Peopletoys (1974)

Director:

Sean MacGregor

Writers:

Sandra Lee Blowitz (co-writer)
John Durren (writer)

Release Date:

June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

What Wendy just saw them do will make you sick to your stomach...if it doesn't make you faint first!

Plot:

Five extremely disturbed, sociopathic children escape from their psychiatric transport and are taken...

Plot Keywords:

Winter | Escape | Bathtub | Cross Dressing | Female Nudity

Cast

Sorrell Booke	...	Harvey Beckman
Gene Evans	...	Papa Doc
Taylor Lacher	...	Rick
Joan McCall	...	Julie
Shelley Morrison	...	Ruth
Carolyn Stellar	...	Lovely (as Carolyn Steller)
John Durren	...	Ralph
Leif Garrett	...	David
Gail Smale	...	Sister Hannah
Dawn Lyn	...	Moe
Tierre Turner	...	Brian
Tia Thompson	...	Susan
Henry Beckman	...	Dr. Brown

Also Known As:

Devil Times Five (USA) (reissue title)
Tantrums (UK) (video title)
The Horrible House on the Hill (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Barrister Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Original director Sean MacGregor was fired from the production after a few weeks of difficult filming and the most of the footage MacGregor directed was deemed unusable. Much of the final version of the movie had to be re-filmed under direction of 'David Sheldon' several weeks later using different interior locations for the inside of the lodge, which noticeably changes in appearance partway through the movie. By the time of Sheldon's re-shoots, Leif Garrett had also gotten a closely cropped dark colored haircut for another production (Macon County Line (1974)) and had to re-film his scenes wearing a wig that is visibly different than his original longer blond hair style. (Source: Screem Magazine Vol. 13)

Quotes:

David: [screaming] My face! Look what you did to my beautiful face!

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Creepy kid killers

DEVIL TIMES FIVE suffers from barely-competent direction and editing so bad, you wonder if it was done by trained simians. What could have been a genuinely chilling movie about child psychotics victimizing a group of unsuspecting adults is sabotaged by some glaring continuity problems, most noticeably a minor character who is played by one actor in outdoor scenes and an entirely different actor in indoor scenes and Leif Garrett's famous goldy locks being natural in some scenes and a wig in others. Psycho children are scary, but we don't get any back stories to heighten our horror. Maybe that was the point. This flick has some pretty nihilistic adults, spouting soap opera exposition about failed marriages, infidelities, and non-committed relationships. It may be like trying to polish a cow pie, but it might be observed that the adults and their trashy grown-up "games" are a revolting counterpoint to the homicidal "games" of the junior wackos. Both are disgusting, but the adults and their "games" are socially sanctioned. I just wish some details were followed up on. Leif Garrett is shown engaging in some behavior that may have been filmed to establish a split personality element that the director abandoned or didn't explore. I won't detail what it is, but it's something that, given the theme of the movie and the fact that a pubescent boy is doing it, still serves to give viewers the creeps.