Chucky: The Complete Collection Limited Edition Blu-Ray Review

2013 – the year of Chucky. Not only did Charles Lee Ray terrorize viewers in a brand new, well received sequel (Don Mancini’s Curse Of Chucky), but celebrating his 25 years of slaughtering, harassing, and insulting, Universal has released Chucky: The Complete Collection limited edition Blu-Ray/DVD. Sure, you could always just buy Curse Of Chucky on Blu-Ray separately, but for fans of the series, Universal has packaged all six Chucky films, including Mancini’s latest curse, in one convenient collection. Hell, if you don’t own any of them and are intrigued by Curse of Chucky, might as well buy them all together and have a proper marathon – which might have been what I did.

The best part about owning every Chucky film is watching the transformation that Mancini’s franchise goes through over the years. Child’s Play starts out as the most straight-forward, simplistic horror possible. Charles Lee Ray’s (Brad Dourif) backstory is established, we meet perennial target Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), Chucky’s mission to find a vessel for his soul is revealed, but the slow burn nature doesn’t actually spring Chucky to life until far into the movie – ending with the doll being engulfed in flames. It’s dark, evil, and sports one of the most iconic moments in horror when Brad Dourif’s voice takes over and Chucky starts fighting back.

Child’s Play 2 picks up with Andy in foster care, and lets Chucky loose from the very first scene. This direct sequel enjoys itself more, exploring the Play Pal’s factory where Good Guy dolls are made, and isn’t held back by the grand revelation that Chucky is alive – and ends with the doll being blown up like a balloon. Many fans argue that Child’s Play 2 actually outshines Tom Holland’s original, bringing more personality to Chucky and exploring the possibilities of this juvenile toy being a cold-blooded killer, as exemplified by the assembly line maze Andy is forced to work through while avoiding Chucky. I’m a purist and still think Chuky’s reveal takes the cake, but I can definitely agree that Child’s Play 2 is a worthy sequel.

Can’t say the same about Child’s Play 3 though, which picks up years later when Andy is sent to military school, receiving a surprise visitor when Chucky tracks him down. A murderous doll at a military base full of weapons? What could go wrong! Well, a lot unfortunately, as Chucky was becoming a little too jokey for the overall horror tone, and his continued goal of chasing Andy Barclay was becoming exhausting. Fast forward to the end, and Chucky fails again, being completely dismembered by a high-powered, industrial fan. Another Chucky movie in the same vein would have surely been one sequel too far, but that’s when Don Mancini gave Chuckster a makeover.

Ending the reign of true Child’s Play sequels, Mancini introduced a funnier, more slapstick serial killer in Bride Of Chucky, and boy did Chucky get lucky. Meeting his bride Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), the two go on a Bonnie and Clyde type adventure after kidnapping two young teens. This sequel is essentially a love letter to the horror genre, with multiple homages to other iconic slasher films, and Mancini’s script perfectly balances dark humor and brutal kills in a way that gets genre fans squealing with joy. Fortunately for viewers, once again Chucky’s soul-swapping escapades are foiled, as both Chucky and Tiff are killed off – but a baby is born.

Following suit is the most controversial film of the series (as in both loved and WIDELY hated), Seed Of Chucky, introducing us to Glen/Glenda (Billy Boyd), Chucky’s gender confused son. Struggling with his hatred for violence, Glen/Glenda attempts to stop his parent’s violent ways, of course failing miserably. Instead, Tiffany is killed while trying to transfer her soul into Jennifer Tilly’s body (yes, the actress plays herself), Glen/Glenda dismembers Chucky with an axe, and everyone lives happily ever after – kind of. Why “kind of?” Because you can’t kill Chucky. Let’s be real.

Chucky returns once again in Curse of Chucky, getting back to serious, Gothic horror. Preying on a grieving family after their mother commits suicide, a young paraplegic girl named Nica is forced to fight off Chucky, but you’ll have to catch Mancini’s latest film to find out what happens – I won’t spoil the fun for you!

Now, I should be all excited for Chucky, because not many slasher villains can boast a full film collection like this, but do you really think Curse Of Chucky will be the very last sequel? Yeah, this collection will be out of date once Mancini finishes scripting yet another pint-sized adventure, which I personally would love, so enjoy this collection’s “completeness” while you can – but that shouldn’t be too hard. The visuals present Chucky in the sharpest form possible and the audio is top notch and the pictures are clear, doing what they could with the first three Child’s Play movies. For anyone not owning a single Chucky movie, this collection may become worth it for quality and convenience alone.

Special Features:

• Living Doll: Bringing Chucky To Life (Blu-Ray Exclusive): Featuring the award-winning work of animatronics company Alterian, this featurette shows the pain-staking detail involved with bringing Chuck to life and the army of people behind the process.
• Voodoo Doll: The Chucky Legend (Blu-Ray Exclusive): More than six films and a  quarter of a century, Chucky, the possessed Good Guys doll, has been the playmate we love to hate. This featurette looks at why we’re still frightened by the red haired terror and recalls some favorite moments from previous films.
• Storyboard Comparisons (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Playing With Dolls: The Making Of Curse Of Chucky: From scripting, to casting to shooting, this featurette proves that playing with dolls is definitely not child’s play! Follow the cast and crew of Curse of Chucky as they bring the newest and scariest chapter in the series to the screen.
• Feature Commentaries with Cast and Crew

Unfortunately for collectors, there’s not much bonus material we haven’t seen before except what’s attached to Curse Of Chucky. Child’s Play 2 and Child’s Play 3 are bare-bones releases, Bride Of Chucky and Seed Of Chucky just repackage their original releases, and the original Child’s Play adds absolutely no fresh featurettes looking back in time. Curse Of Chucky sports all the new bonus material, from the “Making Of” piece that chronicle’s Chucky’s most recent revival, to gag reels and the whole shebang. The Blu-Ray does give us two exclusive featurettes though, one looking at the puppeteers behind the red haired devil doll, and another that explores why we’re still so damn afraid of Chucky. The problem is, if you own all the previous films, is the addition of these few special features worth re-buying the whole collection over again?

Looking at Chucky: The Complete Collection from the eyes of a Chucky-less Blu-Ray collector, this is the total package. You get every single film, all the available special features, both the Rated and Unrated versions of Curse Of Chucky, plus the Unrated version of Seed Of Chucky, and all for only $59.99 on Amazon – this puppy has it all. For the die-hard fans though, you’ve probably got all these features separately shelved already, and might be better off purchasing Curse Of Chucky as a standalone.The choice is yours!