User reviews

The Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise is a weird one, the first was about a man who went on a killing spree in a santa suit, the second was about the same mans brother doing the same, the third picked up where the second left off and then suddenly they dropped that whole storyline with part 4 and told a dodgy story about witches.

Well here in part 5 it's another Christmas themed movie with absolutely no connection to the original plot.

It tells the story of a boy traumatised after watching a Christmas toy kill his father. It turns out that someone is creating killer toys, parcelling them up in gift wrapping and sending them to people for Christmas.

Though the movies sfx both practical and cgi aren't great they are saved by some originality. Truth be told I quite liked it despite its glaring flaws.

Starring Mickey Rooney and with a cameo appearance by Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990) star Clint Howard this is an interesting (If a little goofy) horror movie.

The funny thing is that Rooney infamously slammed the creators of the first movie back in 1984. He deemed it disgusting that they'd make a horror movie set during Christmas and publically kicked up a stink about it, then several years later here he is starring in one!

I think this is the best of the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise but treat it entirely as a stand alone film as that's exactly what it is.

The Good:

Mickey Rooney

Quite original

Well constructed

Great twist

The Bad:

Eyebrow raising finale

Lot of 90's cliches

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Having the same actor play a different character by the same name in the same franchise is logical, right?

Not as well done as Monte Hellman's surprisingly good entry in this rather weak horror franchise, but this fifth installment of Silent Night, Deadly Night is likely the second best in the series. Mickey Rooney plays elderly toy maker Joe Petto (get it, Geppetto) who lives with his oddball grown son Pino (you know, Pinocchio) who designs toys intended to kill their owners (which would be children). But the main characters are actually a mother and son who fall into the orbit of Joe and Pino's toy shop following the mysterious death of the boy's father at the hands of a killer toy left on their doorstep. There's a lot of twisted humor throughout the film, which you might expect from producer/co-writer Bryan Yuzna ("Society" "Re-Animator" "The Dentist"). One standout example is a hilariously repulsive scene where a couple in bed don't realize a sentient toy hand has joined late night trysts, making it an unwitting threesome. And without spoiling anything, the film's climax is particularly unexpected and entertaining. Top that off with a supporting role for Clint Howard and you've got a solid fifth sequel for a rather lame horror franchise. However, there's a lot of dullness in-between the interesting bits, but overall it's still worth watching for horror fans. FUN FACT! Mickey Rooney spoke out in protest against the first "Silent Night, Deadly Night" film in 1984, saying the "scum" who made it should be "run out of town" for having sullied the sacredness of Christmas. FUN FACT #2! The building used for external shots of Sarah's workplace is the headquarters of the now defunct Live Home Video, the company that released the movie on VHS!

They were really cracking out these independent low-budget films straight to video, but just like the last entry "Initiation" the filth instalment "The Toy Maker" (which had Brain Yunza involved again, but this time only producing) took on a different spin (while still being hysterically deranged) and would probably go down as my favourite of the four sequels. This enterprise actually had some similar shades to "Halloween III; Season of the Witch" and at times it strangely had me thinking of "Child's Play 2" namely that of its opening credits, nonetheless the gimmicky story is surprisingly inspired if ridiculously convoluted and mean-spirited. It's a jolly odd one, as the delightful Neith Hunter returns with her headstrong character Kim in nothing more than a minor role and also it has actor Mickey Rooney (who was heavily opposed to the original when it got a whirlwind of scathing attention) finding himself apart of the notorious franchise. It's funny how things do work out, but he's ideally great in the part. The rest of the performances are fairly delivered by Jane Higginson, William Thorne, Van Quattro and Brian Bremer is downright creepy as Pino. Clint Howard shows up again in a tiny, if thankless part. Cult make-up / special FX maestro Screaming Mad George provides the ample special effects and again he does a tremendous job crafting out the details, where he storms up some nasty pieces of work when the toys go berserk. Director / writer Martin Kitrosser (who would be best known by horror fans for penning "Friday the 13th Part 3, 4 and 5") piles on the outrageous jolts and unforeseeable story twists, but it can fall a bit on the stodgy side even with its polished look.

