a little voodoo action, and transfers his soul to a My Buddy type of doll named Chucky. Five minutes in, Child's Play has used up its credibility quota. When six-year-old Andy Barclay gets the doll for his birthday, people start pushing up daisies, as the vicious little bugger goes on a killing spree. Chris Sarandon plays the cop, who must have used the linoleum floor as a trampoline one too many times in his infancy. Head first. And Catherine Hicks as Andy's mother is no Einstein either. Her argument with Chucky will not replace Plato's dialogues anytime soon. To the film's credit (in fact, only credit), the dollmation special effects are pretty good. So good, that it strains the brain more than a little to believe that this knife-wielding midget is walking the streets of Chicago without even a dog getting a little antsy under his choke collar. Before the final credits roll, Chucky gets the stuffing shot out of him. But he's killed by a marshmallow brain, so where's the satisfaction? In the next film review, that's where. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Sept. 16, 2008—MGM, 87 min., R, $14.98—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1988's Child's Play (Chucky's 20th Birthday Edition) features a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras include two audio commentaries (the first by costars Alex Vincent and Catherine Hicks and “Chucky” designer Kevin Yagher; the second by producer David Kirschner and screenwriter Don Mancini), four select scene “Chucky” commentaries voiced by Brad Dourif, the 25-minute three-part “Evil Comes in Small Packages” featurette (including “The Birth of Chucky,” “Creating the Horror,” and “Unleashed”), a “Chucky: Building a Nightmare” animatronics featurette (10 min.), “A Monster Convention” cast reunion featurette (6 min.), the vintage “making-of” featurette “Introducing Chucky” (6 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a so-so horror flick that inexplicably launched an uneven franchise.][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 13, 2009—MGM, 2 discs, 87 min., R, $24.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1988's Child's Play features a great transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are identical to the previous standard DVD release, including two audio commentaries (the first by costars Alex Vincent and Catherine Hicks and “Chucky” designer Kevin Yagher; the second by producer David Kirschner and screenwriter Don Mancini), four scene-specific “Chucky” commentaries voiced by Brad Dourif, the three-part “Evil Comes in Small Packages” featurette (including “The Birth of Chucky,” “Creating the Horror,” and “Unleashed”; 25 min. total), a “Building a Nightmare” animatronics featurette (10 min.), “A Monster Convention” cast reunion featurette (6 min.), the vintage “making-of” featurette “Introducing Chucky” (6 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Also included is a bonus DVD version of the film. Bottom line: this minor horror cult classic looks good in Blu.][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 18, 2016—Shout! Factory, 2 discs, 87 min., R, $29.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1988's Child's Play features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras new to this release include four audio commentary tracks (by director Tom Holland; by costars Alex Vincent and Catherine Hicks and prop designer Kevin Yagher; by producer David Kirschner and screenwriter Don Mancini; and by the “Chucky” character), behind-the-scenes special effects footage (60 min.), the production featurettes “Howard Berger: Your Special Effects Friend ‘Til the End” with the makeup effects creator (41 min.) and “Life Behind the Mask: Being Chucky” with costar Ed Gale (40 min.). Extras carried over from previous releases include the behind-the-scenes segments “Evil Comes in Small Packages” (25 min.), “Building a Nightmare” (11 min.), and “A Monster Convention” (6 min.), as well as a “making-of” featurette (6 min.), a vintage featurette (5 min.), a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, poster and lobby card photo galleries, and trailers. Bottom line: this horror cult classic shines in this handsome Blu-ray collector's edition.]
Child's Play
(1988) Horror. 88 m. (R) $89.95. MGM/UA Home Video. Home video rights only. Vol. 4, Issue 2
Child's Play
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