Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Martin Kitrosser

Starring: Jane Higginson, William Thorne, Tracy Fraim, MICKEY ROONEY, Brian Bremer

From: Still Silent Films, Inc.

This movie features a toy maker named JOE PETTO who has a son named PINO. Need I say more?

The availability of the film on Shudder and having watched Part 4 last night meant that this was the opportune time to check out something I heard was rather daffy for many years now. With any luck you'll figure out why I laugh at the name of the toy maker and his son; just WHY they went in that direction is unknown to me. What is known: Mickey Rooney must have been incredibly desperate for a paycheck at this late stage in life. You see, back when the original film came out, he was one of those that was outraged by a motion picture where a killer dressed up as Santa Claus & he made that opinion public. He was easily swayed to change his opinion... I imagine it going as: him being handed a bag of money and he accepts it by saying, “Controversy? What controversy?” I've looked at his filmography before and in the early 90's he appeared in a few genre B-movies that are surprising for a famous name like him. Whether they were less dignified than playing Mr. Yunioshi...

Anyhow, the plot is that what resembles a Pokeball murders a father in his home & bad things start happening to his wife and young son. Believe it or not, there actually is a toy maker named Joe Petto played by Rooney and he has a son named Pino. If you don't get the hint, it may be best in terms of potential spoilers... three characters from 4 actually return here, although two of those are small supporting roles that don't have too much impact on the plot and the third is Clint Howard, who only shows up for a minute before leaving. This is definitely more straightforward than 4 although there are still some elements that are rather goofy or characters that act creepier than they should.

While not the director, Brian Yuzna still was a producer and a writer of the script so his tone is still present; Screaming Mad George returned to contribute to the effects which were fine for the low budget. This has more comedy and was even hornier than 4 which did provide some laughs. Even though this is flawed and uneven-there are some dull moments in the first two acts-at least this was alright, with a zany third act. Rooney as a bitter old man who pounded down Jack Daniel's—was it true to real life? The cantankerous part I am more sure of than the alcohol part; but, I don't want to disrespect a legendary figure who had an incredible 88 year career in the movies.

As for the 2012 Silent Night that is a “loose remake” of the original, that's not available for streaming plus I've heard wildly different opinions. Will the 2022 remake be any good? Who knows.