The Child's Play series is one of the best-known horror movie franchises of all time, thanks to its lead antagonist, Chucky. The serial-killer-turned-homicidal-doll is an iconic slasher villain, and his popularity has produced several films, a television series, various comics and more. With the Chucky television series recently premiering on the Syfy channel, let's break down Chucky's origin and analyze just what it is that makes the killer doll so dangerous.
How Did Chucky Become A Doll In Child's Play?
The 1988 Child's Play opens with serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) escaping from the police. Shot and wounded, Ray flees into a toy store and performs a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into a Good Guy doll called Chucky. The doll eventually ends up in the hands of six-year-old Andy Barclay, who serves as a patsy when Chucky begins his killing spree. Eventually, Chucky shifts his focus to transferring out of the doll -- and into Andy's body.
How 2019's Child's Play Rewrites Chucky's Origin Story
As is the case with many popular film series, Child's Play was rebooted after many years, with a new film also bearing the title of Child's Play releasing in 2019. The reboot changes several key aspects of the series' mythology, with Chucky's backstory being completely altered in favor of a more modern take on the character. In addition, the reboot marks the only time in the Child's Play series that Chucky isn't voiced by Brad Dourif, with legendary actor Mark Hamill voicing the doll instead.
The 2019 version of Chucky is a high-tech Buddi doll created by the Kaslan Corporation, designed to connect and interface with other Kaslan household products. After being fired, an overworked and disgruntled worker at the Kaslan factory disables one doll's safety protocols, leading it to become artificially intelligent and homicidal. While the original Chucky's main goal is to transfer out of the doll, the 2019 version is intent on killing anyone who he sees as a threat to him and Andy's "friendship."
What Are Chucky's Horror Movie Superpowers?
The original version of Chucky demonstrates a number of powers due to his mystical backstory, with the most obvious being his command of voodoo magic. Chucky also retains human-level strength and speed and is seemingly unable to permanently die despite taking a ton of punishment over the course of the series. In addition, he can perfectly imitate a normal Good Guy doll when necessary.
2019's Chucky retains the original version's strength and speed, as well as his ability to imitate a normal doll. However, the reboot also gives him artificial intelligence and the ability to interface with other Kaslan household devices. This allows him to transfer into a new body after seemingly being killed at the end of the film.