The Toybox (2005)

It all began so innocently for two children growing up in the deepest countryside, their imaginations set ablaze by a book on local myths and legends. Berenice convinces her younger brother... See full summary »

Director:

Paolo Sedazzari

Writer:

Paolo Sedazzari

Stars:

Alexander Abadzis, Russell Barnes, Suzanne Bertish

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alexander Abadzis	...	Jake the Midfolker
Russell Barnes	...	Grandpa Alan
Suzanne Bertish	...	Madeline Usher
Sara Bispham	...	Young Berenice
Heather Chasen	...	Eleanora Usher
Les Dungar	...	Uncle Reg
Peter Ellis	...	The Vicar
Dom Gallagher	...	Ambulancemen
Craig Henderson	...	Conrad
Elliott Jordan	...	Brian Usher
William Lockhart	...	The Clown
Simon Mason	...	Sgt. Barry Brice
Minnie	...	Black Shuck
Claudine Spiteri	...	Berenice Usher
Christopher Terry	...	Rod Usher

Storyline

It all began so innocently for two children growing up in the deepest countryside, their imaginations set ablaze by a book on local myths and legends. Berenice convinces her younger brother Brian that she is the reincarnation of a witch with the powers to put everything right. As they grow up Brian becomes emotionally dependent on his sister, so that when she returns to the family home for Christmas with her new boyfriend he feels totally betrayed. At the same time a man strongly resembling the mythical Jake the Mid-Folker is closing in. An overwhelming sense of impending horror surrounds the house, but is the enemy outside - or is the enemy within?

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Plot Keywords:

insanity | murder | rebellious daughter | reference to lizzie borden | incestuous overtones | 

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Taglines:

Some Fairy Tales Can Be Deadly

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brandnew Films, Leopard Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Renault 5 driven by Berenice is actually 2 different cars. The first vehicle used was written off and a second identical one had to be found and bought during the shoot.

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Connections

References Russ Abbot's Saturday Madhouse (1980)

User Reviews

I want an hour and twenty minutes of my life back...

Wow. So my boyfriend and I went to the movie store to rent a film. I like dumb horror movies, so I browsed the variety of terrible films they had to offer while he went off in search of Michael Moore's 'Sicko'. So then I found the worst of all of them (as I would soon find out). It looked good on the cover and the description on the back seemed decent enough. The fact that there was an IMDb quote on it as a review was proof that it would be bad in a good way. So the next night, we put it in the DVD player and from the first five minutes, we were so incredibly confused.

The movie is utterly incoherent, with badly placed time-jumps from past to future that leave you asking a major 'WTF?' The plot has no sort of coherent story -- other than the vague allusion to a local myth about a murder, but this only actually comes into play in the movie in the last twenty minutes of it. So pretty much for the first hour you have this: random, confusing time jumps; incoherent plot; parents who don't age; bad acting; bad dialogue; a boy who magically changes hair colour; and a host of obnoxious characters for you to get bored with!

The movie moves so slow that it's a chore to actually sit there and watch. I'd rather be scrubbing the toilets, honestly. Don't bother with it.