A young boy sees his father killed by a toy that was anonymously delivered to his house. After that, he is too traumatized to speak, and his mother must deal with both him and the loss of her husband. Meanwhile, a toy maker named Joe Peto builds some suspicious-looking toys, and a mysterious man creeps around both the toy store and the boy's house...but who is responsible for the killer toys? despite being a part five in a weak (With the exception of part four and this one) and dead end series, SNDN5 is a very good horror film that is lifted by a interesting premise and innovative special effects. the acting isn't too bad but rather unimaginative and the script is flat. Other than that, this film is almost perfect. After all, Brian Yuzna produced it. You know it's going to be a winner!!!!!!! 7/10.

Trying to help her traumatized son at Christmas, a woman finds that the repeated attempts of a local toy-shop worker to win him over are based on more serious accusations and must try to stop their dangerous plan for the neighborhood children.

On the whole, this was a decidedly decent enough effort that really does have some good parts to it. One of its better elements is the extremely enjoyable nature it takes toward the sleazy aspect of its storyline, where the idea of a group of innocent neighborhood children receiving malfunctioning toys that will end up killing them in the future makes for a rather chilling premise that gets exploited quite nicely along the way. From the scenes of the children taking the toys and playing to the later scenes of them running amuck as they start to experience all sorts of extremely grisly ends, which are nicely laid out in the second half, this one really gets some rather fun and cheesy action to go along with the rather entertaining for their fun and goofy time. Also part of this charm is the finale which manages to include plenty of rather fun, cheesy action here with the rampaging doll carrying the action in the toy-shop along with a cheesy gusto that's plenty of fun to see through. However, this is about all that works here since there's a lot of problematic elements throughout here, the most notable being the overuse of the killer doll concept that had long run out of steam. The idea of warping it into a killer-Santa story is decent enough but it never goes far enough with this premise since the majority of the time is spent on really unconvincing special effects for the killer dolls and toys that are hardly lifelike and realistic which undercuts their effectiveness considerably. Likewise, the revolving door cast as the villains of the piece don't give this one the case of mystery as to who's behind it all and why that was most likely the target it was aiming for as here it simply reeks of inability to really commit to a storyline that jumps from one random image to another without really settling on a given topic which causes this one to slip a lot as these are pretty hard-fought flaws here. Still, it's good enough that this is still somewhat watchable.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, a sex scene and children-in-jeopardy.

The Silent Night, Deadly Night series thankfully came to an end with this last effort. The first three movies in the series were all about killer Santas. Then part 4 went all "season of the witch" on things and tried to point the series in a different direction. It wasn't very successful but this one continues with that thinking, having the story about something other than a killer in a Santa Claus suit. This one basically decides that since the series started with the idea of spitting on a positive and wholesome traditional icon, this would do something similar by spitting on Pinocchio. Neith Hunter and Clint Howard reprise their roles from part 4. Hunter's supporting role adds little and Howard's cameo is pointless. It's really sad that Mickey Rooney had to do this but he had bills to pay. He easily outshines everybody else in this, even though he's slumming. The rest of the cast is entirely unmemorable. If you liked the earlier movies in this series, particularly part 4, you're obviously coming from a different place than me so you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. The same holds true if you're a fan of the made-for-video horror dreck that littered the video store shelves back in the day. Growing up my brother used to rent trash like this religiously. While I certainly have a lot of bad movies that I enjoy, this isn't one of them. It's all very blah to me, particularly with the cheap look of it. There were two or three somewhat funny scenes but not enough to save the movie as a whole. I did like seeing the Rambo cartoon though. Points for reminding me that was a thing.

