At the end of the ’80s, a few of the horror movie series were running out of gas. Certain critics were hailing this the end of nightmarish films. But those writing obits in the movie review section of the newspaper didn’t count on a plucky doll keeping screams cranking at the Cineplex. Child’s Play was a major hit in the winter of 1988. And even though Chucky found himself obliviated at the end of the film, the chance of making more money found him returning to the big screen just in time for the Christmas shopping season of 1990 with Child’s Play 2.
Things haven’t gone great for Andy (Alex Vincent) since the end of the first movie. He was able to stop the evil Good Guys doll from taking possession of his body, but his mind is messed up. His mother has gone into a mental home and the state has placed him into foster care. Nobody is buying his story about how serial killer Charles Lee Ray had used voodoo to take control of the large doll and kill a whole lot of people. The only good thing is that the head of the orphanage (Twin Peaks‘ Grace Zabriskie) places him with the coolest couple in the city. Phil (Phantom of the Paradise‘s Gerrit Graham) and Joanne (American Werewolf in London‘s Jenny Agutter) are already taking care of Kyle (Beverly Hills 90210‘s Christine Elise). Andy seems like he’s found a great place to be until his mom gets discharged. The only issue he has with them is the fact that they own a Good Guy doll and didn’t realize it might freak the kid out. But what are the chances that Chucky will return to terrorize Andy?
The chance is pretty good. The company behind the Good Guys Dolls have restored and reactivated the destroyed Chucky Doll in order to see if it can really go amuck and kill people. During the checking process, things go extremely bad in the factory. Instead of the CEO having the cursed Good Guy destroyed Lord of the Rings-style, he has an underling take the doll out of his sight and cover up the dead employees as victims of a normal industrial accident. The underling tosses the refurbished Chucky (voiced by The Lord of the Rings‘ Brad Dourif) in the back seat of his car and heads out for the night. This turns into a mess when Chucky uses the underling to track down Andy at his new home. He believes he has another chance at snagging Andy’s body and becoming a real boy once again. Andy’s not going to have a fun time with his new family after all.
Child’s Play 2 really amps up the fun and fears from the original. The all-star cast plays the tone right as they face off with the pipsqueak doll that turns out to be a serial killing nightmare. The Chucky doll is able to express more in his face so he’s a bit more menacing when attacking people. This also makes the comedy element more effective when he delivers his lines without looking too rubbery. Don Mancini’s script delivers what people were eager to see in Chucky’s second time around. Audiences get to see the doll come up with creative ways to kill, and Andy realizes he’s going to get blamed for it all. This is a double nightmare situation for the kid. Child’s Play 2 once more made kids redo their Christmas list to make sure Santa didn’t bring them any toys that could steal their soul.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD transfer was taken off the original camera negative so you can enjoy the cinematography of Stefan Czapsky. He’d go on to shoot Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and Ed Wood for Tim Burton. He works with a lot more shadows than the original. The Blu-ray also feature the film with a fresh transfer from the 4K master. The audio is Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DTS-HD MA on both discs. You’ll hear Chucky clearly when he gets his revenge for the first film. The subtitles are in English.
Bonus Feature on 4K UHD:
Audio Commentary with Director John Lafia has him discuss the various Universal logos that appeared at the head of the film. He gets into Grame Revell’s monster movie soundtrack. He gives away a bit of the special effects secrets. They did a few shots in Chicago, but most of the exteriors were in Los Angeles. Lafia passed away in 2020.
Bonus Features on Blu-ray
Audio Commentary with Director John Lafia is the same as the 4K UHD feature.
Puppet Master (12:57) has screenwriter Don Mancini (12:57) recount how within a couple weeks of the original release; the studio wanted a sequel. Producer David Kirschner immediately asked Don to work on the script. This is a pretty rare thing in Hollywood. Kirschner also invited co-writer John Lafia to direct the film. The two writers took the tone from Return of the Living Dead. They wanted to bring a bit of comedy without losing the scares.
The Family Expands (7:37) allows Producer David Kirschner to explain how the sequel happened because the guy who was about to buy United Artists didn’t want to make horror films. The studio gave him back the rights to the series. Steven Spielberg called David to beg him to bring Child’s Play 2 to Universal. He goes into how he brought back Don Mancini for the script and elevated John Lafia to the director’s chair. There was an issue with the Bond company riding Lafia about his scheduling.
Under Pressure (7:56) has Alex Vincent explain how making the sequel made him feel like he was carrying the movie since his name came first in the credits. He does have the memory of going to hang on the set of Back To the Future 3. There’s interesting talk about how his classmates didn’t see the original film since they were in first grade. His acting career didn’t go well after this film, but he enjoys meeting fans at conventions and has been in the recent Chucky films.
In Kyle We Trust (10:09) sits down with actress Christine Elise. This was her first big job after a few minor parts. She didn’t get the job on the original audition, but they looked at her in the second go around. She was in the middle of doing a Baywatch episode and her sass about getting back the beach helped get the gig. She was older than a teenager in reality.
School’s Out (5:28) catches up with actress Beth Grant. She recounts her time as Andy’s teacher. She auditioned after discovering a friend was in the first movie. She enjoyed her encounter with Chucky. She brought her relatives into the film. There’s also a tale of Don Mancini and grits. I want to work for Don now.
The Second Dance (3:59) breaks down how Executive Producer Robert Latham Brown worked on the second installment. The technology behind Chucky improved from the first movie which helped him given a better performance on the screen.
Theatrical Trailer (1:18) has a Jack-in-the-Box give us the line “Sorry Jack, Chucky’s back!” We get a lot of Chucky action scenes.
TV Spot (0:31) has a crowd outside a theater eager for more Chucky. “More Chuck for the buck!” declared one person.
Additional Scenes From The Broadcast Version (11:20) are clips taken from SyFy TV back when it was Sci Fi.
Scream Factory presents Child’s Play 2: Collector’s Edition. Directed by John Lafia. Screenplay by Don Mancini. Starring Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, Christine Elise, Grace Zabriskie, Ed Gale and Brad Dourif. Running Time: 84 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: August 16, 2022.
