In Chicago, Illinois, police detective Mike Norris chases Charles Lee Ray, a notorious serial killer. When Ray is wounded, his get-away driver, Eddie Caputo, leaves him behind. Ray breaks into Playland Toys and Mike Norris follows. In the ensuing gunfight, Ray is hit again. Realizing he is about to die, Ray swears vengeance on Mike and Eddie. He staggers to a display of “Good Guy” dolls and chants a voodoo incantation to transfer his soul into the body of a doll. Lightning hits the building and sets off an explosion. Mike survives and finds Ray’s corpse in the rubble. The next day, Andy Barclay celebrates his sixth birthday, and watches the Good Guy show while wearing his “Good Guy” pajamas and eating “Good Guy” cereal. A commercial for the new “Good Guy” doll airs and Andy is entranced. Each doll has its own name and speaks three stock lines. Andy eyes a large birthday present and thinks it is a “Good Guy” doll, but is disappointed to discover clothing in the box. A second present contains a “Good Guy” tool kit, and Andy wishes he had the doll to accompany it. His single mother, Karen Barclay, apologizes that she did not know about the doll in time to save enough to buy it. Later, while Karen works at a department store, her co-worker Maggie Peterson announces a street peddler has a “Good Guy” doll for sale and Karen buys it for a discounted price. Upon returning to work, Karen’s boss demands that she cover for a sick co-worker’s shift. He does not care that it is Andy’s birthday, and Maggie offers to babysit. During Karen’s dinner break, Andy is thrilled to receive the “Good Guy” doll, which announces its name is Chucky. Later, Andy shows Chucky his “Good Guy” tool set, but the doll watches a television news report about Eddie Caputo escaping police custody. When it is time for bed, Andy insists Chucky wants to watch the news. Maggie does not believe the boy and shuts off the television. She carries Andy to the bedroom and drags Chucky along, banging the doll against the wall. While Andy brushes his teeth, Maggie puts away dishes and is surprised to hear the television turned back on. She finds Chucky watching the news and scolds Andy for disobeying her. Andy insists he did nothing wrong, but Maggie does not believe him. After Andy falls asleep, Chucky sneaks into the kitchen. Maggie hears a sound and discovers a canister overturned on the floor. Chucky attacks her with a “Good Guy” hammer and knocks Maggie out the apartment window to her death. Karen returns home to find detective Mike Norris and his partner, Jack Santos, leading the investigation. Mike points to little footprints in spilled flour, but notes they are not from Andy’s shoes. Andy runs into the kitchen, claiming Chucky wants to know what is happening. Mike sees Andy wears “Good Guy” pajama sneakers and checks the bottoms, but they are clean. When Karen puts Andy to bed, Chucky sits in a nearby chair and the boy notices flour on the soles of Chucky shoes. He runs to tell his mother, but she does not believe him. Mike is intrigued by Andy’s statement, but Karen is angry that he suspects Andy and insists the officers leave. Outside, Mike shows Santos the “Good Guy” hammer which might be a murder weapon. Karen overhears Andy talking to the doll and the boy insists Chucky is alive. He says Chucky’s full name is Charles Lee Ray and he was sent from Heaven to be Andy’s playmate. Chucky told Andy that Maggie got what she deserved. Karen refuses to believe her son, and wonders why he would say something so horrible. Realizing his mother is upset about Maggie’s death, Andy promises to stop making up stories. The next day, Andy and Chucky sneak out of school and travel to a bad section of the city. As they near a seemingly-deserted building, Andy rests Chucky on an abandoned chair and tells the doll to wait while he pees behind a dumpster. However, Chucky runs into the building where Eddie Caputo is hiding. As Andy searches for Chucky outside, the doll turns on the gas in a stove. Eddie hears sounds in the kitchen, and enters shooting. His gunshot ignites the gas and the building explodes. At the police station, Mike informs Karen that Andy and Chucky were at the scene