In 1941 the Nazi's are after a man who possesses a book containing mysterious spells that can bring inanimate objects to life. They claim that the book can also raise the dead, and Hitler wants it.
After a very tense beginning in which Nazi's try and obtain the book, the film falls apart from there. The book winds up in the hands of a toymaker who uses the spells to bring several dolls to life.
He is captured by the Nazi's and tortured for information about the book and soon the dolls take revenge on the soldiers. The doll effects are ok, but the one throat slashing scene is incredibly poor.
My main complaint about the film is the terrible make-up effects on the toymaker. The actor playing the part is Lee Bane who at the time was in his 30's or 40's and he's made up to look like he's in his 70's. The make up reminds me of a highschool play and ruins the entire film and the image it's trying to set up.
There is a Nazi soldier who uses perfect English and is never clean shaven, which blows another image to hell. I just can't figure out why this kind of stuff was allowed by the filmmakers. What could have been at least a good film turns into a disaster for reasons that could have been easily avoided.
Erick Hayden gives the best performance as a Nazi Colonel, but he alone cannot save the film. I realize this was very low budget, but wow, what a disappointment.
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