WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers

Last time we discussed a horrifying childhood, we looked at the theme of the stories and nursery rhymes we would have grown up with. This time, I wanted to look at films that included things you, the reader, and I would have grown up with or around. As I’ve already covered dolls, I thought I should focus on other toys and a few places…

The Amusement Park

                I’ll be discussing this film again later this year as it is directed by George A. Romero so I will do my best to stay away from commenting on anything that focuses on the directing side of it. Now I’m sure we all enjoyed an amusement park or two growing up but what’s interesting about this rather short film is that it doesn’t focus on the young enjoying, or like a regular horror film being killed in, an amusement park but more the mistreatment of the elderly by those running it – almost as if they wanted to keep them away. I understand that this was supposed to be a psychological horror but it saddened me more than it scared me if I’m completely honest, the juxtaposition of what’s meant to be a happy place set against the impending doom of getting old and being pushed aside.

Killer Kites

                You want to talk about a short film, this is only 15 minutes longer than The Amusement Park. I used to love going out a flying a kite when I was child, even though I don’t remember being very good at it. I’m going to be honest, from the title of the film I really didn’t have high hopes for this film but you know it’s going to be reasonably cheesy as soon as you hear the opening song. This reminded me a lot of Killer Piñata and Killer Sofa but at least this time the kite doesn’t speak! The graphics for this are actually a lot worse than those two films as well and at least they had a pattern to the deaths, unlike this film. I think what I’m trying to say is, of all the cheesy films I’ve seen for this blog – this is one of the worst! Weirdly, Daniel’s description of the whole story is like it’s some sort of vampire film, especially when he describes the main kite as infecting other kites and needing to kill it to save them.

Amityville Dollhouse

                Some people would probably consider this as a girlie toy but I really don’t care. Mine was made by my uncle and it has been passed around the family and his grandchildren were the last to have it. Now, this wasn’t the film I planned to use but as I had already covered the original film I wanted, this made a happy replacement. Now, having not seen the films between the original Amityville Horror and this, I wasn’t sure if it was a genuine replica of 112 Ocean Avenue or if somehow the original house had been shrunken down with the demon inside. What was clever however is that the dollhouse almost acts like a voodoo doll for the house that Bill builds for his family as everything that happens in the dollhouse, happens in real life. The dollhouse also seems to transfer the curse into Bill’s new house as somehow Claire’s dead husband is back and she starts fantasizing about sleeping with her stepson.

The Jack in the Box

                You want a jump-scare in a toy? Well, this is the toy for you. Even though this film starts off pretty dark, I feel like it dies down a little bit before getting back in the action. They definitely try to hit you with two scares – the jump as the jack-in-the-box opens and the fact that it looks like a clown! Because of this, and the fact that Casey says that a Jack-in-the-Box chooses a clown to prey on our biggest fears, it reminds me of Pennywise from It. I’ll say this much, you would naturally expect that a film like this, based around a simple child’s toy turned demon-trap, would have been extremely cheesy – like Killer Kites – but it was definitely better than expected. The only thing that bothers me is that I don’t understand the relevance of the death of Casey’s fiancé. I get it gives him insomnia and it gives the rest of the cast a reason not to believe him but then, he could have insomnia without the dark backstory.

The Elf

                There is an odd fad that seems to have arisen over the last few decades of the Elf on the Shelf and parents moving it around every night so it’s in a different position each day. Well, if any of those parents watch this film I guess they won’t be wanting to do that much longer. Obviously this film is not based around that specific idea but the fact that this film includes a killer elf toy – it’s the first thing that it reminded me of. Having said all that, the elf doesn’t actually seem to feature in the film very much. However, when you see it, I like the way they chose to make it move – a mixture of CGI and stop-motion, depending on what the scene itself needs. Yes, this film has a few scenes that might creep people out – like the skeleton in a Santa costume – but the scariest thing about this film is the fact that our lead characters are getting married after being together for only 3 months!

The Pit

                Here’s the thing, I’m sure we all had a teddy bear that we grew pretty attached to as a child but the question is – whose bear spoke to them? Well, that’s the case for Jamie Benjamin and Teddy is his only friend. I guess in a weird kind of way Teddy is the vocalisation of Jamie’s internal thoughts and feelings. Especially the disturbing ones. Having said that, the fact that his head moves when Sandy leaves the bedroom without Jamie around says that maybe Teddy is actually alive! I wonder if it was Teddy that told Jamie about the Trollogs in the hole, especially as Teddy tells him to feed the nasty people to them. I guess some people would also consider this a coming of age film, what with Jamie’s obsession with women, particularly nude ones.

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LeoLoves

Writing and reviews - all about what this Leo Loves