Child's Play 2 - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Child's Play 2



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Two years after the success of Child’s Play, Universal pumped out a sequel once again starring Andy, who suffered at the hands of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) in the first movie. However, this time Catherine Hicks couldn’t be brought back, so the studio pulled a classic horror movie trope. They get rid of her by having her committed to an insane asylum after the events of the first movie, leaving poor Andy (Alex Vincent) to be shipped off to a foster home where he’s stuck dealing with the aftermath of Chucky’s rampage.

The movie is silly, goofy, and a full blown sufferer of sequilitis, but Child’s Play 2 is actually a really good horror sequel that is one of the few “good” ones before the series dives straight off the rails with Seed of Chucky and Bride of Chucky during the late 90s. We get to see how Andy deals with the death and destruction as a young child, and now has to suffer even more in the foster system. He gets taken in by Joanne (Jenny Agutter) and Phil Simpson (Gerrit Graham), who have been fostering for some years. The couple are generally nice enough, but they exhibit some of the symptoms of serial foster parents, especially when it comes to dealing with Andy’s trauma.

Along for the ride is 17 year old Kyle (Christine Elise), who has been bounced around the system her entire life, and tries to give Andy a comfortable enough time in his new home. However, due to the Good Guys company accidentally re-animating Chucky, the serial killer is out on the loose and trying to track down Andy to finish what he started in the first film. Unfortunately for him time is of the essence as he’s starting to turn human after being in the doll body for way too long, and now it’s a race against time to try and sacrifice the boy while Andy and Kyle do their best to stay out from under the doll’s overly use of a knife to get his way.

As I said, Child’s Play 2 is actually rather good. Directed by John Lafia who co-wrote the first film, the movie keeps very much in line with the tone and feel of Child’s Play, while pulling a few sequel stunts as well. Kyle is great as the replacement for his mother (in terms of being the character who has to find out Chucky’s secret along with Andy) and the kills are pretty wicked. That end battle in the Good Guys assembly factory is one of the goriest of the entire series, with a twisted ending that has you both laughing and cringing with disgust at the same time.

I won’t say that Child’s Play is going to take home the award for best horror sequel of the early 90s, but it’s the last of the series that really feels like a direct connection to the first movie (outside of the sorta/halfway/kinda reboot that is the 6th film), and having Alex Vincent return as Andy is a great touch. I really forgot how much fun this one was until I sat down and popped the disc in for the first time since I tested out the complete Chucky series 7 or 8 years ago. Scream Factory has done a great job with these collector's editions so far, and this one is no different.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

Child’s Play 2 gets the same 4K remastering process that Child’s Play did, and the results are fantastic. In all honesty 2 years makes a big difference as this new image is quite stunning. The old Blu-ray from Universal was always pretty good, but this new one that Scream struck is quite a bit better. The colors are a bit on the warm side with heavy saturation and deep rich colors on the reddish side, but they are fantastic to see in motion. The new Blu-ray looks a bit boosted in contrast, but the 4K UHD disc tames that down just a bit, creating a more natural look that is very revealing in the detail department. The film is not nearly so grainy as the original, but still manages to showcase a really clean grain structure and the resulting fine details that go along with it. I did notice some fish eye lens use and some shots that are overly soft (such as when the cop goes back to his squad car after pulling Kyle over, or when Andy tries to escape the classroom), but overall this is a fantastic looking picture.







Audio:

Same as the previous film, Scream has remixed the 2.0 mix into an Atmos track, and included the legacy 2.0 mix in DTS-HD MA as well. Child’s Play 2’s original sound design was never exactly that expansive being a native 2.0 stereo track, but the Atmos track does fill it out a bit. Not overly so considering the source, but the music flows into the back of the room, and some of the kerfluffle near the end showcases the back and side surrounds a goodly amount. The dialog is still weighted up front with most of the action, and there is some MINOR hiss on the top end of the track, but overall it’s a very solid mix even though Atmos is stupid overkill for this one.










Extras:

4K UHD Disc
• Audio Commentary with director John Lafia

Blu-ray Disc
• NEW Puppet Master – an interview with writer Don Mancini
• NEW The Family Expands – an interview with producer David Kirschner
• NEW Under Pressure – an interview with actor Alex Vincent
• NEW In Kyle We Trust – an interview with actress Christine Elise
• NEW School's Out – an interview with actress Beth Grant
• NEW The Second Dance – an interview with executive producer Robert Latham Brown
• Audio Commentary with director John Lafia
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Additional scenes from the broadcast version

Final Score: ​

Scream Factory does their usual good job of remastering the video for this one, and the included Blu-ray is also from that same new remaster instead of just taking the older Universal transfer from years and years ago. The extras are not AS extensive Child’s Play, but there are still more than enough new goodies to gorge yourself on. A fun sequel to a fun 80s flick, it’s definitely worth the upgrade over the old Universal release on Blu-ray, and the 4K disc looks fantastic.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Jenny Agutter, Christine Elise, Gerrit Graham
Directed By: John Lafia
Written By: Don Mancini
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 84 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 16th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the reviews. I am looking forward to your October reviews. Hopefully you get some horror to review lol.