Review for Child's Play Collection (7 Film Set UHD 4K)

Child’s Play is one of the few 1980’s slashers that is still going today with multiple sequels and a reboot it seemed that killer doll Chucky has knifed his way into the ranks of characters alongside Michael Myers and Jason. This collection brings together seven of the original Chucky films from the 1988 original to the 2017 Cult of Chucky and also includes the documentary film Living with Chucky.

The story is very simple. A serial killer Charles Lee Ray ‘Chucky’ played wonderfully by Brad Dourif, has been reincarnated into the body of a Good Guy doll which must try to possess a child and recite a ritual to come back to life. This involves Chucky hacking and slashing his way through whoever is in the way. Across the original three films this involves him trying to get at Andy which leads to more and more spectacular kills along the way.

In Bride and Seed of Chucky, Chucky is given a girlfriend in the form of Tiffany and then child. Although the originals walked a tightrope between horror and comedy, these two films stomped straight into outright comedy and feature a wonderful turn by Jennifer Tilly.

In Curse and Cult of Chucky, a soft reboot has Chucky chooses a new child, Nica to terrorise. Nica is played by Fiona Dourif, daughter of Brad and both lean back more into the horror side of things.

Though all seven films come with a wealth of special features the gem of this set is Living with Chucky. This documentary made by Kyra Elise Gardner, who was daughter of one of the special effects designers. Her life literally revolved around Chucky and the Child’s Play film and this was a fascinating look at the films and their creation.

Now, I will be brutally honest that I was never a fan of the Child’s Play films or Chucky character at all. I always thought the idea of a killer doll to be just too absurd. However, coming to watch these films now I realise that the idea is supposed to be absurd and maybe the mix of horror and comedy just didn’t work for me back then. I can appreciate the comedy that has gone into the films and the reliance on jump scares rather than mood and tension works well with the over the top comedic nature.

The Chucky Doll itself is truly a marvellous piece of special effects and considering the first three where done without any CGI it is amazing. The work on the doll’s face and his integration into scenes made it look seamless and again for the time is stunning. This is made even better by the ever creepy voice performance by Brad Douriff.

It is true that at times they lean a little much into the comedy and maybe that’s the issue I have with the films in general. The first three seem to be a half and half, never really working as either, I enjoyed Bride and Seed, despite being more spoofs of the originals and clearly comedies, but then the final two are almost a return to the horror, but by this point I was expecting comedy and so did not expect the tone the films had. None of the films are unwatchable, but I also wouldn’t say any (apart from maybe the Original and Bride) are essential viewing.

As stated before, each disk comes with a multitude of special features. These range from Commentaries, many Interviews and a multitude of Behind the Scenes features that cover almost every aspect of the films.

The Chucky Collection is a great set of the original films and if you are a fan of these films then this set will keep you entertained for many hours. So what are you waiting for ‘I’m a Chucky Boxset. Wanna press play?’