Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Shout! Factory offshoot Scream Factory has released the 1998 franchise Horror film 'Bride of Chucky' to the UHD format. New specifications include remastered 1080p video for the Blu-ray and 2160p/Dolby Vision video for the UHD, both "from the original camera negative." Both discs feature 5.1 and 2.0 lossless audio in addition to supplements both included with and not previously found on the Universal disc.

Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the bundled and remastered 1080p Blu-ray disc.

In his review of the 2013 Universal release of Bride of Chucky, Kenneth Brown called the transfer "ungainly" and "in need of [a] new master." For this Blu-ray/UHD bundle, Shout! Factory has provided just that, offering brand-new remastered video for each of the included discs.

The 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation is brighter and better in every way than any previous or current 1080p image. The Dolby Vision color grading offers a nice boost to tonal yield, presenting, for one early example, Kincaid's bright white police shirt with a crispness and screen command that the Blu-ray cannot quite achieve. The opposing contrast to David's black tuxedo, which presents with a healthy depth that captures the darkness without crushing out fine details, makes for a nice example of the disc's color capabilities. The image is very vivid, evident in low light shots and scenes, which are many, but also more plainly evident in bright daytime exteriors and well-lit interiors, both allowing ample opportunity for the Dolby Vision grading to offer the expressive color output and wonderful subtlety that is seen throughout the image. The picture is also very filmic, boasting an attractive grain structure that is even and pleasing. Details are exemplary, whether considering human skin or plastic doll elements, clothing details, or environmental characteristics. The boosted resolution brings out ample clarity and breathes new life into the film, right down to the plainly evident detail and depth to the facial scars on Chucky's face. The image shows no significant print issues or encode anomalies. The Blu-ray is nearly as good. It's sourced from the same master but is held back on color brightness and vividness, detail excellence, and fine grain management, but it still offers a rock-solid image that holds to the same general characteristics of the UHD, just to a lesser level of proficiency and perfect film-sourced accuracy.

Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bride of Chucky released in 1998 at a time when sound design, especially within the Horror genre, was engineered for impact, not subtlety. That is certainly the case here. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is aggressively postured and positioned, offering listeners an avalanche of booming depth and intense surround activity. The film's high impact action elements and bold atmospheric elements present with impressive clarity even through the barrage of activity. Clarity is never severely lacking, and even with the emphasis on power rather than grace, there is not a lot of lost audio potential. The 5.1 track takes full advantage of surround channels and routinely engages the whole stage for both high powered impact and gentle location specifics. Dialogue is clear and center positioned. The included 2.0 track offers much the same in terms of general engagement and presentation emphasis, but of course lacks surround and subwoofer elements. Still, the front channel speakers are more than enough to add the necessary bulk and power to the track. The 5.1 track is the fuller listen, but the 2.0 presentation doesn't lose a significant amount of impact.

Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The included Blu-ray disc houses all of the supplements outlined below. The UHD disc only includes the audio commeanry tracks. Supplements marked as "new" are not necessarily newly made for this release but are new to Blu-ray (at least they were not included on the original Universal disc). Coverage of the carryover content can be found by clicking here. No digital copy code is included, but the studio does ship the film with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Ronny Yu.
• Audio Commentary: Actors Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, and Screenwriter Don Mancini.
• Bride of Chucky Spotlight on Location
• NEW! Making of Bride of Chucky (1080p upscaled, 4x3, 10:58): Exploring cast and characters, plot details, themes, animatronics and the dolls, and much more.
• NEW! Additional Deleted TV Scenes (1080i upscaled, 4x3, 2:40): Extra scenes from the ScFi airing.
• Theatrical Trailer
• NEW! TV Spots (1080i upscaled, 4x3, 1:02).

Bride of Chucky 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bride of Chucky is not a masterpiece, but this new UHD certainly presents the film in the best possible light. The image is gorgeous: bold, clear, stable, and purely filmic. Shout! Factory could not have done a better job. The 5.1 and 2.0 lossless soundtracks are wonderful, too. The disc includes both the legacy extras from the original universal issue while adding a few new-to-Blu-ray extras as well. Recommended for franchise fans.