Toys Are Not for Children

Nineteen going on twenty, Jamie Godard (Marcia Forbes) has issues. When she was a little girl, her father doted on her, but his liking for prostitutes saw him thrown out of the house, leaving Jamie longing for dear daddy while her bitter mother told her that all men are worthless. Jamie's love for her father leads to an unhealthy obsession with the toys that he sends her, and a curiosity about the women of the night with whom daddy associates.

When Jamie strikes up a friendship with working girl Pearl (Evelyn Kingsley), her mother throws her out, and so she goes and gets hitched to her toy-store co-worker Charlie Belmond (Harlan Cary Poe), who is keen to get his tasty young bride in the sack. Unfortunately for Charlie, Jamie has no interest in him sexually, preferring the company of her toys in bed. Understandably frustrated, Charlie hits the local night spots to pick up women who will take care of his needs. Eventually, Jamie moves in with Pearl and her pimp Eddie (a wonderfully slimy performance from Luis Arroyo), changes her look and decides to sell her body, just like the ladies that daddy loves so much - a career choice that indulges her incestuous fantasies, but ultimately leads to tragedy.

Wow! This is one of those totally messed up '70s gems that makes being a fan of obscure cult cinematic oddities such fun. Oozing perversity without being excessively sleazy (nudity is kept to a minimum), it trundles along its increasingly twisted path, benefitting from a winning central performance from the delectable Miss Forbes in her one and only movie role. Writer/director Stanley H. Brassloff's restraint only goes to make the shocking final act all the more impactful.

For those who like their movies to explore taboo themes and possess an emotional wallop, this is highly recommended viewing, and would make a terrific double bill with the equally perverse Love Me Deadly (1972), which deals with the uncomfortable subject of necrophilia.

Jamie is a mentally stunted adult obsessed with the father whom her mom kicked out when she was a young girl. This movie is insane. it did keep my interest throughout. Those who go into this film, thinking it'll be another 70's-era skin flick are in for a surprise. Nudity is kept to a minimum. This is more of a psychological mind&*%$ If you stick with it, it's a pretty good, creepy b-movie. This movie is coupled with "The Toy Box" on the Something Weird DVD.

My Grade:B

DVD Extras: Art Gallery;2 short subjects ( the Toy Telephone Truck, & the Christmas Eves); Trailers for Toys are not for Children, the Toybox, The Exquisite Cadaver, Tales of the Bizarre, The Single Girls, Ann and Eve, The Depraved, Sextet, The Naked Countess, and Labyrinth of Sex

I love trashy, bad movies but this was too much for me.

I am a big John Waters fan and thought this would be funny. Actually, it is a stab at being psychosexual. Evelyn Kingsley's huge nipples gave me nightmares.

Toys Are Not For Children and this movie isn't for everyone. Aesthetically, it looks like it was scrapped together with a child's leftover lunch money, but the story, while sleazy, seems to have higher aspirations than low budget sleaze.

A young woman has an unhealthy obsession with her father whom she never sees since her mother separated from him due to his various infidelities. She lives in a stunted kind of existence, still playing with toys he bought her. This infuriates her husband whose upset that she doesn't want to have sex with him. Unhappy with her life, she runs away and ends up befriending a middle aged high class prostitute who gets her into the world's oldest profession where she meets men who are old enough to be her father and...well...let's just leave it at that.

If one were to read this script, I'm sure it would practically ooze sleaze, but the film itself feels more like a slightly more edgy after school special with precious little actual nudity or sexual content. Performances are spirited in that grand old low budget film way and one could almost believe they were brought over from the John Waters or Andy Milligan flick filming a few states away.

Toys Are Not For Children does a great job of balancing true drama and sleaze.

Brace yourself for a profoundly unsettling cinematic experience-this film stands out as one of the most disturbing pieces of art ever created. It delves into the complexities of the human psyche, weaving a storyline filled with darkness and perverse twists that will resonate in your thoughts long after the final credits have rolled. Each frame is meticulously crafted, dripping with an overwhelming sense of foreboding that pulls you into an uncanny world where the line between reality and nightmare blurs and horrors appear in the most unexpected forms.

Approach this film with utmost caution, for it is not a narrative for the timid or faint-hearted. Prepare to confront your deepest fears as you navigate through a labyrinth of psychological terror, where every moment keeps you on edge and makes you question your own perception of reality.