Demonic Toys (film series)

Demonic Toys is a series of films that center on a collection of seemingly harmless playthings that are in reality the avatars of powerful demons from Hell who seek to cause havoc in the mortal world.

Produced through Full Moon Features, the first film in the series, Demonic Toys, was released direct to video in 1992. It was followed by three additional films, all of which have crossovers with other Full Moon properties. The series has also led to a comic book series that was released through Full Moon Pictures and Eternity Comics, as well as other merchandise.

Development
Full Moon Features, then Full Moon Entertainment, released the first film in the series, Demonic Toys, direct to video in 1992. Directed by Peter Manoogian, the script was written by David S. Goyer and featured a score by composer Richard Band. His brother Charles Band served as one of the film's producers.

The following year Full Moon Features released a follow-up, Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, which crosses over with the films Bad Channels and Dollman. Footage from the first Demonic Toys, as well as from Dollman and Bad Channels, were used in the creation of the movie.

In 2004 Full Moon Features released a third film, Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys, which is a crossover with the Puppet Master series. The film is not considered to be part of the Puppet Master canon and was created as a made-for-TV movie for the SyFy Channel as a Christmas horror special. Filming took place in Bugaria and had a limited budget.

In 2006 the film Demonic Toys 2 was released. The film had the planned title of Demonic Toys: Personal Demons, but was changed at the request of Time Warner. Screenwriter and director William Butler has stated that the first rendition of the movie's script used Los Angeles, California as a setting. This was re-written to utilize Charles Band's castle in Italy and also include a character from Band's 1997 film Hideous!, Dr. Lorca. Most of the filming was completed in Italy and the remainder was shot in the United States using an underground cavern set used in the television series Weeds.

A fifth film in the series, Baby Oopsie, is slated to release in 2021.

Storyline and chronology
The following are summaries of the films in chronological order.

Demonic Toys
Police officer Judith and her partner Matt, who is her lover and the father of her unborn child, have run afoul of demonic toys while trying to arrest illegal gun dealers. Matt dies at the hands of the dealers and Judith escapes into the toy warehouse where the arrest was to take place. She and the dealers are attacked by demonic toys, which kill off everyone but Judith and a food delivery driver who appeared at the warehouse. She learns that the dolls are controlled by a demon who wishes to use her as a way to get born into the world. Judith is ultimately saved by the spirit of her future son and the demon is sent back to Hell.

Dollman vs. Demonic Toys
The demonic toys from the first film have been brought back after a drunken bum hits his head and bleeds onto the demon's burial site. Their return is observed by Judith, who has been monitoring the warehouse out of a belief that the demon nor the toys are completely gone. Meanwhile, Brick Bardo has set out on a journey to find Ginger, a nurse who was shrunk during the events of the film Bad Channels, in order to let her know that she is not the only tiny person. Judith persuades Brick to help her stop the toys, which now have the goal of capturing and impregnating Ginger. Judith is killed while trying to fight the toys, however Brick manages to foil their plan and save Ginger.

Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys
The puppets are brought back to life by a descendant of André Toulon, Robert, while the demonic toys are in the possession of a spoiled toy company owner named Erica, who as a child had asked her father to provide her with living toys. To give her what she wants, her father sells his soul to the demon Bael. Unsatisfied with the toys as they do not obey her, Erica tries to take the puppets for herself. She is unsuccessful and instead plans on producing a series of evil toys that will come to life on Christmas Day. Erica makes a deal with Bael that she will provide him Robert's soul in exchange for the evil toys and the puppets. Erica fails in this plan as well and is taken to Hell by Bael.

Demonic Toys 2
The film takes place after the events of the 1992 film. Pieces of the demonic toys are discovered and pieced together by an unknown man and sold to Dr. Lorca, a collector of oddities. He, his girlfriend, and his son travel to a castle in Italy to obtain another toy, but find themselves hunted.

Characters

 * Baby Oopsie Daisy - The foul-mouthed, perverted doll in a similar manner to a Cabbage Patch Kid or other "baby" doll and leader of the toys.
 * Jack Attack - The evil jack-in-the-box with a grotesque killer-clown face attached to it.
 * Grizzly Teddy - The monstrous teddy bear.
 * Mr. Static - The demonic toy robot with real shooting lasers and fire like a flamethrower.
 * Zombietoid, or Zomb.i.e Joe - The blond-haired GI Joe action figure that makes a loud scream and kills people with his machete.
 * Divoletto - The smiling, cloaked ancient toy doll that makes a robotic ticking noise whenever he moves. He also makes a giggling sound now and then.

Comic book series
Demonic Toys: Play At Your Own Risk! is a limited comic book series based on the first film in the series. The first issue released in 1993 and is made up of four issues total.

Reception
The first film in the series, Demonic Toys, received a predominantly negative reception upon release. A reviewer for TV Guide criticized it as "a rehash of the company's PUPPETMASTER series".

The second film, Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, was panned by Dennis Fischer in his book covering science fiction directors as "one of Band's worst missteps". A reviewer for Billboard was more favorable, writing that "Good-humored viewers will enjoy this silly but fast-moving quickie."

Critic Scott Weinberg wrote a negative review for the third film on DVD Talk, writing that it was "not funny, it's not scary, and it's certainly not a worthwhile way to spend 90 minutes of the time you're given on this planet." Director Ted Nicolaou was critical of Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys in a 2017 interview with Video Fugue, as he felt that it was "kind of a big mistake, I think, in a lot of ways".

Dread Central reviewed Demonic Toys 2, stating that "While I find myself neither enjoying nor hating the return of the Demonic Toys, it was the film’s irritating, repetitive score that soured me more than anything else."

Releases
The Demonic Toys series has been predominantly released direct to video with the exception of the 2004 Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys, which premiered on the SyFy Channel in 2004 before it was released to DVD on January 17, 2006.