Battleground 

An assassin is besieged in his apartment by an Army of toy soldiers after killing their maker.

Director:

Brian Henson

Writers:

Richard Christian Matheson (teleplay), Stephen King (short story)

Stars:

William Hurt, Bruce Spence, Mia Sara

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Hurt	...	Jason Renshaw
Bruce Spence	...	Hans Morris
Mia Sara	...	Beautiful Passenger
Krista Vendy	...	Front Desk Clerk
Lynda Kinkade	...	CNN Anchor
Enrico Mammarella	...	Guard #1
Brad McMurray	...	Guard #2
Jackie Kelleher	...	Hans Morris' Mother

Storyline

In Dallas, the hit man Jason Renshaw breaks in the headquarter of a toys company and kills Hans Morris, the manufacturer and owner of the company. He returns to his fancy apartment in San Francisco, and later he receives a package of toys with soldiers, helicopters and heavy weapon. Suddenly he is attacked by the commando, and he tries to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | commando | toy company | toy soldier | toy comes to life | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

None

Release Date:

12 June 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ostar Productions, Coote Hayes Productions, TNT

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The premise of this story involves inanimate objects taking on a life of their own. Perhaps not so coincidentally, it was directed by Brian Henson, who--like his late father, Jim--has some experience with giving life to inanimate objects.

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Goofs

In "Battleground", during the battle between the main character and the toy soldiers, two soldiers are shown with a LAW, one loading it. All forms of the LAW are one-shot throw-a-way weapons and are not reloadable.

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Connections

References Trilogy of Terror (1975)

User Reviews

Very entertaining.

This debut episode in the 'Nightmares & Dreamscapes' miniseries based on Stephen King stories is an adaptation of the short story that appeared in the "Night Shift" collection. There's no fooling around here: this is a straightforward suspense / action flick with a fair amount of gore and a very game performance by William Hurt. 'Battleground' doesn't waste time with filler, it just has fun with its utterly fantastic premise. Hurt plays Jason Renshaw, a highly capable professional hit man who as the story begins executes the boss of a toy company. Shortly after, he retires to his snazzy residence in a high rise apartment building, and receives a package in the mail. This package turns out to be full of toy soldiers, their weapons, and vehicles. That may sound harmless, but these things have a life of their own, and are able to inflict serious damage on our protagonist. During one eventful night, he and the toy soldiers have it out in their own private battle. Adding to the amusement factor, there's a nice nod to the classic "Amelia" segment of the 1975 TV horror anthology 'Trilogy of Terror' and at one point fans of Kings' work will be reminded of his story "The Ledge" which got adapted as the middle segment of the 1985 anthology "Cat's Eye". Director Brian Henson, son of the legendary Jim Henson, directs with efficiency, with adapting honours going to Richard Christian Matheson, son of the equally legendary Richard Matheson. The special effects here are truly impressive, not to mention the ingenious camera-work. This helps the viewer to truly be swept into the action, along with music by Jeff Beal that keeps the momentum going. Dialogue is kept to a bare minimum; in fact, Renshaw, the only principal human character, utters not a word during the whole thing. Actions speak louder than words here. However, it is nice to see Bruce Spence from "The Road Warrior" as the victim at the beginning and Mia Sara (who would go on to marry Henson) from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as the lovely passenger on the plane. This is just pure fun, this episode, and a pretty respectful adaptation of the story. It's not without humour, which is another good thing. All in all, these are 55 minutes that go by quickly enough. Eight out of 10.