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Demonic Toys (1992)

DVD Cover (Full Moon Pictures)
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Overall Rating 48%
Overall Rating
Ranked #5,826
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Genres / Traits: Horror Supernatural Horror Toys

Connections: Demonic Toys

A botched bust on a pair of arms dealers inadvertently leads to the raising of a sixty-six-year-old demon with the power to bring toys to life as his personal minions. The demon is looking for a body to inhabit so he can increase his powers, and it just so happens that one of the police officers is pregnant with the ideal host. As the murderous toys close in on their victims, the officer must not only fight for her life, but for the soul of her unborn child. --IMDb
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Review by Crispy
Added: October 21, 2007
A little common sense will tell you that toys on a murderous rampage actually leads to more comedic results than horror. After firing up the Puppet Master series, Charles Band wanted to take this theme in a somewhat lighter direction. Demonic Toys goes over the top in regards to both its violence and the toys featured and is actually able to create a nice blend of horror and dark comedy.

Judith Gray and Matt Cable are two undercover cops trying to bring down a pair of illegal arms dealers. More than just partners, the two have had an ongoing relationship which just took another step as Judith announces her pregnancy. The two are thrilled, but they'll have to forgo their celebration until after the bust. However, things don't go nearly as well as they planned. In a heartbeat, Mark is dead and Judith has chased the two criminals into a toy warehouse. She was able to shoot one of them during the pursuit and after his partner, Lincoln, leaves him for dead he crawls into a strange light with his dying breath. As he bleeds into the cracked floor, the toys around him begin to wake up. Meanwhile, the security guard of the warehouse has just placed a delivery order for his typical midnight snack of fried chicken. His buddy Mark is the delivery guy and they get there just in time for the shit to hit the fan. As the different groups manage to meet up (with Lincoln now in cuffs) they are joined by Anne, a runaway who has been living in the warehouse. She tells them that the toys are guided by evil spirits and they have blocked all the exits. Much to Judith's horror, she's about to discover exactly who is controlling these toys and the plans it has for her unborn child.

Sounds like a pretty standard horror movie, eh? All the comedy comes from the execution. Right down to the choice of the toys used. There are four main ones doing all the dirty work here. We got a deranged Jack in the Box, a feral teddy bear, a laser shooting tank and my personal favorite, a shit talking baby doll with a fondness for knives. They're all done so far over the top you just can't help but laugh. For example, the bear's growling is just some guy going "raw raawr." This blatant ridiculousness is held perfectly in that fine line of being silly without turning the movie into a complete joke. Because even though it's able to draw more than a few chuckles, it's still a horror flick beneath it all. Although the story is a bit cliche, it's still decently solid and there aren't too many plot holes to be found throughout. The effects were nicely done as well, mostly using animatronics with some stop animation here and there.

As far as acting goes, well they get the job done. Ranging from the good side of bad to average, nobody here is going to draw any complaints from the casual movie goer but their talent levels will definitely be picked up on. Tracy Scoggins, our lead lady, is probably the worst of the bunch. Although still passable, she sounds a touch too wooden throughout the flick. Bentley Mitchum and Michael Russo, Matt and Lincoln, both suffer a bit of over-actor's syndrome. Ellen Dunning, Anne, goes the other route and appears way too jaded during our toys' rampage. Ironically, the best performance here was turned in by Daniel Cerny, a young kid who plays an avatar for the demon to torment Judith with. Although to be fair, this was in no small part due to the overdubbing of his voice by Robert Stoeckle.

Going into this one, I was hoping they would have gone for a comedic flair here. Looking at the toys themselves and reading some of the plot synopsizes there was no way this would work if it was a straight horror movie. Fortunately, Band realized this and was not only able to make an enjoyable flick, but one that puts some unexpected distance between itself and Puppet Master. There's actually quite a few nods to this series, including a similar theme and the guard actually watching Puppet Master II at his desk before shaking his head and chuckling at the notion. Plus, with only two sequels there's a decent chance that the Demonic Toys franchise can actually hold itself throughout. Either way, it got a very nice start. 7/10
Edd #1: Edd - added October 22, 2007 at 4:06pm
Now it's time to write up a DT vs PM review. This movie is easily an 8/10 and I can barely remember it.
Crispy #2: Crispy - added October 22, 2007 at 6:56pm
I'm debating if I want to do DvP now or wait until the weekend to collect Dollman/Bad Channels/DT vs. Dollman and go in order.
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