Despite being the size of a four-year-old with plastic skin and fake hair, Chucky is a better killer as a doll than when in his human form. The diminutive slasher does not have dream-imposing powers like Freddy Krueger, a hook for a hand like Candyman, or a gigantic chainsaw like Leatherface. Still, there is something genuinely terrifying about him. Chucky is often the joke of horror movie villains, where online s (via Twitter) often balk at the idea of easily winning against the pint-sized killer. In reality, though, Chucky could be the most challenging horror movie villain to kill.
Chucky was introduced in body of a Good Guy doll. However, though Chucky seemingly gets defeated at the end of each movie, he always returns more viciously than ever. As a result, it's clear that the killer is much tougher than his frail plastic body would suggest.
On the surface, it seems obvious that Chucky's doll form would be a serious disadvantage and that Lee Ray would be a stronger and more successful killer as a human. After all, logic suggests that he would have a more muscular, bigger body, more strength to fight or choke someone, and be able to run faster. However, In both Seed of Chucky and Syfy’s Chucky, Lee Ray claims he doesn’t want to keep trying to transfer his soul into a human anymore and instead wants to stay a doll forever. This is because he has proved time and time again that he is far more dangerous as a killer doll. For one, he has the strength and power of a full-grown man, yet with fewer weaknesses. Additionally, if it weren’t for performing voodoo on a random doll in a toy store, the Lakeshore strangler Charles Lee Ray would have died in 1988. Because he is a doll, however, he never truly dies and has attained a level of immortality. As a result, Chucky is actually a much better killer as a doll than a human.
As Chucky is a doll, without a fragile human body, he is actually virtually impossible to kill. Although he seems to die in virtually every entry, he somehow comes back. Whether the doll company rebuilds him or Tiffany puts him back together, Chucky always has a clear route to return. If he were a human, though, once killed, that would be the end of the story. Were he to get shot in the heart or head, it would instantly kill him, but as a doll, without a heart or lungs, he can escape death in many ways, including not being able to be drowned or choked. This added resilience makes him a much more effective, as well as scarier, opponent.
This superhuman resilience is on full display during the much-lauded Chucky TV show. Even in the Chucky season 1 finale, for instance, he gets choked to death by Jake, with the implication being that he is gone for good. However, this supposed "death" actually only highlights how well he is served by his doll form, as all it takes is the transfer of his soul into a new vessel for him to come roaring back. Given his track record of resurrection throughout the series, it seems inevitable that Chucky will return, and likely stronger than ever. It will be interesting to see how Chucky will be rebuilt in Chucky season 2, as it is a new and unique way each time. Whatever direction the narrative takes, the very fact that there's such a clear path for revival shows just why being a doll rather than human is what makes Chucky such a formidable antagonist.