Demonic Toys (1992) A Direct Video Straight To The Cheese-nees!
From the gimmicky mind of Full Moon Entertaintaintment Charles Band, comes a direct straight to video comedy-horror entitled Demonic Toys. The film is directed by Peter Manoogian who is also known for lending his talents to 1984s classic The Howling and The Dugeonmaster films.
Appearing greatly as an even cheesier knock off of Child’s Play (how is that even possible in the first place?) is it necessarily a bad thing? I say no as Demonic Toys does have an appeal all of its own despite the recycled plotline. Released in 1992, Demonic Toys is a fun little movie filled with the classic over the top acting, dodgy special effects, and unrealistic kills. Despite all of its flaws, and there are many, I genuinely enjoyed this little flick. It was entertaining, funny and gory. Three wins when it comes to horror.
Demonic Toys centers around cop Judith Gray who’s partner and lover is shot dead when a stakeout goes array. She had just told her partner that she was pregnant which we soon discover plays a pivotal role in the film. When Judith pursues her lover’s killers (which inevitably looks like the opening scene from Child’s Play) Judith and the killers find themselves trapped inside a toy factory. Yep, cue gasps.
As you can imagine the film is bloody terrible but in total honesty, it wasn’t as bad as I was picturing. When Judith’s partner’s Killers stumble through the warehouse bleeding out profusely as he goes the blonde-haired creepy guy comes across a glowing blue light in the center of the floor. And what happens in horror movies? Yep, they always go towards the weird light, though in his case he was drastically delirious and probably thought that the almighty was sending down a beam for him to float to paradise. Psyche! Of course, It was just a demonic pentagram that needed some poor saps blood to open the gates of hell.! Duh! before finally succumbing to his laughable death, Hesse delivers his final last words as he’s surrounded by soulless plastic toys.
“Fucking Toys!”
From here we are introduced to the murdering Demonic Toys. A maniacal Jack in the box named Jack Attack who’s psychotic incessant laughing is rather unnerving, a baby doll and by far my favorite character named Oopsie Daisy who is a foul-mouthed little shit with a quick wit and a feral teddy bear. The twisted trio turns out to be the minions of a child demon named ‘The Kid’ played by Dano Cerny who also had a role in Children Of The Corn 3. Shocker there!
The acting is no doubt shoddy but I found myself overlooking such things due to its ability to entertain. There is no stinginess on the amount of gore either which made me a very happy gore head. The kills are fun and the blood continuously flows throughout. I never got bored watching Demonic Toys. if you’re a fan of bad, cheesy horror then you need to check out this movie! The franchise even spawned a sequel to the first called Demonic Toys: Personal Demons whilst the two other popular horror franchises found themselves doing a crossover with 2004s The Puppet Master Vs Demonic Toys and 1993’s The Dollman Vs Demonic Toys.
The sweet putrid stench of love lingers through the air which can only mean one thing…Valentine’s Day and its annoying little winged cherub, Cupid, is fast approaching. Soon, partners will be spoiling one another with extravagant bouquets of roses, heartfelt Hallmark cards, obnoxiously large teddy bears, glistening diamond jewelry, and heart-shaped candies or boxes filled with assorted mediocre chocolates. You know? Normal things couples do. I tend to prefer my chocolate boxes filled with bleeding hearts, à la ‘My Bloody Valentine’ but, beggars can’t be choosers, right? All jokes aside, Valentine’s Day is special for many couples, however, there are also many others who find themselves celebrating this day without a significant other. Luckily, Shudder, along with drive-in king Joe Bob Briggs and co-host Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince) will graciously be keeping us lonely mutants’, and yes, all you horror fanatic couples’ company on Friday, February 10th as they return with The Last Drive-In Valentine’s Day Special, premiering live at 9pm EST.
Love Spells Abound…
Back in 2021, Joe Bob and Darcy invited us to a gruesomely passionate night of spell-binding love witches and animatronic dinosaurs infused with teenage human brains during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You. Many, including myself, were introduced to the tantalizing 70’s inspired retro throwback ‘The Love Witch’ and the graphically goofy cult classic ‘Tammy and the T-Rex’, providing the perfect viewing pleasure to mend any broken heart. While the two films for this year’s morbid love-induced special have yet to be announced, we here at HauntedMTL are eagerly awaiting the return of the ghoulish duo. As is tradition, we will be proudly hosting a watch party on Twitter during the live broadcasting of The Last Drive-In Valentine’s Day Special. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and tag us @hauntedMTL as well as @shudder, @therealjoebob, and @kinky_horror to partake in this night of unholy love.
