There are shocks, there is gore and there is that same pitch-black sense of humor, but everything is tempered by the wonderfully pleasant presences of Carrie Lorraine and Stephen Lee, as the only two decent souls in the midst of one of the most unpleasant casts of rotters I've seen in my recent, if faulty memory; all of whom come to equally unpleasant, if not deserving ends. Just like in fairy tales...

The Bands and Gordon must've been avid fans of the old William Castle spooker "Mr. Sardonicus," because they find casting perfection in Guy Rolfe as the kindly old dollmaker, who sort of extends this role (and his career) in the "Puppet Master" series. Distinguished character actor Hilary Mason plays off him well, and the two have a wonderfully morbid benevolence about them, like Gomez and Morticia Adams in their twilight years.

Working the other end of the spectrum are Ian Patrick Williams and the always excellent Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, as the little girl's abusive, shallow father and "wicked" stepmother. Rounding it off are Bunty Bailey and Cassie Stuart as the brassy, blowsy punkettes who learn all about the virtues of etiquette...the hard way.

Anybody who thinks Chucky is state-of-the-art when it comes to walking, talking, murderous toys needs to check out the effects created by Giancarlo Del Brocco and John and Vivian Brunner. A lot of stop-motion (from Harryhausen's heir apparent, the late, great David Allen) combined with mechanics, but you gotta appreciate the subtleties. Got creeps? Less is definitely more.

A nifty little rental if you can get hold of it.