Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991)

In these two new holiday cassettes (released a tad early), Mickey Rooney tries his hand at both trash and treacle, and neither is a career milestone. Silent Night, Deadly Night 5 finds Rooney slumming as a modern-day Geppetto who owns a shop full of murderous toys. This straight-to-video cheapie is neither clever nor campy enough to tickle the imagination. Home for Christmas, meanwhile, is a made-for-TV movie starring Rooney as a homeless man who becomes the grandpa that a family never had. It's a sentimental role in a simpy story, and Rooney plays it for more than it's worth. Holiday-viewing tip: Rent Mickey in one of his old musicals with Judy Garland, and leave these Christmas turkeys under the tree. Silent: C; Home: C-

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