People Toys
| People Toys | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sean MacGregor David Sheldon (uncredited) |
| Written by | Dylan Jones |
| Screenplay by | Sandra Lee Blowitz John Durren |
| Produced by | Michael Blowitz Dylan Jones |
| Starring | Sorrell Booke Gene Evans Shelley Morrison Leif Garrett |
| Cinematography | Paul Hipp Michael Shea |
| Edited by | Byron "'Buzz" Brandt |
| Music by | William Loose |
| Distributed by | Cinemation Industries |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
People Toys (sometimes stylized as Peopletoys) is a 1974 American slasher film directed by Sean MacGregor and an uncredited David Sheldon and starring Sorrell Booke, Gene Evans, Shelley Morrison and Leif Garrett, along with Garrett's real-life sister, Dawn Lyn and their mother, Carolyn Stellar. It was re-released theatrically in 1976 under the alternate title Devil Times Five in both the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Tantrums in the United Kingdom on home video. The film follows a group of four sociopathic, homicidal children who, accompanied by a mysterious nun, seek refuge with the residents of a lakeside chalet, only to systematically murder them one by one.
Plot
On a snowy mountain pass in Lake Arrowhead, California, a van transporting children from a psychiatric hospital crashes, apparently killing most of its passengers, aside from a young nun, Sister Hannah, and four of the children: Susan, Moe, David, and Brian. The children and Sister Hannah travel on foot, seeking shelter. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Julie and her boyfriend Rick embark to Lake Arrowhead to visit her father, Papa Doc, a real estate tycoon, at his lakeside chalet.
Julie and Rick arrive at the chalet, along with Papa Doc's conniving business associate, Harvey Beckman and his wife, Ruth; Julie witnesses Papa Doc's new young wife, Lovely, attempting to seduce the mentally-disabled house servant, Ralph, and sparks a fight. Meanwhile, the four children break into the wine cellar at Papa Doc's chalet. Back at the crashed van, the children's physician, Dr. Brown, regains consciousness and begins frantically searching for the children. He tracks them to the wine cellar, where the children murder him with Sister Hannah's assistance. They bury his corpse in the snow.
In the morning, the children surprise the residents of the chalet and Papa Doc agrees to let them stay for one night. In conversation, David tells Harvey that he and the others were on their way to make a film in Hollywood when their van crashed. After dinner that night, David and Brian sneak into Ralph's cabin and disengage the generator. When Ralph goes to inspect it, he is caught in a booby trap that strangles him to death.
The next day, Rick finds Ralph's corpse hanging from a noose in front of the generator. Papa Doc assumes Ralph committed suicide, but Rick suspects the children. He subsequently discovers that Papa Doc's car has been tampered with and that the guns and knives in the house have gone missing; he fears the children are out to do them harm. David, who is adorning himself in makeup and a dress, overhears Rick vocalizing his suspicions. Shortly after, David hacks Harvey to death with an ax while he chops wood outside.
Sister Hannah drowns Lovely in a bathtub, while Moe sets Papa Doc's pet piranhas loose in the bathwater to devour her. When Papa Doc witnesses the children dragging Lovely's body through the snow, he chases after them to Ralph's cabin, where he is killed with a knife in another rigged booby trap. Armed with the stolen guns, the children return to the chalet, first attacking Ruth, who begs Susan to let them go; the children douse Ruth in gasoline before Susan throws a lit match onto her, burning her alive. Rick and Julie flee, attempting to escape on a boat, but David forces them back to the chalet at gunpoint and the two barricade themselves in a second floor bedroom.
In the morning, David uses a ladder to reach the bedroom window and impales Julie through the neck with a pole that he forces through the glass, killing her. Rick, now alone and desperate, witnesses the children gleefully throwing snowballs at Papa Doc's corpse. This sparks rage in Rick and he decides to confront the children outside, only to be caught in an animal trap. Sister Hannah slashes Rick's throat with a knife, killing him. With all the adults dead, the children drag their corpses into Ralph's cabin and seat them around a table, playing with them as though they are dolls. After a brief time, Susan and Brian declare that it is time to move on. Moe expresses that she wants to continue playing, to which Sister Hannah responds that they will find new "toys" to play with.
The film ends with the words "The Beginning".
Cast
- Sorrell Booke as Harvey Beckman
- Gene Evans as Papa Doc
- Taylor Lacher as Rick
- Joan McCall as Julie
- Shelley Morrison as Ruth
- Carolyn Stellar as Lovely
- John Durren as Ralph
- Leif Garrett as David
- Gail Smale as Sister Hannah
- Dawn Lyn as Moe
- Tierre Turner as Brian
- Tia Thompson as Susan
- Henry Beckman as Dr. Brown
Production
People Toys was filmed in Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake, California between February and April 1973.[1] The production was notably tense between director Sean McGregor and producer Michael Blowitz, with Blowitz recalling that at one point, McGregor punched Blowitz in the face, to which Blowitz responded by throwing McGregor through a plate glass window.[2]
Actor Tierre Turner recalled that, for himself and the other child actors, the shoot was "like a vacation...we were having a great time".[3]
Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States by Cinemation Industries.[1] According to the American Film Institute, no contemporary reviews confirm that the film was released under its original title, People Toys, though a 1974 edition of the film journal Screenworld reported the film to be due for a June 1974 release.[1] However, contemporaneous newspaper showtime listings in the Austin American-Statesman indicate the film premiered in Austin, Texas under the title People Toys on May 17, 1974,[4] and in Abilene, Texas on May 24, 1974.[5] It subsequently screened under this title in Akron, Ohio on May 30, 1974.[6]
In 1976, Seymour Borde & Associates purchased international distribution rights to the film, re-releasing it under the alternate title Devil Times Five.[1]Another alternate title the film was re-released as was The Horrible House on the Hill, for which an undated film poster was produced by Cinemation.[1]
Critical response
Cavett Binion of AllMovie described the film as "a seldom-seen but thoroughly satisfying horror sleeper with a sardonic sense of morality, taking great delight in knocking off [Gene] Evans' circle of decadent snobs in graphic and innovative ways."[7]
Home video
The film was released on VHS by Media Home Entertainment. It was later re-released by Video Treasures.
Code Red DVD released the film on DVD in 2006 and Blu-ray in 2016.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "People Toys (1974)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020.
- ^ Kord 2016, pp. 173–174.
- ^ Kord 2016, p. 174.
- ^ "What's going on..." Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. May 12, 1974. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Miller, Alice (May 19, 1974). "Movies Return for Second Showing". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Outdoor Theatres". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. May 30, 1974. p. 49 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Binion, Cavett. "Devil Times Five (1974)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020.
Sources
- Kord, T. S. (2016). Little Horrors: How Cinema's Evil Children Play on Our Guilt. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-476-62666-6.
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External links
- People Toys at AllMovie
- People Toys at IMDb
- People Toys is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive