Remembering the '90s: SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 5: THE TOY MAKER (1991)

The Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise returns to its Christmas roots with the last entry in the franchise Part 5: The Toy Maker which was co-written and co-produced by the previous entry's director Brian Yuzna. This latest film is directed by Martin Kitrosser (who also co-wrote) and explores toys that seem to have a mind of their own that go on a killing spree.

Derek is a disturbed young boy after watching his father get killed by a toy that comes to life and strangles him. Since then he hasn't been the same and his mother Sarah (Jane Higginson) is trying to do everything she can to bring her son back to normal. When Sarah takes her son to the local toy shop owned by Joe Petto (Mickey Rooney), her son is taken back by the possibility that the toy that killed his father probably came this very toy shop. This is also the theory Noah (Tracy Fraim) who is staking out the store and has an even deeper connection to Sarah & her son than he even knows.

There is an interesting (and obvious) parallel between this story and that of Pinocchio that makes this an interesting sequel in the franchise. Although the film has its flaws, mostly the lackluster characters, its an interesting little film. Unlike the previous film, this film pays homage to the franchise in several ways. Noah works as a Santa Claus for a mall (like in the original film) and at one point several characters are seen watching one of the films in the franchise. This is fitting as this is the last film in the franchise.

I'm not particularly a fan of this film but the acting is stronger in this film than in some of the previous films (the biggest flaw of the previous film) but it lacks the style and ambiance of the last first but improves upon Part 3. Rooney is also an interesting choice for the cast and gets the chance to play a broken drunk father to a problem child soon. His treatment of his son could even border on child abuse.

The visual fx in terms of the toys brought to life is lacking and are the only real drawback of the film as the deaths probably come off as more comical than they should (which is not helped by the abysmal score). The film is good for a once over during the holidays but that's about it.