The people behind these sequels certainly came up with some insane ideas once they moved away from the whole "killer Santa" routine. This last entry is co-written by director Martin Kitrosser and producer Brian Yuzna. If you recognize Kitrosser's name, that's because he'd co-written the third "Friday the 13th" movie several years previous, but has kept busy in the film business as a script supervisor, and is in fact Quentin Tarantino's script supervisor of choice. His movie is an amusing combination of the genuinely creepy and the genuinely kinky. Toys designed for a deadly purpose have been sent out for years, and killed the father of a traumatized and mute boy, Derek (William Thorne). His concerned mother Sarah (Jane Higginson) comes to suspect either drunken, seemingly kindly toy store proprietor Joe Petto (screen legend Mickey Rooney) or his weirdo son Pino (Brian Bremer, whom you may recognize from "Pumpkinhead", Yuzna's "Society", and / or "Spontaneous Combustion"). Meanwhile, a young man, Noah (Tracy Fraim) is awfully intent on making contact with Derek and Sarah, and what could be his reason? The best of these sequels since Part 2, in this reviewer's humble opinion, it benefits from being so utterly twisted. In fact, right towards the end it features what has to be one of the most disturbing attempted rape sequences committed to celluloid. The special effects are often of the cheesy and tacky variety, yet are reasonably entertaining for this reason. Kitrosser's focus on sex is pretty blatant: at one point he keeps cutting between two separate sex scenes. None too subtle references to a classic children's story are indicative of his whole approach to his movie. The acting is mostly competent enough, with the appropriately cast Bremer coming off the best. Rooney acts his little heart out, as could be expected; regarding his presence here when his was one of the voices demonizing the original movie, it just goes to show what an actor is willing to do when they're desperate enough for a gig. Neith Hunter and Conan Yuzna reprise their roles of Kim and Lonnie from the previous sequel; ubiquitous Clint Howard once again shows up, and plays a character named Ricky, but is only around for one scene. One thing this movie is not is boring, and if your tastes are anything like mine, you're sure to derive some entertainment out of this demented piece of work. Seven out of 10.

Bad actors, terrible script, totally unbelievable ending - this film had it all. After seeing films like this, you wonder why the makers bothered at all. This film has absolutely nothing to say, all the methods used to create a scare have been used over and over again in previous horror films. A total waste of time.

Bruh! I can't believe I'm saying this, but this might very well be my favorite of the original Silent Night, Deadly Night series! The remake remains my favorite, easily, but this was one fine horror flick. Kind of a twist on Pinocchio. Absolutely fun.

The ending messed me up so bad-I don't even have the words to explain it. Absolutely nuts.

Young Derek Quinn (William Thorne) sees his father killed by a killer toy that someone left on their doorstep. Two weeks later, his mom has completely recovered from her husband's death but Derek is taking it hard, refusing to speak. She thinks the best way to cheer him up is take him to a toy store run by Joe Petto (Mickey Rooney) and his son Pino (Brian Bremer). But Mr. Petto has some evil up his sleeve as he just might be the one responsible for making these deadly toys. Also, some handsome stranger (Tracy Fraim, yes, he's a dude with that name) is poking around the Quinn household.

Producer Brian (RE-ANIMATOR) Yuzna directed the fourth entry in this series and produced here. Both sequels tried to keep the Xmas horror theme but move away from the killer Santa angle. With the killer toy angle here, this is the HALLOWEEN III of the SNDN series and you would suspect to see Charles Band's name somewhere in the credits. Alas, he wasn't involved but I'm sure he enjoyed this though. Of course, how can you not enjoy a movie that features Mickey Rooney drunk on Jack Daniels and smashing the bottle over his son's head? There are some great FX in here from Screaming Mad George with the killer toys being Larry the Larva, a car with saw blades, a strangling Santa ball and the required Army men who fire real bullets. What no killer teddy bear? Charles Band shakes his head in shame. The acting is fine by everyone and the little kid actually gives one of the better child performances I've seen (maybe because he has no dialog?). Yuzna gets extra points for having a guy in line with his son to see Santa wearing a RE-ANIMATOR shirt and a girl on Santa's lap asking for clothes, make-up, sunglasses and a tape of BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR. Clint Howard has a small role as a shopping mall Santa.

Although this movie is soon established as having a supernatural bent (as well as a Pinocchio complex), it follows the pattern of excellence that was set by the original "Silent Night, Deadly Night". Each movie is gorier than the last, yet still manages to come up with interesting and unique ways to kill the victims. (Warning though -- do NOT watch this movie while eating, as it has probably the most disgusting death scene I've ever viewed.) This movie is rich with a vibrant, talented cast, including Jane Higginson (as Sarah Quinn), Brian Bremer (as Pino), Tracy Fraim (as Noah), William Thorne (as the child Derek), and the incomparable Mickey Rooney (as Joe Petto ).

There's a host of strange and creepy characters in this movie, from the toy maker Joe Petto, who has the eerie ability to bring things back to life, to his "son" Pino(cchio) Petto, who is just plain weird and creepy in addition to the fact that he hasn't aged in over twenty years, to the mysterious Noah, who shows up in the town, doing his best to buy out Petto's toy shop, and having a strange obsession with your Derek Quinn. Just when you think you've figured out who the "bad guy" is, the movie throws you a curve ball, and you're left to wonder who really is the "evil toymaker".

