Silent Night, Deadly Night 5

Finally, a sequel to a Christmas movie that actually has something to do with Christmas! Of course, it still has nothing to do with the story that started it all, but after the last few, it's a breath of fresh air. As the title suggests, this one is about... killer toys!

A boy is gifted an early Christmas present that he's not supposed to open till Christmas, but he's stupid and tries anyway. Before he can rip all the paper off, his irritable dad sends him to bed, checks it for himself, and you can take a guess what happens next. Suffice to say, the boy is traumatized, so mom looks for something to help him cope... another toy. Hence we're introduced to the toy-maker, played by Mickey Rooney. He seems like a reasonable old man at some points, but flies off the handle when prankster son pisses him off. It ends up being pretty amusing either way.

Throughout the movie, someone is sending out evil toys that only have a slight rhyme and reason to do what they do, but instead of being a complete waste of time like the last few sequels, the end of the movie actually turns out to be an entertaining showtime with a giant "toy". This is a Pinocchio story from hell. If the movie bored you up to this point, it'll turn that around with this bizarre climax.


Still under Brian Yuzna's production, the effects are quite good. This entry was written and directed by Martin Kitrosser, who we all know as a co-writer of Friday the 13th 3 and 5, which IMO are highlights of that series.

Fun Facts:

Neith Hunter, Conan Yuzna, and Clint Howard all appeared in the previous entry and return to play characters with the same name, though are clearly different characters. WTF? This means that all five movies have a character named Ricky in them, and if they're not a recast of a previous Ricky, then they're a different Ricky all together. To hell with continuity!

Here's the best part: Mickey Rooney was a strong protester of the original 1984 film, writing letters to condemn it. But here he is, starring in the fifth one!

#Review