12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not all is what it seems..., May 13, 2007
This review is from: The Toybox (DVD)
First off, the box art is rather deceiving. Despite what is shown on the cover, there are no girls in pigtails wearing a Catholic schoolgirl uniform going on a murderous rampage with a hammer (That's what I thought when I picked it up to rent from a local Blockbuster). It doesn't take place anywhere near an attic, and really no reason why the toybox is bloody. So that's out of the way...
The story is really about a girl, Berenice (Claudine Spiteri), and her boyfriend Conrad (Craig Henderson), coming home from college to spend Christmas with her family in the English countryside. The family consists of a doting (and kinda mentally "out there") grandmother, a mother who flirts with any man near her, a father preoccupied with telling bad jokes and defending his family from what he believes to be a stalker, and a sullen and moody younger brother (Elliot Jordan). Throughout the film, the girl and her brother reveal that when they were kids, they liked to imagine that they were living in a local myth about witches and a vicious murdering clown (Why does it always have to be clowns?). Little do they know, that the myth is becoming reality. (Ooooooh, creepy)
The movie has some pretty good performances, but the story drags on from time to time. There are some times where the director does a real good job with ratcheting up the tension in some scenes where it's impossible to look away from the screen, especially towards the end when the villain (don't want to reveal too much) finally shows up and goes on a murderous spree. The production design, though, tends to look plain and make the movie seem more boring.
Special features include:
Four movie trailers- The Brink (Looks like a cross between The Evil Dead and Signs), A Mexican Werewolf in Texas (Actually a film about the Chupacabra), Death Clique (Bunch of teens in a house with a killer, that's all), and Tears of Kali: The Dark Side of New Age (I have no idea what happened, but I think it's German)
A commentary by the director Paolo Sedazzari, producer Simon Mason, Henderson, and 2nd unit director, Pete Clapton.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
really enjoyed it, April 19, 2010
This review is from: The Toybox (DVD)
Found this film on my wanderings and said what the heck. I was impressed. A take on Fall of the House of Usher redone to be an Andy Milligan film- and I mean that as a compliment, this film had as much a stage play reference as a horror film refernce point. Solid performances- Suzanne Bertish was phenomenal and she reminded me of Claire Higgins from Hellraiser (at some point those two should work together, just a wish!)I love it when this kind of thing happens: you pick up a film with a shoddy cover just to try it out for a bit of "movie exploring" and you wind up with something really impressive. However, not for the slasher movie types out there. It is more of a drama than anything else. But, like I said, if you are into films like "Seeds of Sin" you must absolutely view this.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
ok, January 13, 2010
This review is from: The Toybox (DVD)
Not a big fan of scary movies, but I didn't mind watching this movie. The story is cool, it makes sense. The effects may not be the best, but they are good enough to get you scare. It is not a bad movie.
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