Altogether, this was an excellent film, having all the aspects of a wild horror ride. You'd think the story of satanic Santas and Christmases best left forgotten, but this movie proves that follow-ups can be just as thrilling as the original movie, even following the same pattern -- no one really lives long enough for you to get attached to them, and as the movie goes on, you feel more and more pity for the character you're beginning to suspect. And make sure you watch closely -- this movie has some interesting cameos that are too good to miss.

But so as not to give the wrong impression, yes, there are parts of this movie that could be better left unseen. There's a long, drawn-out sex scene with absolutely no point, and another sex scene (which ends in a fascinating new way) which could have been drastically reduced. But for the child in all of us, that still believes our toys come alive at night, this movie is a horrifying adventure into a child's worst nightmare. If you like this movie, you'll love the horror flick "Dolls", where the toys are much more than living toys -- they're people trapped inside of toys.

This time we get a psycho toy maker named "Joe Petto" (seriously?) who makes living, evil toys that kill people. He goes after the family who has the bad luck of just simply living in the same house where he and his anatomically incorrect, robot son "Pino" used to live. Late in the film, Petto dies, and Pino even assumes his identity, in perhaps the most baffling twist in this twisted movie.

Derivative entry in this semi-series, this one has a bizarre, pedophilic bent (Maybe that is why the character's name is Petto(phile?) which makes it difficult to watch.

It's kind of like a low rent hybrid of "Halloween III", "Puppet Master", and "Demonic Toys". In fact, they should have just titled this "Halloween III, Part 2", instead of copying Silent Night Deadly Night 4's amazingly generic, spiralling title card.

Blunt, unsubtle, forthright, and over the top in its presentation - acting, directing, effects, music, each passing scene. Disjointed, confused, and haphazard in its writing - all but nonsensical, with even more tongue-in-cheek, unnecessary references to prior films than its predecessor. Despite the obvious "direct to video" air, as the film began I saw some potential. That feeling did not last: 'Silent night, deadly night 5: The toy maker' is not a good movie.

The inclusion of Mickey Rooney in the cast should be a boon, but his character is little more than a set piece, and he's not given much opportunity to illustrate the skill we know he has. The first two-thirds of the film seem like a distinctly kluged, disordered mess, and it's only in the last third that we get a scene of meaningfully cheeky, bloody, horror fun - or any genuine plot. Effects range from "questionable" to merely "suitable," and as much of a broadly unenjoyable hodgepodge as 'The toy maker, is, it's difficult to care about rounding details like makeup, props, or set decoration. The final scene is overly long, overstaying its welcome past The Reveal, and the climax is severely dulled as a consequence. I think there are a couple good ideas in the screenplay - but only a couple, and they are not nearly enough to save this from being a dubious wreck. I began watching with mixed but hopeful expectations, and golly was I disappointed.

It's still true that there are worse movies you could watch, including 'Silent night, deadly night 3' as a glaring example. But that's not saying much. Jane Higginson, in her performance as protagonist Sarah, comes closest to producing value for the picture, but she can't save it on her own. Sadly, unless one is committed to watching the entire SNDN series, there's just no compelling reason to check this out. I can hardly call it entertaining - rather, with the confluence of all its flaws and shortcomings, it's kind of boring more than anything else. Whatever it is about 'The toy maker' that caught your eye, this is simply not a feature you need to see.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker" is the final contiguous entry of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" series, and like Part 4, it takes yet another departure from the original storyline. This time, it's concerned with a young boy who witnesses the death of his father at the hands of a mysterious toy that appears on their doorstep during Christmastime; a local toyshop seems to be to blame.

Needless to say, the film is silly, and was quite obviously inspired by "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" and "Puppetmaster" in equal measure. As a direct-to-video feature, it has a similarly cheap look to it that the previous installments had, with fairly uninspired cinematography. There are some ridiculous and fun, hokey visuals, however, especially in regard to the killer toys, as well as the bonkers finale.

