When Charles Lee Ray needs to get quick escape from cop Mike Norris, he takes his soul and buries it into playful, seemingly good guy doll Chucky. Little does he know a little boy by the name of Andy Barclay will be the new owner of him soon-to-come. Charles confides in Andy while he commits numerous murders. Once the adults accept Andy's story as truth, it's too late.
Young Andy Barclay sees a commercial for a 'Good Guy' doll on TV, and asks his mother for one for his birthday. At work, Andy's mom and her friend discover a peddler selling one for a low price, and she buys it. What she doesn't know is that the particular doll contains the spirit of Charles Lee Ray, aka 'The Lakeshore Strangler', who died at the hands of police the night before and had transferred his spirit to the doll by voodoo. That night, Andy's babysitter is pushed from their 5th-floor window to her death, and only young Andy knows that 'Chucky' - the doll - is responsible for that a death and a series of murders that follow. Worse than that, the soul of Charles Lee Ray is trying to get out of the doll's body - and take over Andy's...