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Toys of Terror (2020)
A couple of stars for the Christmas Tree scene
As nearly everyone here has said, the acting by the adults was pretty dreadful. The 15-year-old girl turned in the best performance, followed by that big bee. I love when horror flicks know they're bad and start taking themselves less seriously. That was the case here, though it was inconsistent. For example, I laughed when one of the toys told the little kid to "Beat the s**t out of it!!!". Or when the other toy told the mom to "Shaddup, you dusty old..." But the best scene, without giving away anything, was the "angry angel" scene. The face on that Christmas tree angel was worth the price of admission, as was what she does with the garland and tree lights. OMG, if only the entire film could have been so uproariously funny, I might have given it three or four stars. Things I didn't like: the shallow script, awkward title, uneven/bad special F/X, woke family composition (were the younger kids adopted?). Things I liked: amazing setting, the first flying dragon scene with the nanny, that big bee in the back seat, and the hysterically horrifying angel/Christmas tree scene. That was original.
Maintenance (2007)
A few stars for atmosphere
Having lived with only a handful of other tenants in a large building undergoing renovation in New York City (and on the same floor that Stephanie lived on), the subject matter of this film was a little too close to home. We also had ex-cons working in our building, and we had break-ins and crimes committed by maintenance staff, though no rapes or murders.
The film had a couple of mildly terrifying moments, but most of it failed to convey a sense of dread, or was original enough in its details (except for the setting, which was terrific) to be considered truly frightening.
The crimes committed were a bit too abrupt. As a previous reviewer noted, there was precious little exposition that would have lent a sense of suspense and depth. And with all the good (great) unemployed actors out there, it seems a better cast could have been picked. The film had a kind of amateurish/film-school project aura about it that was at once admirable and disconcerting.
***** SPOILER *****
Finally, what happened to the door leading to the outside? It seemed to have disappeared! Even if the writer/director had made the choice for Paul to chain lock the exits to the street or something, it would have lent a note of believability to the final scenes. But the victims seemed content to stay inside to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with Paul, and that made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief.
***** END SPOILER *****
I would like to see this film rewritten, shot with higher production values, and re-released. It has a decent kernel of a plot and a superb setting -- it just needs more vibrant characterizations, some connection to the outside world to keep it from drifting too far into the realm of disbelief, and more skilled actors. Music could have been more prominent and original, too.
Return in Red (2007)
Return in Red spawns a new film genre: "dullard horror"
Nobody screams. Nobody calls the police. A 10-year-old boy stares agape on one side of a door while his mother repeatedly smashes her head into the other side, and does nothing. It takes the decimation of an entire factory staff to make the heavy chick get up off her duff to find out what's going on. Then she moves at a glacial pace through the human wreckage looking for the perp, rather than trying to get the hell outta there.
To its credit, the film manages to capture the repetitive, dull routine of a one-horse town in winter quite effectively. Some of the (amateur) acting is actually quite good at certain points, while being just awful in others.
The biggest problem with the film is that the plot is void of motivation. WHY was the entity that was doing what it was doing, doing it? What did it achieve? Or did it fail? All these questions are left unanswered, and the voice-over news commentary at the end, tacked on as a kind of explanatory coda, just doesn't work as a denouement.
Could have been much better. But it is what it is, esoteric title and all.