Headscratchers / Child's Play (1988)

• Why is it that John (the voodoo man) so surprised that Chucky has "perverted everything he taught him" and used it for evil? Assuming John had no knowledge that Charles Lee Ray was the Lakeshore Strangler (which was unlikely), what business did he have teaching soul swapping voodoo spells to people? How does one NOT use such an ability for evil?
  • Maybe John was one of those people who thought after you die you can pass on your knowledge to help other people for the betterment of humanity? Of course though if we're being honest in real life that's the attitude that can get you an "A" in a college course and a bullet to the face outside of it. This being a horror movie with a serial killer in a doll, John didn't get the better option of the two.
  • As note you can transfer your soul into a doll (and, presumably, any object resembling a person), which I wouldn't say is inherently evil, unlike using it to possess a real person
  • There is a currently unreleased deleted scene (as of 2022) where we would have seen Chucky and Eddie watching John use the spell to save a sick child, using the Heart Of Damballa (its a scepter in the scene, but would later be changed into an amulet). So it seems the spell is benevolent in nature and Chucky does pervert its use.
• Why did John (the voodoo man) have a personal voodoo doll of himself? What purpose would that serve him at any point, let alone why would he tell his customers where to find it?
  • A few reasons come to mind. The first and most likely answer is that someone else made the voodoo doll, perhaps his teacher, perhaps an old enemy. Once in existence there may not be any way to safely destroy a Voodoo Doll. Alternatively there might be an inverse good reason to have a voodoo doll. I imagine for example CPR might be easier on a doll.
  • Or it could be possible he made one of himself to keep others from making one of him. Has anyone ever heard of two voodoo dolls made on the same person before? Plus, some online sources explain that voodoo dolls can not only be used for placing bad hexes, but for placing good hexes too, such as healing, finding true love and spiritual guidance. They were also used for harvest customs, burial rites, made as talismans, or to be used as teaching aids for children.
  • IIRC, Chucky himself remarked on this.

• So Chucky has to transfer his soul into the first person he revealed himself to, right? But...how is that Andy? Between the point of becoming a doll and revealing himself to Andy, Chucky would have at least two other options: The Peddler and Aunt Maggie. Arguably, Maggie may not count as she only witnesses Chucky before death, but surely the Peddler must have known the doll was alive. Someone had to put Chucky back into the box. Someone had to have gotten him out of the store. And the Peddler was not so interested in having the doll back.
  • Actually it wasn't the first person he reveals himself to, but the first person he reveals his TRUE self to. The Peddler may have just encountered a talking, bloodthirsty doll. And Maggie only saw chucky for split second before being killed. The only person who knows the true identity of the doll is Andy who also knows the entire situation (he's a human trapped in a doll who died and doesn't want to go to hell). Also, Andy is aware Chucky is alive before Maggie is as he's seen talking to him.
  • The peddler in all likelihood knows absolutely nothing about Chucky being alive, at the very least we're given no indication he's anything more than some perverted hobo who found him on the street. And as mentioned, Chucky was clearly talking to Andy offscreen before he killed Maggie.

• Why would the shock machine that Chucky used to kill Dr. Ardmore even be capable of emitting more than a safe amount of electricity?
  • Putting in safety features probably cost more some probably avoid doing so. It's a medical tool that also has greater expectation people won't misuse it. You would think a tool has safety features to prevent such a thing, but how often do people test them out? Do you ever wonder if all your machines safety features actually work? Or do you just hope they do when you need them?

• Chucky ends up in the hands of a street peddler. However that happened, who’s the person who put the doll back in the box? This troper assumes that whoever did decided to throw out the bloody floor doll for understandable reasons but decided to take the time to repackage it?
  • Presumably the box would be chucked out too, so the peddler probably found both and put the doll back into the box. Or Chucky might have put himself back into the box to make it more likely he could be resold.

• Why Mike Norris doesn't arrest the peddler after he tries to rape Karen? All he did was punch him and question him on how he got Chucky, but once he tells them, Mike lets him go. The peddler shouldn't be arrested for his attempted rape? What does guarantee that what the peddler tried to do to Karen is not something he usually does to some of his potential clients if they don't have money?
  • Mike had much more pressing issues, namely a killer doll with the soul of a serial killer who clearly is still dangerous. You know, the one that has clearly continued to rack up a body count, and at that point, might have added more?

• We see Chucky's apartment from when he was alive, and there are a bunch of weird murals all over the walls. Why didn't he get kicked out for vandalizing the apartment?
  • Neither Chucky or Tiffany are shown to be well off. It's likely the apartment he lived in was not in good shape and didn't have management that cared enough to be checking in on residents.
• Why does it sometimes seem to be random if Chucky actually feels pain from his injuries or not? In the first movie, his is set on fire and screams in agony. Yet a few minutes later, he gets his head and arm literally shot off, and just acts like it's a nuisance. How does that make sense?
• How does the Voodoo priest know that Chucky's heart is "almost human" and is his weak point? Does it just always work that way when someone possesses a doll and starts turning human? Also, why doesn't anyone in the sequels try shooting or stabbing him in the heart? It was a One-Hit Kill in the first movie, so it would at least be worth a try.