What started off as a one-time special premiering on Shudder July 13, 2018, ‘The Last Drive- In’ was originally meant to be Brigg’s swan song; one last special before hanging up the bolo tie in retirement. However, due to so many mutants, excuse me…viewers tuning in and breaking the Shudder servers, it was only natural to announce an official full season of ‘The Last Drive-In‘, which would make its explosive debut March 19, 2019. Since then, Darcy and Briggs have spawned many exclusive holiday specials, have graciously donated to many charities within the community, and have accumulated 4 seasons of ‘The Last Drive-In’, with a fifth currently in production premiering on Shudder’s 2023 schedule sometime this year, let’s hope sooner rather than later.
Movies n TV
Horror Noire, a Film Review
Horror Noire is a horror collection that includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.”
Horror Noire is a horror collection brought by the combined efforts of AMC+ and Shudder. The collection includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.” Horror Noire boasts Black directors and screenwriters, providing six unique stories.
As this collection explores six stories, I will skip the usual synopsis to assess the genres and ideas explored, albeit limited as needed. Expect to find supernatural horror, creature features, and psychological thrillers. Many short films deal with these genres while exploring Black issues, but this isn’t universal for the collection.
The directors and writers include Zandashé Brown, Robin Givens, Rob Greenlea, Kimani Ray Smith, Steven Barnes, Ezra Clayton Daniels, Tananarive Due, Shernold Edwards, Victor LaValle, and Al Letson.
What I Like
Each story remains unique, holding different strengths and weaknesses that highlight drastically different perspectives. Collections like VHS hold a similar premise to create their collection, but Horror Noire gives more creative freedom to its talent to be independent.
My personal favorite short film is Zandashé Brown’s “Bride Before You.” This period piece unravels a fable set in the Reconstruction Era. The entry feels Fabulistic in approach, which happens to be my preferred niche.
However, the best example of horror goes to Robin Givens’ “Daddy,” providing an existential horror tied directly to the characters involved.
What I Dislike
As mentioned, all have a particular style and idea. The downside of this approach always remains to keep the viewer interested long enough to find their favorite. If you find several underwhelming choices, this becomes a chore. But I imagine that is rare as the variety makes the options refreshing.
Personally, “Brand of Evil” had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short. On paper, it might have sounded like my favorite, which makes the lackluster execution a bigger letdown.
Final Thoughts
Horror Noire gives power and control to Black creators, providing a formula for a unique collection against others in the space. While the various subjects and approaches mean you aren’t likely to love them all, there should be a short film for everyone.
(3.5 / 5)
Episode six of Netflix’s Dahmer was not, honestly about our title character. Instead, it was about one of his victims, a man named Tony. We’ve actually seen Tony a few times during this series. We just didn’t know it was him.
And, well, he wasn’t exactly alive the first time we saw him.
Tony was born into a supportive, loving family. This is good because soon after he was born a viral infection took his hearing. He is black, deaf, and gay in the early 90’s.
Tony has a dream of becoming a model. And he certainly has the looks for it. He is beautiful, body and soul. He has lots of opportunities for romance, but it’s not what he’s looking for. He wants a real relationship.
Eventually Tony moves to Madison, trying to pursue his dream. He gets a job and starts getting modeling work.
Then, he meets Jeff Dahmer at a bar.
At first, we can almost believe that it’s going to be alright. Jeff seems happy. He’s taking care of himself. He’s not drinking as much. He even has his dad and stepmom over for dinner. It seems like his life is getting on track. Even better, he’s treating Tony right.
Then, of course, things go bad.
One thing that has always bothered me as a true crime fan is that we know so much about the killers, but not as much about the victims. Not so much if we don’t know who the killer is, of course. But the names that are part of our pop culture are those of the killers. Dahmer, Manson, Jones, Bundy, Holms. The names we don’t know are Roberta Parks, Beth LaBiancas, Leno LaBiancas, and Tony Hughes. And clearly, we should know them.
If Tony Hughes was half the shining, positive person that the show Dahmer made him out to be, I’m so sad that he isn’t with us anymore. We need so many more people like him. And many of Dahmer’s victims were likely just like him. After all, he was attracted to them for a reason.
This was a significant episode, and I understand why it’s the highest-rated episode of the series. I finished it with a heavy heart, saddened by the loss of a man who should still be with us today.
(5 / 5)
