Child’s Play + Misery (1988/MGM Blu-ray w/Bonus DVDs)

 

Picture: B-/C+/B-/C+     Sound: B-/C+     Extras: C/C+     Films: C/C+

 

 

In 1988, two different Horror films were issued.  One was one of the last successful maniac slasher films of the 1980s, while the other was A-movie thriller product.  Both were this, both were overrated and both are now on Blu-ray from MGM.  First, the original Child’s Play, a surprise (and much needed hit) from United Artists (part of MGM/UA even then) and Rob Reiner’s film of Stephen King’s Misery is the second.

 

Child’s Play tells us the story of how serial strangler Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) finds a way at the last minute to yell some words in Latin and transfer his mind and soul into a toy doll that becomes known as Chucky.  From there he becomes indestructible and slowly goes on a killing spree with his newfound powers.  The problem is, if Ray was so smart, why did he not do this in the first place?

 

The film boasts a good cast also including Chris Sarandon, Catherine Hicks, Dinah Manoff and Jack Colvin, while the script understands the genre and this first film (of five so far) is able to have fun with the idea of slowly upsetting domestic space.  It plays well over 20 years later despite still being formula and despite its violence, seems tame and nostalgic as compared to the current “torture porn” cycle come to an end.

 

We already reviewed the letterboxed DVD edition of Misery as part of this Stephen King DVD set:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5665/Stephen+King+DVD+Collector+Set

 

 

I feel the same way about the film now and still see where Director Rob Reiner missed some opportunities, but I must give it credit for its strong supporting cast including Frances Sternhagen, Richard Farnsworth, Alex Vincent and Lauren Bacall.  Marc Shaiman’s score fares better than Reiner’s choices of old hits.  It has a good look, but Reiner’s does not handle the action very well.

 

Both films are here in 1080p 1.85 X 1 AVC (@ 36 and 31 MBPS respectively) transfers and anamorphically enhanced DVDs of both are included.  In the case of Misery, that is hardly an improvement over the other DVD and the Blu-rays barely look better than their DVD counterparts, in part because they look like they are from the same film sources.  Also, because they both look like they are using older HD masters, so the Blu-ray format is not being fully taken advantage of.

 

The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is slightly superior to the Dolby Digital 5.1 presentations on the DVDs, but regular DTS on the DVDs would have probably yielded the same results.  The sound is down a generation or two in both cases and since they were old Dolby System A-type analog releases, restoration from the original sound sources is needed badly.

 

Extras include the bonus DVDs on both, but the Misery Blu-ray has no extras, so you have to see the extras on the DVD.  They also have a bunch of featurettes (six on Play, seven on Misery) two audio commentaries.  Play includes Vincent, Hicks and Chucky designer Kevin Yagher on one, producer David Kirschner and Writer Don Mancini on the other.  There is also scene specific Chucky commentary.  Misery has Reiner on one and Writer William Goldman on the other.

 

For fans only.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo