SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 5: THE TOY MAKER

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker Movie Review

Joe Petto (Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney) and his son, Pino (Brian Bremer, Pumpkinhead), pump out some come-to-life toys that go on a killing spree, taking particular interest in Derek Quinn (William Thorne) and his mother, Sarah (Jane Higginson). There's also another questionable guy named Noah (Tracy Fraim) creeping around. Much as with the fourth installment of this franchise, The Toy Maker has no connection to the characters from the first three movies, but you will see some links to the fourth movie--Clint Howard returns to play Ricky, but not the same Ricky he was in Initiation. Neith Hunter also returns as Kim, but in a much smaller role than in the previous flick, and yes, I enjoy these little nods to the movies that came before this one. 

Clint's also amused

Given the premise of this movie, it goes without saying this is one that comes out of left field, but it is an entertaining ride. I am a bit of a sucker for many movies with killer toys (Puppet Master being my favorite...I'm not a big fan of Child's Play), so I delighted in seeing this part of the film. As many of the toys were of the mechanical variety, the movie also had a bit of a Maximum Overdrive feel to it--yes, this adds to my enjoyment. 

The sinners must be punished

The presence of Rooney in a direct-to-video horror flick is odd and baffling. I couldn't help but wonder how somebody who was such a huge name during his time ended up in this film at his age. Even more mind blowing was seeing him as such an evil character, but he did do a wonderful job, and honestly, just having him in the movie probably brings the entire thing up a point. The acting outside of Rooney is much more what you would expect from a 1991 film with no theatrical release. This outing brings back more of the Christmas theme and slaying Santa found mainly in the first movie of the franchise, which is another nice touch. There's not a ton of gore, but the attack on the babysitter and her guy friend is rather bloody, and very memorable. They go for a twist ending, but if you are paying even the smallest bit of attention to the toy maker and his son's names, you'll see it coming  (go ahead and look back at the beginning of this review). Silent Night, Deadly Night 5 is not a great movie, but it really is one that is fun to watch, and is the best sequel in the franchise. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker Movie Review