Leofwine_draca Obviously thinking (correctly) that the Silent Night, Deadly Night tag wouldn't mean much to British audiences, this fourth sequel was released simply as THE TOY MAKER. And it's a good job really, as it has no connection with the previous films (other than some returning actors) apart from the fact that there is a Christmas theme.For much of this film, it's just another boring sequel. It's neither gory, nor funny enough to remain anything memorable and I'm sure that in a week's time I'll have completely forgotten what happened in it. Unfortunately for us, the main 'star' of the film is a little boy who seems to think that all that is required of an actor is for him to stand around with his mouth open. No expression, hardly any dialogue, this little kid is atrociously bad and doesn't even deserve to get any screen time whatsoever. I usually hate kid actors and this boy is one of the worst.And, sadly enough, the adult actors and actresses aren't much better either, with one youngster supposed to be the hero of the film, he doesn't look like he could hurt a fly. The actress playing the mother is bland and shouts over the top a lot, and Mickey Rooney looks very old and upset about appearing in a film like this. And with Brian Yuzna co-writing, I thought it might have been at least partly good. I was wrong.The concept of killer toys is nothing new (just watch any of Full Moon Entertainment's output) but there are a couple of laughs to be had along the way, the best death being the bit where a loving couple are shot, stabbed, and gunned by a squad of little army toys, leaving one girl literally covered in blood. There's a lot of the old claret on flow in this scene, but when a man is killed by a ball wrapped around his face like some imitation face hugger, then you can't help but sigh and look somewhere else. Screaming Mad George provided the special effects, but they're mostly not very special, apart from one standout scene where a black guy has a clockwork snake go inside his mouth and pull out his eyes from the inside, then emerge from one of the sockets. That's pretty good.There is one good thing about this film, which startled me and made me sit up in my seat a little. It's the ending, which comes out of nowhere, when one character turns out to be a plastic android. The special effects are done very well here and I'm not sure how they got his head to look so plastic. When he gets cut in half and has his head smashed in, it's pretty funny too. It's like some full-grown, evil Pinocchio on the rampage. However for this one genuinely good moment there are a dozen lame scenes, including a boy on possessed roller-skates. Don't bother putting yourself through this unless you have a high tolerance level.

Michael_Elliott Silent Night, Deadly Night 5 (1991) * 1/2 (out of 4)Mickey Rooney (!?!?!) plays a toy maker who along with his creepy son starts making and sending out toys with the ability to kill. It seems one woman and her son are under attack because her husband was killed by one of these toys and the son keeps getting new gifts left at the door. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 5 is the final film in a franchise that has certainly had a lot more low points than any other series in the horror genre. As with the previous movie, this one here has nothing to do with the killer Santa from the first three films but that's not a huge deal. There are a lot of problems with this thing but it's almost worth watching just because of screen legend Rooney. He was a major opponent to the first film and even wrote letters to get the film banned so it's rather funny seeing him appear in this film. One has to wonder if the producers didn't tell him this was a SNDN movie or perhaps he was just willing to appear in it due to the money. Either way there's no question that he's the best thing in the film as he actually delivers a quite good performance. He plays the psychopath role quite nicely and he also handles the more dramatic moments as well. Part of the role has the old man being an alcoholic and Rooney actually delivers these scenes very well. That's pretty much the only good thing you can say about this film as everything else is rather boring and silly. The acting is a major problem because the performances are so bad you can never really believe or care about anything going on. The screenplay, outside the Rooney character, really doesn't allow anyone to do much but at the same time if it did it's doubtful the actors could have done much with it. William Thorne plays the boys and doesn't do much. Jane Higginson plays the mother and we even get Neith Hunter who played in the previous movie. Clint Howard also appears in one quick scene. The story is a pretty big mess as it takes forever for the thing to get going and when the ending finally comes and the twist is revealed you can't help but roll your eyes at how dumb it is. The one highlight in the film comes when a young couple begins to have sex on a bed and Rooney, in a Santa suit, drops off some of the killer toys. During the sex scene a fake hand joins the action and I must admit that it had me laughing. The toy attack that follows also has a lot of imagination but it's just a shame that the rest of the film couldn't have as much.

