gavin6942 Two creepy "horror" films joined together by Merlin's Shop which is, in turn, introduced by a Grandpa (Ernest Borgnine) telling the story to a foolish child.What the heck is this? We have an early 1980s film ("The Devil's Gift") that seems like it might have been halfway decent... then they cut it up, edited it into this film and added a second story that is far worse. Why? Why does this exist? It is editing at its worst.What really bothers me is that when we transition between stories, the kid asks about the toy monkey. What toy monkey?? The monkey shows up in the movie he is watching on television, not in the story his grandfather tells. He should not even know that Merlin has one...I want to see the original film, though I suspect it has since been lost or was never completed.

adiadv1 Grandpa (Ernest Borgnine) is babysitting for little Billy when a storm causes a power outage. Faced with the sudden task of entertaining his grandson now that the TV is out of commission, he decides to tell him a story he'd written years before. It's the whimsical tale of Merlin, the magical wizard who proclaims that he "only wants people to believe in and experience the joy of magic." So of course the obvious thing to do is open a trendy little shop downtown. It's (hopefully) not what the writer had in mind, but nonetheless it immediately becomes obvious that Merlin is (and I quote The Great and Powerful Oz), "not a bad man, just a very bad wizard." Every item that leaves the Mystical Shop of Wonders causes terror and death. Apparently his great powers are useless when it comes to stopping the evil and harm he's 100% responsible for unleashing on the innocent. Despite the nearly non-existent links between subplots, one thing is consistent from beginning to end: every aspect of this story is so wrong on so many levels. No man, woman, child or household pet is safe – not even the goldfish! Seriously, even the most violent movies I've seen usually stick to one pet max! Don't get the idea that this is some sort of graphic horror flick. Not even by a long shot. It's pathetic, lame and ridiculous to the point that it's funny – that is unless you're poor little Billy.As you watch this, you'll be haunted by the burning question: "Why is Grandpa Psycho alone with Billy, telling a violent tale that will likely scar him for life?" But then, alas, he finishes the story with the lamest excuse for a happy ending and tenderly tucks Billy in. Sweet dreams little guy!I typically watch movies like this on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I give that episode 10/10! This line really sums it up: "So evil wins, Grandpa Borgnine?" "That's right, even your tiny soul is doomed, Billy."

Seth Nelson Yes, I know that just about everybody here is giving this film a really low rating, so I assume that they have seen this in the theater, on television, or on video. These people probably haven't seen or even heard of "Mystery Science Theater 3000." Here's why: this movie was "made" in 1996. And according to the trivia for MST3K, Mike Nelson said that many filmmakers made bad movies just for that show! (Don't believe me? Check the trivia section for yourself.) And in one of my past reviews, I mentioned that one element of a bad, MST3K treatment-deserving movie is reusing footage from another source. Yes, this movie definitely reuses footage from another film, "The Devil's Gift." Which just about sums it all up - right here!

angrymonkey27 I love Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders! But mostly, that little Mark Hurtado is just so darn cute! Of course, I love that it was on Mystery Science Theater 3000. MST3K is this awesome show that used to be on the sci-fi channel that makes fun of awesomely bad movies while you watch them. In my opinion this is the only way to watch this movie, which I have personally seen something like five times. I love watching people make fun of Mark and Ernest Borgnine. It's just so funny! So this movie basically takes two really horrible movies--one made in the 70's and one made in the early 90's--and sandwiches them together with Mark and Ernest Borgnine. It is also interesting to note that Mark's sister, Allee (I'm not sure if that's how you spell it) is the little baby boy in the latter of the horrible movies. Also, it has recently been released in the MST3K Collection, Vol. 5. I can't wait to buy it so that I can watch what has repeatedly been called 'the worst movie ever made' over and over again. ...That darn cute Mark Hurtado...