This review contains some SPOILERS.
Way back when we first got a VCR (about 1987), my sister and father rented some movie about a boy and a possessed ventriloquist's dummy. I happened to see a few scenes of it before wandering off to do other things. Trouble is, the scenes that I did watch got embedded in my memory and I couldn't shake them out. Ever. And it wasn't until a year or two ago when I finally found out the title to this mystery movie, `Making Contact,' and then recently I found it available for rent. Finally I could put some childhood demons to rest. Had I know the bad experience I would eventually have put myself through, I never would have watched those few scenes back in 1987.
Joey is an unpopular little kid going through the ordeal of having recently lost his father, which we are thrust into from the very first scene. No time for scenes with the dad before his death, just start right in on the funeral. But the death of his father makes Joey realize an inner power he has. He has the ability to move objects and bring his toys to life. He also starts talking to his dad on his toy telephone. He tells his classmates and becomes a laughingstock, worrying his teacher. One day he wanders into a nearby abandoned house and discovers the ventriloquist's dummy of the house's previous owner. It comes to life and proceeds to rant about how the ventriloquist's ghosts wants to control Joey. So Joey must enter the old house once again and face the evil force within.
People have been comparing this to `E.T.' There is some truth to the comparison, but what I kept noticing were comparisons to some Twilight Zone episodes I saw awhile back. Particularly, the kid talking to his dad on the toy telephone. But that stuff doesn't matter much. The movie still isn't very good. Roland Emmerich's direction is very murky and his writing is very poor. Here's a few head-scratchers for you should you decide to sit down and watch this movie:
---- Joey has the power to give life to his toys, but he doesn't seem able to actually control them. His little toy robot seems to have developed a mind and personality of its own. But it is the only toy that behaves in this way.
---- Is it just me, or does Joey's dad resemble Gabe Kaplan from Welcome Back, Kotter?
---- Listen very carefully to the broadcast when the dummy conjures up the television set. The ventriloquist's back story is fascinating (what you can hear; Joey and the dummy keep talking over it, defeating the purpose of it all). The broadcast suggests there had been a series of child murders in the 30s. I wish it had gotten into this more, but perhaps Emmerich thought it would be too scary for kids. And of course, the intrigue of the ventriloquist is erased in the final moments when we know the truth. Its all very disappointing.
---- It's funny how both the mother and teacher just accept Joey's power. They don't seem too concerned about what he might do with them should he get angry. And it is really hilarious when all those scientists come barreling down with thousands of dollars in tax payer's money at their disposal, with no proof other than an elementary teacher's word that it is all legit.
---- Funny how the strange force doing all this is so powerful that it can build its vast underground maze full of surprises, yet it can't stop Joey from using the Solve-All-Your-Problems-Exit-Door even though it is right in front of him when he does it.
I may have took home nothing from the substance of the movie, but at least that childhood demon is put to rest. Now if I can only track down that one horror movie about the underground albino people I will be free of them all. And it couldn't be as unrewarding as this children's ghost story was. Zantara's score: 4 out of 10.
Way back when we first got a VCR (about 1987), my sister and father rented some movie about a boy and a possessed ventriloquist's dummy. I happened to see a few scenes of it before wandering off to do other things. Trouble is, the scenes that I did watch got embedded in my memory and I couldn't shake them out. Ever. And it wasn't until a year or two ago when I finally found out the title to this mystery movie, `Making Contact,' and then recently I found it available for rent. Finally I could put some childhood demons to rest. Had I know the bad experience I would eventually have put myself through, I never would have watched those few scenes back in 1987.
Joey is an unpopular little kid going through the ordeal of having recently lost his father, which we are thrust into from the very first scene. No time for scenes with the dad before his death, just start right in on the funeral. But the death of his father makes Joey realize an inner power he has. He has the ability to move objects and bring his toys to life. He also starts talking to his dad on his toy telephone. He tells his classmates and becomes a laughingstock, worrying his teacher. One day he wanders into a nearby abandoned house and discovers the ventriloquist's dummy of the house's previous owner. It comes to life and proceeds to rant about how the ventriloquist's ghosts wants to control Joey. So Joey must enter the old house once again and face the evil force within.
People have been comparing this to `E.T.' There is some truth to the comparison, but what I kept noticing were comparisons to some Twilight Zone episodes I saw awhile back. Particularly, the kid talking to his dad on the toy telephone. But that stuff doesn't matter much. The movie still isn't very good. Roland Emmerich's direction is very murky and his writing is very poor. Here's a few head-scratchers for you should you decide to sit down and watch this movie:
---- Joey has the power to give life to his toys, but he doesn't seem able to actually control them. His little toy robot seems to have developed a mind and personality of its own. But it is the only toy that behaves in this way.
---- Is it just me, or does Joey's dad resemble Gabe Kaplan from Welcome Back, Kotter?
---- Listen very carefully to the broadcast when the dummy conjures up the television set. The ventriloquist's back story is fascinating (what you can hear; Joey and the dummy keep talking over it, defeating the purpose of it all). The broadcast suggests there had been a series of child murders in the 30s. I wish it had gotten into this more, but perhaps Emmerich thought it would be too scary for kids. And of course, the intrigue of the ventriloquist is erased in the final moments when we know the truth. Its all very disappointing.
---- It's funny how both the mother and teacher just accept Joey's power. They don't seem too concerned about what he might do with them should he get angry. And it is really hilarious when all those scientists come barreling down with thousands of dollars in tax payer's money at their disposal, with no proof other than an elementary teacher's word that it is all legit.
---- Funny how the strange force doing all this is so powerful that it can build its vast underground maze full of surprises, yet it can't stop Joey from using the Solve-All-Your-Problems-Exit-Door even though it is right in front of him when he does it.
I may have took home nothing from the substance of the movie, but at least that childhood demon is put to rest. Now if I can only track down that one horror movie about the underground albino people I will be free of them all. And it couldn't be as unrewarding as this children's ghost story was. Zantara's score: 4 out of 10.