udar55 Young Derek Quinn (William Thorne) sees his father killed by a killer toy that someone left on their doorstep. Two weeks later, his mom has completely recovered from her husband's death but Derek is taking it hard, refusing to speak. She thinks the best way to cheer him up is take him to a toy store run by Joe Petto (Mickey Rooney) and his son Pino (Brian Bremer). But Mr. Petto has some evil up his sleeve as he just might be the one responsible for making these deadly toys. Also, some handsome stranger (Tracy Fraim, yes, he's a dude with that name) is poking around the Quinn household.Producer Brian (RE-ANIMATOR) Yuzna directed the fourth entry in this series and produced here. Both sequels tried to keep the Xmas horror theme but move away from the killer Santa angle. With the killer toy angle here, this is the HALLOWEEN III of the SNDN series and you would suspect to see Charles Band's name somewhere in the credits. Alas, he wasn't involved but I'm sure he enjoyed this though. Of course, how can you not enjoy a movie that features Mickey Rooney drunk on Jack Daniels and smashing the bottle over his son's head? There are some great FX in here from Screaming Mad George with the killer toys being Larry the Larva, a car with saw blades, a strangling Santa ball and the required Army men who fire real bullets. What no killer teddy bear? Charles Band shakes his head in shame. The acting is fine by everyone and the little kid actually gives one of the better child performances I've seen (maybe because he has no dialog?). Yuzna gets extra points for having a guy in line with his son to see Santa wearing a RE-ANIMATOR shirt and a girl on Santa's lap asking for clothes, make-up, sunglasses and a tape of BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR. Clint Howard has a small role as a shopping mall Santa.

Scarecrow-88 Warped take on the Pinocchio theme, and set during the Christmas season(..after the previous entry abandoned ties to Christmas) has booby-trapped toys sent to murder a child(..yet through this, other victims are accidentally harmed in the process)perhaps by a toy maker's "son". Screaming Mad George was responsible for the killer toys(..including a larvae which enters a victim's mouth and out his eye, another where soldier toys actually shoot real bullets at a babysitter after her boyfriend was practically strangled by a severed hand toy, operating from a remote control). The little target is a mute child named Derek(William Thorne)whose stepdad was murdered by a red ball with extending arms that ensnare his face, causing him to land on a fireplace poker. Mother Sarah(Jane Higginson)worries about her son's mental state, figuring his reluctance towards opening presents or, more importantly, talking, derives from watching her husband's horrific murder. Derek's real father, Noah(Tracy Fraim)fears for his son't safety, and informs, reluctantly, his ex-girlfriend Sarah that the local toymaker, Joe Petto(Mickey Rooney)once was arrested for setting traps in toys to harm kids due to the loss of an unborn child when his wife was killed in a car crash..kind of a retaliation in saying that if he couldn't have a son, then others shouldn't either. Still quite a heavy drinker(..often seen swigging Jack), Petto seems to have set aside his feelings towards kids, but his creepy son Pino(Brian Bremer)hasn't and Derek he harbors angst towards. Why? You'll soon understand.Pretty disappointing special effects and rather goofy premise. Rooney's name adds an allure to the film, gaining it a notoriety, but his histrionics can only help so much. Attractive lead actress Higginson(Slaughterhouse)and Fraim as the man who re-enters her life aren't so bad, but the lame plot that develops is hard to take seriously. I'm guessing that's the point, but Rooney has no reason to be in such a film as this..he has no room to bring any personality to his toymaker other than rage and desperation, quite volatile, barely holding himself together as he explodes in anger towards Pino, when not downing liquor. Bremer is appropriately weird and "robotic" as Pino, longing to have Sarah as his mama. The practical effects used during the attacks on victims are rather unconvincing..Screaming Mad George's work with Savage Steve Holland was far more effective than what we see in this film. The sex everyone talks about isn't as gratuitous as many would have you believe(..I can't even recall any nudity). Probably the best of the numerous sequels greenlighted, but that's not exactly an endorsement. I'm pretty sure written on paper, this was an entertaining concept, the idea of spoofing Pinocchio using horror elements, but the result doesn't exactly blow you away.