DEMONIC TOYS 2: PERSONAL DEMONS article - UPDATE

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Old-school Full Moon fans rejoice! Several malicious dolls and weird characters you grew up with are returning quite soon…and in a castle you may well remember.

It's no secret that Charles Band, head honcho of all things Full Moon, is resurrecting his favorite franchise icons. We've previously reported on Band's continuing efforts regarding BRIDE OF THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY and the GINGERDEAD MAN series. And now, with the help of regular scripter Silvia St. Croix and FX man Gage Munster, Band is bringing more DEMONIC TOYS, KILLER EYEs and a new crop of terrible toys called SKULL HEADS your way.

"I'm really excited, because Charles is going back to the old style that he used to do in his films, like shooting in Italy," St. Croix, who has taken on writing and directing responsibilities on DEMONIC TOYS 2: PERSONAL DEMONS, tells Fango. "I'm really thrilled to be a part of this first team, where he's kind of returned to his older quality. He is really reinvigorating his franchises. We're shooting in his castle in Rome, which is great-I've been there before. It's this immense, terrifying, supposedly haunted structure. It's incredible. We're actually gonna stay there, too, so I wanna try to do some DVD extras where the crew and I sneak around the place with the lights off and see what goes down." Full Moon enthusiasts will recall the place as the setting of Stuart Gordon's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM and CASTLE FREAK, among others, and it's in this very same Castello di Giove that DEMONIC TOYS 2 and SKULL HEADS will be shot-back to back. Can the crews take it?

DEMONIC TOYS 2 will feature the return of you-know-who, under interesting circumstances. "This is really the sequel to DEMONIC TOYS," notes St. Croix, fully aware of DOLLMAN VS. DEMONIC TOYS and PUPPETMASTER VS. DEMONIC TOYS. "Dr. Lorca, a character from HIDEOUS-a very successful Full Moon film-is out continuing to add to his collection of oddities. In his journey, he purchases the demonic toys, and he wants to make one last stop at this castle in Italy, where there is another doll that is rumored to be able to move on its own. He goes there to see if he wants to make the purchase, and of course, something happens, everybody gets regenerated and all the toys come back to life." Selene Luna (pictured), the little person who meets a memorable demise in the new MY BLOODY VALENTINE, will play a significant role in the new TOYS, and St. Croix couldn't be happier about it. "She's so rock-star," she says. "I'm lucky to be working with her."

Munster is also thrilled to be contributing to Band's wild new projects. "I'm so excited that he's going back to his roots; that part of it is super-exciting," says the FX artist. "We're shooting in this castle that is a part of Full Moon history in and of itself! Silvia knows how to write a scene and how to shoot effects. The script she wrote for DEMONIC TOYS 2 is very sharp on the scares, and knows what it's doing."

To be sure, one thing St. Croix's script is focused on is blood. Lots of it. "Many of the original toys are gonna come back," St. Croix assures, "and there's a B storyline that involves some really cool makeup effects, and an incredible amount of blood and gore, which always makes me happy. In fact, I warned Charlie to be prepared and told Gage to triple-order the Karo syrup and red food coloring, because I want this one to be extremely bloody. Hooray! I figure any movie called DEMONIC TOYS has gotta have fountains of blood, right?"

In contributing to Band's return to full-on freakish weirdness, St. Croix was adamant that the screenplay remain fun. "One of the stipulations of me doing the project was that I was allowed to write it, which is really great. I want the film to have sort of a Dario Argento feel, so we're gonna make it really colorful and wild and super-gory. The thing about these movies is that they sort of laugh at themselves as much as everyone else does. It's all about having a good time, really."

And St. Croix has no doubts about Munster's ability to recreate the now-iconic killer playthings, among his many other Full Moon duties. "I feel really lucky that we're working with Gage; he's a very good effects guy, and he's really into helping reinvent the toys and make everything fresh and updated."

"I grew up watching DEMONIC TOYS," Munster proudly proclaims. "So to recreate the dolls, along with creating and designing a new one… I'm working really closely with Silvia on that." But enough about past creatures-what about these new fellows, the SKULL HEADS? Fans can expect more PUPPETMASTER-esque carnage with this project. "It's basically about this family in this castle in Italy," Munster says. "They have these 'protectors' that watch over them and their home, these little skull-headed figures that ward off evil." The already jovial Munster becomes even giddier: "When evil comes a-knockin', they start killin' people. It should be really cool. [Band] has a very specific look that he wants for the Skull Heads-he doesn't want 'em to be regular old skulls."