A good horror movie at its core should have a necessary life lesson for us to embrace. In the case of The Toybox that lesson is to never buy a used recreational vehicle. From people I’ve spoken to over the years, nothing short of buying a boat will be a bigger vacation transportation mistake than owning your own RV. And buying a used one is even worse because you have zero idea what the former owner did to it before they found a sucker to take it off their hands. Remember Walter White in Breaking Bad with his RV? That’s considered a success story. The Toybox is what happens when you ignore the warnings of sane people and get enabled by your family wanting to get away from hotels and airplanes.
Jennifer (Wild Things‘ Denise Richards) gets talked into going on a vacation with her husband’s father. And to make it extra exciting, the old guy has gone out and bought a used RV camper that appears to have been used originally to follow Black Oak Arkansas around the country. This is in horrible shape and yet to play along she brings her daughter along. Well very quickly we learn that something is wrong with the RV and not just the normal strange noises and bathroom issues. Something is haunting the vehicle. Although things are worse for Samantha (The O.C.‘s Misha Barton) and her man since their car died on the road. They have to hope on board the RV and suffer through another family’s vacation to a land that the mutants of The Hills Have Eyes would consider less than scenic. The trip gets worse as the RV breaks down in a highly unusual fashion that might involve a former owner.
The Toybox combines the sheer horror of owning an RV with the greater horror of owning an RV that’s possessed by an evil spirit. This is like the Peter Fonda RV classic Ride With the Devil if the devil worshiping locals lurked in the engine block or the toilet. This is almost like a Travel Channel series with its focus on ghost shows. Except these people are traveling in the haunted RV. The tension is always amping up until a brutal showdown. After you see this film, you’ll never get inside a used RV again.
The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the ugliness of the RV. The audio includes a 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. This lets you enjoy in on your normal audio and through the surround sound. The noises do bounce around the room as if you’re stuck in the camper with the family. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew includes Tom Nagel, Jeff Denton, Jeff Miller and Brian Nagel. They hang out and tell a few tales of making the movie in the desert. They are still astonished at the camper.
Behind the Scenes (9:17) is truly behind the scenes footage letting us see a few of the stunts and special effects inside the camper.
Trailer (1:11) sets up the fun family adventure into the desert that goes bad quick.
Skyline presents The Toybox. Directed by Tom Nagel. Screenplay by: Jeff Denton. Starring: Denise Richards, Mischa Barton, Jeff Denton, Brian Nagel, Greg Violand, Matt Mercer and Malika Michelle. Rated: R Rated. Running time: 94 minutes. Released: September 25, 2018.