Narratively speaking, it's reasonably well-written and boasts a handful of clever plot turns that, though certainly unspectacular, generate a bit of interest. Another unusual aspect of the film is its inclusion of characters from the previous sequel, almost as though the intent were to sculpt a "Silent Night, Deadly Night" film universe, had any additional sequels panned out. It's a bit strange but does thread some continuity between it and Part 4 (which itself is absolutely insane for a handful of other reasons). The lead child actor, William Thorne, plays the traumatized Derek rather well, and Jane Higgison is likable as his mother. Neith Hunter, the lead from the former sequel, makes a welcome appearance as the mother's friend, as does Brian Yuzna's son as Lonnie (also carried over from the previous film), who receives a pair of rocket-powered rollerblades. Mickey Rooney also has a major part as the elderly wacky toyshop proprietor.

In the end, "Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker" is every bit the bad movie that most expect it to be, but as far as bad movies go, it offers enough absurd special effects and amusing twists to make for a fun holiday viewing. Part 4 still outranks it in weirdness, but "The Toymaker" is no less utterly insane. Highlights include a drawn-out sex scene in which a macho man gets his rear-end penetrated by the fingers of an animated toy hand (and likes it) whilst having sex with the babysitter. 5/10.

After the horrible BETTER WATCH OUT! and INITIATION, to say I had no expectations for SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 5: THE TOY MAKER is an understatement. But, surprisingly enough, the fifth entry of the Christmas-themed franchise is actually a good amount of fun.

It follows child Derek, who sees his father brutally murdered by a toy that mysteriously appeared on their front porch a few nights before Christmas. For some reason, the police do nothing about it, and Derek and his mother are left alone. But presents are still appearing on their porch, people are breaking into their house, and there's an ex-military man that follows them everywhere! What's going on? Does it have anything to do with the titular toy maker (played by Mickey Rooney!)? The film drags at times, and the acting isn't even bad enough to draw that many laughs. But where THE TOY MAKER shines is its inventive death scenes, which involve a bunch of killer toys. Obviously, PUPPET MASTER, DOLLS and the like have covered this territory before, but gruesome murder-set-pieces designed by Screaming Mad George keep this from being a complete waste of time. There's killer roller skates, army men and larvae, all of which are pretty damn fun.

The whole thing looks like a TV movie, a lot of it is dull as dirt and we've seen the same plot myriads of times before, but there are enough awesome moments here (including a head-scratching ending featuring robot dry-humping) to justify a recommendation for trash fanatics. At the very least, it's a better waste of your time than SNDN 3 and 4.

A young boy witness his father being murdered by a sadistic toy that was delivered to his house anonymously.The kid becomes genuinely scared and refuses to talk.Such glaring apathy worries his attractive mother.There seems to be something genuinely sinister about their local toy shop managed by legendary Mickey Rooney and his son Pino.I must say that I enjoyed watching "Silent Night,Deadly Night 5:The Toy Maker"(1991).The plot is intriguing and it features several well-thought plot twists.The toy sequence in which baby-sitter and her boyfriend are attacked by toys is pretty bloody and hysterical.The final scenes of Martin Kitrosser directional debut are positively bonkers.8 killer toys out of 10.

Well, there is no attempt to forcibly include Ricky in this one. But it still only has a fleeting connection- if any- to the original trilogy. Although, it does retain some connections to the weirdness that was Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (ie the centipede toy; and cameos from the two main actors). Likely a result of Yuzna acting as Executive Producer on this one...which has a sort of Puppetmaster vibe, with a Pinocchio twist.

It also sort of turns things on their heads, as the young boy in this film has aspects of a protagonist, instead of just being another victim and/or ending up as the antagonist.

At least this one explicitly takes place at Christmas, and has a Santa Claus killer, of sorts. Though, it must be noted, that there is a bizarre, awkward and hilarious twist at the end...that gives SNDN 4 a run for it's money (of which, I'm quite certain, there isn't much).

This one basically tells the story of a young boy, who is left a mysterious present, which ends up being a toy that goes on to murder his father, right before his eyes.

You are led to suspect the local toy store owner and his creepy son. And it is them, but with an odd sci-fi themed twist, that arises unexpectedly.

Most of the film, however, is just people being attacked and killed by a variety of toys...that utilize really poor special effects (up until the end, at least...the end is pretty sweet, and likely took up the bulk of their effects budget.

Weirdness aside, this one is really kind of "meh". Missable, but watchable Christmas horror fun.

4.5 out of 10.