Plot: What’s it about?
In The Toy Box, a pair of swingers named Donna and Ralph are summoned to the castle of a man known as Uncle. The purpose of the visit is to attend a party, one which takes place at midnight and is bound to be overstocked with sexual delights. In addition to the immense sexual pleasure involved, this party offers an extra bonus, as Uncle even pays his guests to live out their most intense sexual fantasies. But when the Donna and Ralph, as well as the other swingers arrive, they discover that Uncle seems to have passed on. This doesn’t cramp their style for long however, as the guests begin to open the pleasure chest known as The Toy Box, which helps them make their twisted fantasies a reality. But when the fantasies turn into gruesome murders, it seems as if reality and fantasy are blending together. Is there some dark secret about Uncle, or are the swingers simply getting just what they wanted? In Toys Are Not For Children, we watch as a young girl develops, though her father is never there when she needs him. As she grows, she lives out her childhood dream and works at a toy store, though her marriage has turned miserable and she longs for a new start. So she puts her “daddy’s girl” mentality to work as a hooker, where she plays out fantasies with older men. It seems that though she has found happiness, but when a new customer turns out to be a man from her past, all that could be shattered…
If you’re a sexploitation fan, but want some flicks that are more out there than the usual nudie cuties, then you’re in luck here. This double feature of Harry Novak produced pictures is downright bizarre and perhaps some of the strangest material yet released by Something Weird, which is a real testament to these odd movies. The Toy Box stands as the main force here, with a twisted assortment of depraved sexual fantasies, from threesomes to German fetishes to dismemberment, all under the watchful eye of a mysterious, bloated corpse. This one has dark visuals, an eerie atmosphere, and enough surreal sexual perversions to make Hugh Hefner blush. In the midst of all this madness is the luscious Uschi Digart (Roxanna, Supervixens), who finds herself once again naked, this time being molested by a piece of furniture. The second half of this double whammy is Toys Are Not For Children, which is more serious in tone, but not as off the wall. This one explores some controversial subject matter that might shake some folks, but do so in a more serious way, so it balances out somewhat. In the end, these are both sex sickies that will warp your mind in one way or another, even more than most sexploitation flicks. So these might not appeal to the casual genre fans, but most will want to nab this disc without hesitation.
Video: How does it look?
The Toy Box is presented in full frame, while Toys Are Not For Children is shown in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. As you’d expect, these don’t look all that impressive, but given the super low profile and super low budget roots, I can’t complain much. The Toy Box suffers because of production limitations, as a lot of scenes are very dark and they look overly black, so detail is lost and the visuals are hindered. But most scenes look solid and even cleaner than expected, so there’s a good side to this coin also. Toys Are Not For Children is a little more consistent and of course, the widescreen transfer is most appreciated. The print is nicked up and shows some grain, but colors and contrast still come across in solid fashion. Not much else we can ask here, given that these movies were probably saved from the trash by Something Weird, who have done the best they could with the materials.
Audio: How does it sound?
The mono tracks used here sound stable, but both soundtracks are unremarkable. Not a lot to discuss outside here, as vocals come through well enough and sound effects seem in proper order. You’ll hear some age related defects here and there, plus these are older, very low budget pictures, so no one should expect pristine audio treatments, if you ask me. The audio in both films is acceptable, but flawed and that’s good enough, given the material that is involved.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes theatrical trailers for both movies, plus two bonus short films (The Toy Telephone Truck & The Christmas Eves), a large selection of additional trailers, and of course, a gallery of exploitation artwork.
