COPS V. TOYS, DAWN OF PLASTIC: ‘Demonic Toys’ (1992) Review

Some interesting visuals and questionable script choices make for a peculiar but entertaining killer toys film.

For our third week of Full Moon February, we jump to the far-off year of 1992 to study a film focused on possessed toys working for a supernatural entity trying to take form on Earth. That’s right; it’s the Puppet Master 4 & 5 review, baby, woo! Time for Sutekh, time for Decapitron with a tiny Toulon head, time for–

Wait.

Sorry, hold on. I’m getting word from my editor that it’s Demonic Toys. We’re doing Demonic Toys today.

David S. Goyer’s Early Work in Low-Budget Horror

This film was written by none other than David S. Goyer, the scriptwriter who would later go on to make the action-horror Blade trilogy, as well as this article’s namesake Batman V. Superman. I mention this because it fascinates me to see the humble beginnings of big Hollywood writers in small productions, especially when it’s a film this transparent about its thinned-out budget.

This is a cheap film through and through, as most of the film’s horror is done with hand puppets and some slightly above average makeup. But it doesn’t shy away from showing you the cheapness in all its glory, and that’s what I like about it. This ultimately makes the film one of the truest to the company’s ethos of embracing low-budget filmmaking barefacedly and without shame. Its cheapness produces a cinematic oddity of a movie that I can admire for trying to stretch its dollar.

That being said, admiration doesn’t entirely absolve it of its problems. It doesn’t have the luxury the Puppet Master films did where stop motion could evoke a sense of wonder. There’s no set dressing or shooting on location that gives a strong atmosphere as Subspecies did. As for the toys, Jack Attack, Grizzly Teddy, and Baby Oopsie Daisy may be memorable design-wise thanks to the excellent work of John Buechler and the other SFX crewmembers from Magical Media Industries, but for me, they just aren’t as personality-filled as Toulon’s puppets.

So, enough about what this movie lacks, let’s talk about what makes it unique. An insane script and immediate carnage for one. These infernal playthings receive a sizeable amount of screen time and get to killing right off the bat. Unlike the first Puppet Master, which has a subdued ending, the final reel of this film is bizarre at a breakneck speed. Prepare for a toy shooting gallery; little kids slap fighting, a man in a demonic bear costume, and a junk car exploding like it was a Tesla battery.

Tracy Scoggins leads this film as Detective Judith Gray. She’s serving the same role as Mike Norris from Child’s Play, albeit with a confusing supernatural link to her enemy this time around. Scoggin’s is fine in this but doesn’t stand out performance-wise, especially when she’s being outshone by our two other leads: our antagonist, The Kid, and our other main character, Mark.

Daniel Cerny, who would go on to play Eli in Children of the Corn III, does some great acting as our villain, The Kid. It’s great for someone lip-syncing their lines the entire time, yes, but still great. He surprisingly manages to provide that real creep essence through his facial expressions that matches the deep, reverberating demonic voice he’s been given, an impressive feat.

On the other hand, Bentley Mitchum’s delivery guy Mark is on the completely opposite side of the spectrum, struggling with his role as the lovable jerk. His interactions with security guard Charnetski are fun because it’s just two blue-collar greaseballs commiserating and waxing philosophical on chicken. Is Mitchum giving a good performance? No, not in the slightest, his line deliveries are terrible and often a bit too loud, but he’s so bad they end up being entertaining. It’s in line with most of the fun to be had with a lot of Full Moon flicks, your classic so-bad-it’s-good movies.

While it can’t hold a candle to its predecessors in terms of visuals, this is still a goofy, fun watch that I’d put just a little above the first Puppet Master movie in terms of entertainment value. It’s got some nightmarish visuals along with all its schlocky effects, and that’s enough for me. My only true regret about this movie is that they set up the Chekov’s gun of having a giant chicken at the beginning of the film, and it doesn’t come to life by the end to wreak havoc. For shame, Charles Band. For shame.

RATING: 3, Leaning Towards 3.5 (Creepy Girls in Gasmasks on Tricycles)/5. I’m docking it some points rating-wise because on a technical level it isn’t that great. While it serves up some fun visuals, there are pacing issues even as it sits at tight 80-some minutes. Even though I personally like this a lot, only you can decide if those flaws can be redeemed by this movie’s absolutely and positively nonsensical ending.

You can sign up to stream ‘Demonic Toys’ here.