Why So Blu?

Cult Of Chucky – Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Scream Factory brings us an encore of their Child’s Play 4K debuts last summer with the remainder of the Chucky series now hitting 4K for the first time. Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky will feature some fresh new restorations and transfers to go along with some nifty new bonus features to round this whole thing out. They will all come out on August 29th and can be pre-ordered using the paid Amazon Associates links that will be on all of these reviews at the bottom of the page. This review concludes these releases with the most recent film that leads into the TV series, Cult of Chucky.

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Film

Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane for the past four years, Nica (Fiona Dourif) is wrongly convinced that she, not Chucky, murdered her entire family. But after her psychiatrist introduces a new group therapy tool – a “Good Guy” doll – a string of grisly deaths plague the asylum and Nica starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t crazy after all. Andy (Alex Vincent), Chucky’s now-grown-up nemesis from the original Child’s Play, races to Nica’s aid. But to save her he’ll have to get past Tiffany (Oscar®-nominee* Jennifer Tilly), Chucky’s long-ago bride, who will do anything, no matter how deadly or depraved, to help her beloved devil doll.

Don Mancini returned with Curse and Cult of Chucky as a creator completely inspired. While both films’ super low budget nature feature Chucky run amok in a secluded place (This time a mental hospital), the ideas, stylistic ambition and technical challenges are not as limited or boxed in. He’s got a real eye and vision that runs circles around many big tent pole releases that open in theaters. That continues here, with a mix of effective camera work and gorgeous visuals that feel like paintings on a wall. Here, he also employs a little bit of De Palma as he effectively employs split screen sequences.

One person who is of great value to the franchise now, as her father has been before, is Fiona Dourif in the role of Nica Pierce (and when possessed by Charles Lee Ray). It seems crazy to me that someone of this talent isn’t popping up in a lot more projects and bigger projects. She has a pretty fierce range, commitment and isn’t afraid to get weird. She’s got the ability to pull of the same sort of stuff you expect and enjoy getting from Aubrey Plaza. In Cult of Chucky, she takes her role to new heights and she battles with her sanity and desperate attempts to warn everyone of the dangers that await.

While we have hit the seventh entry here and along with two television season that succeed, Don Mancini has never rebooted or ignored any films or story choices that didn’t work with fans or financials. Instead, he has embraced them. He’s put a lot of thought into this series and given it such a strong voice by not being afraid to take chances, break rules and seek new areas with which to take the “possessed doll kills people” movies. To add, they’ve carried a lot of creative visuals that make them interesting to look at too. Cult of Chucky continues that evolution in a cold coated, thrilling and evolving tale of Chucky.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are taken from the standard Blu-ray disc, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Cult of Chucky boasts 4K master of the unrated version. Considering the film was finished with 2K DI, this is likely an upscale. And despite the specs provided and on the box stating 1.85:1, this picture is clearly 1.78:1. This one carries a similar look to Curse, which features lovely improvement on the black levels and some more refined detail in this clear, crisp image.

Depth:  Depth of field is pretty strong, and there is a SWEET shot to open up the film with the building the restaurant Andy is eating in that looks humongous. There are a lot of establishing shots of the hospital or outside through the window that compliment that too. Movements are smooth and natural with no issues of motion distortion coming from rapid attack scenes.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural and really accentuate the look of this film. Details hold strong in even the darkest of areas. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: This isn’t the most colorful film. Its palette is dominantly more black and white. However colors do strike in contrast with that, especially the reds and blues. There’s also a warmth to the more rustic browns, like Andy’s cabin or the doctor’s office. HDR comes in with lights, displays, the cherry of a joint and such.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are easily discernible from any reasonable distance in the frame.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: More Chucky, more thunder from the 5.1 mix. Its a nice blend of quite and raging here as the balance of the mix favors the musical stings or gore strikes for maximum effect. Its a well layered presentation with good impact to keep you engaged throughout the film’s runtime.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer has some very nice power in the way of gunfire, impaling, glass shattering, body parts getting chopped and more.

Surround Sound Presentation: This is a nice 360 degree experience here with effective sound travel and top notch ambiance through all the channels.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Cult Of Chucky – Collector’s Edition is a 2-disc set that comes with the Blu-ray edition. All bonus materials outside of the commentary are found on the standard Blu-ray disc. The standard Blu-ray also contains the R-Rated Version.

Audio Commentary

• with writer/director Don Mancini and special effects makeup artist Tony Gardner (Unrated Version)

Doll in the Familly: Tony Gardner on Cult of Chucky (HD, 7:36) – Gardner goes over their budgetary issues regarding a straight to video movie and puppeteering multiple puppets on screen at the same time with a reliance on storyboarding. He’s plenty enamored with the Alex Vincent set and the themes and easter eggs of that setting and characters. In this one he talks what working with Mancini is like and how he handles his set.

Do the Chucky Stomp: Alex Vincent on Cult of Chucky (HD, 6:35) – “Andy and I have a lot of parallels, I suppose”. Vincent talks his input on the character, loving the setting of the opening and his love of working with Mancini. He discusses fighting the doll in the finale. “I still think Chucky is the coolest thing in the world…he wanted a piece of my soul, I gave him a piece of my heart instead.”

Alex Vincent Recording Studio Promo (HD, 1:13) – Its called “The Loop” and you get a nice little jam showing off the pad.

Inside the Insanity of Cult of Chucky (HD, 6:43)

Good Guy Gone Bad: The Incarnations of Chucky (HD, 5:03)

The Dollhouse (HD, 7:37)

Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Don Mancini (HD, 5:26)

TV Spot (HD, :19)

Trailers (HD, 2:44)

Summary

Cult of Chucky cashes in wonderfully on the success of Curse of Chucky. It keeps the ambitious style and play around as the mayhem continues in clever ways in terms of kills, story and character. Scream Factory updates the Blu-ray to 4K with improved picture quality as well as some new extras. Its a good deal upgrade here for the fans. Who knows, maybe they’ll get to take a stab at the TV series here in the near future!

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