Child's Play may not have been the epitome of terrifying but it was certainly one hell of a good time. The first film spawned a less than impressive franchise of mostly inferior films, but one can't deny that despite all its flaws, the Child's Play franchise is very entertaining. The first film has some frightening moments and images, for instance after Chucky is burned in the fireplace and he returns to loom over his victim with a knife, the image is nightmare inducing. The idea of being able to have your soul, or sentience, forcibly removed from your body and displaced to who knows where has to be a the most frightening idea of the entire movie. What happens to you once you're removed from your body? While the answer to this question may never be explained in the film, it gives us an entertaining idea to play with.
Child's Play was released in November of 1988 to moderate success and favorable critic reviews. I wouldn't say that it was a greatly loved film at the time of its release, but it has garnered a cult following since then and certainly did very well for itself. Anything that the film lacks in content is made up for in performances. Catherine Hicks's performance as Andy's overworked and stressed out mother is fantastic and it may surprise everyone to know that when this film started shooting Catherine Hicks was not a mother and had no idea how to connect to Alex Vincent, the little boy who played Andy. Apparently, according to Hicks, the two were able to bond over a small crystal ball that she kept with her and eventually gave to him. Also, many people don't realize that when the film was originally released there was initially a great deal of controversy surrounding it. Some people believed that because the killer was a living doll it would influence children to commit crimes or somehow damage them. Because of this, MGM Studios was surrounded by an angry crowd when the movie was released. Let's face it, though, no matter who you are, as children we all believed that our toys came to life when we weren't looking. Unsurprisingly, no crimes were ever connected to the film in any way.
Child's Play was released on Blu-ray for the first time in 2009 by MGM Home Video and this very same disc was released with the Chucky Complete Collection boxed set with all the other films in the franchise in 2013. In many ways, Child's Play is a product of its time and this includes its video quality. In the 1980s, slasher films were practically a pandemic, but a welcome one. By the late 1980s audiences were starting to tire from what was basically the same story being rehashed over and over again with only the film titles to differentiate them from each other. I think that Child's Play was a welcome change in that, instead of simply a madman slashing through a group of sexually frustrated teenagers, we have a murderer that is coming to the end of the line and transfers his soul into a doll so that he doesn't have to die. This brought in the aspect of voodoo in order to make this plot vehicle plausible. I always felt that the voodoo aspect was a little corny, but to push the plot along, it works. This set Child's Play apart from the overabundance of slasher films in the 1980s and this is another reason why the movie works. The animatronic special effects of the film were top notch at the time and even by today's standards look better than CGI effects, in my opinion. However, the main reason that the film is enjoyable is most likely the acting. Child actors are not often known for their believability, but Alex Vincent, who plays Andy Barclay, comes across as a natural that is only a bit rough around the edges. He is very believable as a naive and often terrified child. Catherine Hicks who plays Karen Barclay, who is Andy's mother, couldn't have given a better performance and is very believable as a single mother who's whole world revolves around her only child. Finally, Brad Dourif is the iconic voice of Chucky that honestly could never be replaced. His angry, gritty, and sometimes screechy voice is so recognizable and expressive and it suits Chucky in ways that I don't think any other actor would be able to replicate with any justice.
Child's Play's video quality is often very impressive despite the limitations that the original print presents. Child's Play is sometimes a gritty film and presents Chicago's often dark and frightening sides (ghettos, business districts, and filthy, homeless riddled streets) in deadly reality. I think it is important to point out that the film shows us much of the city's filthy underbelly and because of that the film tends to come across as dark and depressing, but I think that this is the point. MGM has decided to leave the print intact without using heavy noise reduction. Grain is ever present and fine detail often pops out in areas one might not expect. On the other hand, there are times when the image looks a little muddy in areas that you'd think it would look great. The muddy images usually haunt small details like strands of hair and clothing details; for the most part, no one will really notice this. Other details like facial expressions, the overall setting of most scenes, and background images are clear and almost brilliant; the image presents the film in the cold and bitter way that it was intended. The print is incredibly clean with nearly no damage at all and this allows us to watch the film without distraction. Overall, the video quality seems very faithful to the intent of the filmmakers and is often fantastic, this garners a 4/5 rating from me.
Child's Play comes to Blu-ray with a DTS Master Audio 5.1 surround track that is quite boisterous the majority of the time. Dialog is clear and understandable; I never felt as though I had to strain to hear any thing. The movie doesn't offer much for ambiance and this is because of how it was shot. Most of the movie takes place inside buildings and because of that you're not going to hear many sounds outside of what is happening on the screen. There are some outdoor scenes and during those scenes you can hear passing cars, honking horns, homeless people chatting, and trash can fires crackling. The score comes through clearly and at times excitedly and frighteningly. The audio track is impressive and immersive, it gets a 4/5 rating from me and it should make any fan of the film very happy.
Special features on the Blu-ray are very interesting with many behind the scenes featurettes and two feature commentaries from the actors and filmmakers. The only thing that was a bit disappointing was that the 2013 boxed set disc didn't offer anything new for special features and was merely the same disc offered in 2009. Seeing some new bonus content for the boxed set would have been a welcome addition and makes the boxed set unnecessary for those viewers that don't care about the mostly sub-par sequels. A retrospective feature would have been fantastic, but nothing like that made it to either the 2009 stand alone release or the boxed set. The special features get a 4/5 rating from me as well.
Overall, Child's Play is a very entertaining and sometimes frightening film that was very well executed by the cast and the filmmakers who obviously felt a great deal of passion toward creating this feature. This was one of my favorite horror movies as a child and it is one that I think any fan of the genre should see at least once. This release by MGM is a fantastic and sometimes brilliant release that gives the audience a viewing experience that is very faithful to how the movie was intended to be seen. This release is head over heels better than any DVD release of this film and it comes highly recommended from me with an overall score of 4/5. This is the same release that is offered on the boxed set of all six Child's Play films and as such, if you are a fan of those films I'd suggest buying the boxed set instead of the standalone release.
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