| Director: | Ted Nicolaou |
| Based On: | Characters created by David S. Goyer Charles Band Kenneth J. Hall |
| Starring: | Corey Feldman Vanessa Angel Danielle Keaton Silvia Šuvadová |
| Theme Music Composer: | Peter Bernstein |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Alan Bursteen Cary Glieberman |
| Editor: | Terry Kelley |
| Cinematography: | David Worth |
| Runtime: | 88 minutes |
| Budget: | $2,4 million |
| Network: | Syfy |
Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys is a 2004 American horror-comedy film based on the characters of Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall (Puppet Master) and David S. Goyer (Demonic Toys). The film is written by C. Courtney Joyner and directed by Ted Nicolaou.
The film stars Corey Feldman as the great-grandnephew of André Toulon and Vanessa Angel as the head of a toymaking factory who plans to dominate the world using its latest line of holiday products. It was a made-for-TV film that debuted December 18, 2004 on NBC Universal's SyFy.
The movie is a follow-up to 1993's, Dollman vs. Demonic Toys and loosely a follow-up to . It was later followed by 2010’s .
Robert Toulon, the great-grandnephew of André Toulon and his daughter, Alexandra have come into possession of the puppets and manage to bring them to life on Christmas Eve. Their success is noted by an evil toy manufacturer, Erica Sharpe, who is in possession of the demonic toys, but wants the puppets as the toys are not loyal to her. The Demonic toys are being impatient with Erica since they want to commit some murders. An initial attempt to steal the puppets is unsuccessful and only damages them with fire. Robert repairs them with new parts and weapons.
Unhappy, Erica summons the demon, Bael in order to fulfill her plans of using many demonic toys to cause mass murder and gain control of the puppets. The demon agrees, but only if she brings him Alexandra. She succeeds in kidnapping the girl, making it necessary for Robert to come to her rescue with the aid of a police sergeant, Jessica Russell and the puppets. The group is able to overwhelm and destroy the toys, as well as rescue Alexandra. Since Erica was unable to keep her end of the deal, Bael takes her to hell without fulfilling her evil plans. As the human and puppet survivors go off to enjoy Christmas Day, Baby Oopsie Daisy is shown to have survived. Baby Oopsie Daisy tells everyone Merry Christmas.
Director Ted Nicolaou was approached to direct Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys upon the recommendation of Charles Band. Intended to serve as a made-for-TV Christmas horror special for the SyFy Channel, the film is a crossover with the Puppet Master series. Nicolaou was not a fan of the series since he "like[d] working with people, not with puppets", but wanted to direct as he had not had the chance to direct "in quite a long time". Filming took place in Bulgaria and had a limited budget.
Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys was released to the Syfy Channel on December 18, 2004 and received a DVD release on January 17, 2006.[1] [2]
The film critic, Scott Weinberg wrote a negative review for Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys 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." Dread Central covered the film in a retrospective of the Puppet Master series, writing that "This made for TV movie isn’t considered canon, but it is a vast improvement over The Legacy."[3] Comicbook.com has also reviewed the movie, calling it "gleefully, self-consciously awful. It's amazing."[4]
The 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".[5]