of another murder. She asks Andy to tell the truth and the boy begs Chucky to speak, but the doll remains silent. Andy shakes Chucky, even though the doll threatened to kill him if Andy ever revealed he was alive. Dr. Ardmore observes the exchange and decides Andy should spend time in a psychiatric hospital. Karen returns home with Chucky, finds unopened batteries in the doll’s box and discovers there are no batteries inside Chucky. She shakes the doll and orders it to talk. When Chucky remains silent, Karen lights a fire and threatens to throw Chucky into the fireplace unless he talks. Chucky attacks her and they fight. He bites Karen’s arm, escapes the apartment and runs away. Karen tells Mike Norris that Chucky is alive and shows him the bite mark, but he does not believe her. She determines to find the street peddler who sold her the doll, but Mike cautions against it. She searches among the homeless community and finds the peddler. The man accosts Karen, but Mike arrives and saves her. The peddler reveals he found the doll in the debris at Playland Toys and Mike tells Karen about Charles Lee Ray’s death. She believes Chucky is Charles Lee Ray and thinks Mike is in danger because Ray promised vengeance. Mike thinks she is crazy, but drops her off and retrieves his file on Ray. As Mike drives home, Chucky attacks. Mike burns the doll’s face with the cigarette lighter, but Chucky stabs through the car seat, then forces the accelerator to the floor. The car crashes and Mike shoots at the doll. Chucky insists he cannot be killed, but a bullet injures him as he runs off. Mike shares Ray’s file with Karen and reveals that the killer studied with a Voodoo priest named John, also known as Dr. Death. Chucky reaches John first and learns that the more time Charles Lee Ray’s spirit spends in the doll’s body, the more human it becomes. Chucky refuses to spend his life trapped inside a doll, but John feels Chucky perverted his religion for evil and refuses to help. Chucky attacks John’s personal mojo doll and the wounds manifest on John’s body. The Voodoo priest informs Chucky that he can transfer his soul into the body of the first person who learned of his true self. Chucky stabs the Voodoo doll, mortally wounding John, and leaves to find Andy. As John dies, he reveals to Mike and Karen that they can save Andy by wounding Chucky in the heart before he completes the incantation. Andy sees Chucky climbing the hospital fire escape and screams for Dr. Ardmore to release him, but Ardmore does not believe him. Chucky sneaks into Andy’s room, but the boy outwits him and escapes. Chucky finds Andy in an operating room, but Ardmore rushes in and tries to sedate the boy. However, Chucky attacks the doctor and electrocutes him. Andy runs away, but Karen knows Andy will return home, and she races there with Mike. Inside the apartment, Chucky enters through the fireplace and attacks Andy. He knocks the boy unconscious and starts the incantation but Karen and Mike arrive. In the ensuing battle, Chucky slices Mike’s leg, then disappears. Mike gives Karen a gun, then searches for the doll in the bedroom, where Chucky knocks him unconscious. Karen shoots Chucky’s leg, but the gun jams and Chucky chases her and Andy. Karen traps Chucky in the fireplace and turns on the gas as Andy lights a match and tosses it at Chucky. They stand back as the burning doll escapes the fireplace and collapses. Believing Chucky dead, they help Mike, but the charred Chucky attacks. Karen grabs Mike’s gun and shoots off Chucky’s head, arm, and leg until the doll finally stops. Detective Santos arrives, but does not believe their story. Santos grabs Chucky’s head and places it on the television, insisting the doll was never alive. However, Chucky’s body climbs through a vent and chokes Santos. Before Chucky can kill Santos, Karen grabs the doll and throws it across the room. Chucky’s head screams death threats while his body crawls toward them. Mike shoots Chucky in the heart, blood splatters on the wall and Chucky finally dies. Santos admits Chucky was alive but wonders if anyone will believe them. As Karen leads him out of the room, Andy stares back at Chucky’s corpse.