Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 20, 2022

It might be hard to remember, but Child's Play is not the first big screen Horror franchise to make its way to the small screen. There was Friday the 13th: The Series, which ran from 1987-1990 and had no connection -- not even Jason Voorhees himself -- to any of the mainline films (there were a few crossover actors, but not characters). There was also the shorter lived Freddy's Nightmares based on the A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise. Unlike Friday, Freddy actually involved Robert Englund as Freddy Kreuger as, if nothing else, the host, and at times, the villain. That was the 80s, though, and this is now where TV can be much truer to the character and qualities of the film franchises proper and as it is now with Chucky, the vicious child's plaything that has made the leap from the big to the small screen and, here, proving fairly successful in making the transition.

Official synopsis: The notorious Chucky slashes his way to television in a killer new series written and executive produced by creator Dan Mancini, who penned the iconic film franchise. After teenage loner Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) discover a vintage 'Good Guy' doll at a suburban yard sale, a quiet American town soon erupts into mayhem as a blood-chilling murder spree begins to spill everyone's deepest and darkest secrets. While Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) unleashes havoc, familiar faces from his past return and threaten to reveal his shadowy origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became the legendary murderous doll.

One of the reasons that the Child's Play franchise works, and why it translates very well to the small screen, is that the story isn't just about hacking and slashing. While murder and mayhem are paramount to the experience, the show builds a larger narrative about a loner teen outcast -- he is bullied, he comes from a challenged home with a deceased mother and alcoholic father, and he has a strange fetish for dolls and macabre art made of dolls -- who ultimately picks up Chucky at a yard sale. It only takes part of the first episode for Jake to figure out that Chucky is "alive" and inhabited by a notorious serial killer who is all about not just killing indiscriminatingly, but rather picking off those people who are making Jake's life a living hell. The drama stems from what sort of relationship the two will build, if Jake will take the high road and fight Chucky or travel along the low road and allow the doll to violently solve his life problems. Obviously, at eight episodes, there is some serious mayhem, but it's how and why the mayhem plays out, and whether Jake will go along with it, that makes the show work.

Of course, Child's Play wouldn't be Child's Play without Brad Dourif voicing the title character, and he is indeed back for another eight episode round of bringing life to the snarky, tactless, tasteless, anything but politically correct killer doll. He's a riot, but he's also menacing, a fearsome combination that has made this killer doll one of the genre's icons for several decades now. The rest of the cast is fine, especially the teenagers, who work through the life struggles and dark secrets with a believable, modern quality about them, which is of course confounded by Chucky's presence and mayhem. There's not a bad performance in the show, which is just one of many reasons why it plays as well as it does.

The following episodes comprise season one. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging.

Disc One:

• Death by Misadventure: When teen Jake Wheeler buys a vintage doll at a yard sale, his young life will change forever.
• Give Me Something Good to Eat: Chucky targets one of Jake's frenemies, forcing Jake to either stop the killer doll-or help him.
• I Like to Be Hugged: Chucky reminisces about his first murder, urging Jake to make a choice-kill or be killed.
• Just Let Go: Jake's bond with Devon intensifies as he teams up with an unlikely ally to outwit Chucky.

Disc Two:

• Little Little Lies: Jake and Devon progress their relationship. Enemies -- and allies -- from Chucky's past show up.
• Cape Queer: Jake and his friends set a risky trap for Chucky that could have dire consequences if it backfires.
• Twice the Grieving, Double the Loss: The kids desperately try to figure out Chucky's mysterious endgame -- before it's too late.
• An Affair to Dismember: Scores will be settled as Chucky's diabolical plan comes to fruition at a dangerous, public venue.

Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal's 1080p transfer for Chucky: Season One delivers a fairly stable 1080p image, one that meets format requirements and general expectations without going above and beyond. The digital source material presents with agreeable clarity and textural definition. The image offers very good detail to faces, whether real human or plastic doll, the former featuring the usual array of hair and pores and lines and the latter material details that also extend to little stray frays and on the Chucky clothing. Basic environmental details impress for clarity and stability, whether inside homes or around school hallways and classrooms. Color reproduction is good. The palette is neutral and holds to steady, lifelike contrast and temperature. Red chucky hair and blue eyes are a standout. Nothing pops or screams as otherwise particularly notable, but viewers will enjoy the natural stability and flavor on display. The picture holds to solid black levels, adequately brilliant whites, and neutral skin tones. The picture does suffer through some banding and noise, both of which are fairly regularly occurrences, especially in lower light. Overall, however, this is solid enough presentation from Universal.

Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal brings Chucky: Season One to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is of high quality, revealing good stage balance and surround implantation. Clarity is very good a well, considering score, action effects, and ambient fill. Musical elements present with appropriate front end command and width while surround integration is balanced and never overwhelming. Subwoofer engagement here (and anywhere else, for that matter) is never seriously intense but rather nicely complimentary. Action-type scenes offer well engineered audio sprawl as necessary and discrete effects as the moment demands. Environmental elements are nicely immersive and draw the listener into locations such as school hallways and classrooms. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.

Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Chucky: Season One includes a scant collection of extras spread across both Blu-ray discs. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Scenes from "Death by Misadventure" (1:25).

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Scenes from "Little Little Lies" (1:39) and "An Affair to Dismember" (0:22).
• The Legacy of Chucky (1080i, 10:57): A look at the character's history, personality, draw, fan favorite movies and moments, returning characters to the show, cast and crew camaraderie, and much more.

Chucky: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Child's Play transitions surprisingly well to the small screen. The story is dense and packed with legitimate drama shadowed by the murderous rampages and signature Chucky humor. The cast is strong, especially Dourif as the killer title character, and each episode is well balanced between characterization, bloodshed, and humor. Universal's two-disc set offers solid video and audio and a couple of extras to boot. Recommended.