PopHorror Let's Get Scared
There are a lot of things that can catch your attention when wanting to see a new film, from the trailer, movie poster, director, actors or even just hearing about it from word of mouth. It was reading an early review of the film that did it for me for Tom Nagel’s (ClownTown 2016) The Toybox, and I knew I just had to see it for myself. The review I had read came from someone who I consider to be well versed in the horror community, and his description was quite intriguing, making me not only want to see this film, but I NEEDED to see it! So, would my review be as raving as his? Let’s break it down.
Official Synopsis of The Toybox:
An estranged family take a trip to the desert in their used RV but become stranded and isolated in the scorching terrain. They soon learn their RV holds terrible, haunting secrets, and it starts killing them off one by one.
What Works:
I was thoroughly excited to watch this film, and I got even more pumped when I saw Mischa Barton (The OC TV series, The Sixth Sense 1999, The Basement 2018) and Denise Richards’ (Valentine 2001) names pop up on my screen. They are two leading ladies that I have followed throughout the years, and the anticipation of seeing them together in a horror film was rather appealing. Barton certainly did not disappoint. I found her to be very convincing in her role. I think Richards’ performance will go completely underrated. It’s hard to fully go into detail without giving away spoilers, but I will say that she played the role of an inattentive mother to a T.
The shots in The Toybox were pretty damn good. Nagel has an eye for detail, and I am really excited to see what he does next.
I can also say that this film is gory. At times, it’s a damn right bloody mess. It does has have some really fun kill scenes, and you will be curious to see who the killer RV is going to target next. Who doesn’t want to watch a film about a killer RV? So the premise is definitely solid in itself.
What Doesn’t Work:
As I stated the premise, the acting in this film is really great. However, I feel like the plot gets completely jumbled. I can see what screenwriter/actor Jeff Denton was trying to do with this script, but for me, the payoff just doesn’t work. I think that the RV being haunted by itself without the backstory would have been more effective. Sometimes, things are a lot scarier when there is no motive, and I didn’t need to know why a possessed RV was killing people, as original as the idea might have been. I would have preferred the film to have a more simplified plot like Christine, for example. There was this terrible balding wig thing that threw me off, and I couldn’t get back on track after that.
Final Thoughts:
The Toybox is one of those movies that teeters on the edge of “so bad, it’s good” territory. Obviously, I am still on the fence about it. It has some good moments, but the convoluted plot really bummed me out. The Toybox is not something I want to play with again anytime soon. But it was a fun one time watch with an unexpected kill sequence.
https://youtu.be/bsXcWazhkLM
