Child's Play: Did Mancini Subvert the 'Evil Black Magic' Trope?

Alright soundtrack nerds, HughesReviews here. Been re-listening to Joseph Renzetti's score for Child's Play (1988) and it got me thinking about the film itself. Beyond the obvious horror elements and Chucky's quotable lines, there's something really... interesting happening under the surface that I think often gets overlooked. Specifically, the whole voodoo aspect. Think about it: Charles Lee Ray, a notorious serial killer, transfers his soul into a Good Guy doll using seemingly 'evil' black magic. But who's teaching him this? Doctor Death, a black man. Now, this could easily play into some really problematic tropes about black people being inherently associated with dark arts. But I honestly don't think it does, and here's why. Ray is already a monster. His soul is already corrupted. The magic isn't making him evil, it's merely a tool. He's the one twisting it, bending it to his own twisted will. Plus, Doc Death gets offed pretty quickly, showing that the skill isn't the source of evil, only the person wielding it. A lot of horror in the 80s, and even now, falls into the trap of using 'otherness' (race, religion, etc.) as a shorthand for 'scary'. But Child's Play doesn't really do that. In fact, you could argue (and I think I will!) that it almost subverts that trope. The real evil isn't in the magic itself, or the person who taught it, but in the already deeply flawed individual who weaponizes it. Renzetti's score, while definitely leaning into the sinister, also hints at this ambiguity, with those almost playful melodies mixed with the dark synth elements. It's complex. Just food for thought after a rewatch & relisten. What do you guys think? Am I way off base here or is there something to this?