Toys of Terror appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The transfer held up acceptably well for SD-DVD.
Sharpness became one of the iffier elements, though it still seemed mostly satisfactory. Wider shots tended toward moderate softness.
Those concerns didn’t become major, though, so most of the movie displayed fairly positive clarity given the limitations of SD-DVD. Some minor instances of jaggies and shimmering appeared. Print flaws remained absent, and I saw no obvious edge haloes.
In general, colors worked fine. The movie went with a standard – though semi-chilly – teal and amber, and the hues seemed acceptable to good within the stylistic constraints.
Blacks were fairly dark, and low-light shots offered reasonable clarity. Nothing here made me forget I was watching a DVD, but the image seemed watchable.
As for the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Terror, it was also good but not exceptional. Some of that stemmed from the movie’s emphasis on ambience over action theatrics.
Occasionally some involving material emerged and these sequences opened up the room in a satisfying way. They didn’t crop up with great frequency, though, so don’t expect a ton of active material. The track created a reasonable soundscape but nothing scintillating.
The quality of the audio was fine. Music showed nice range and definition, as the movie’s score worked well.
Effects appeared clear and natural, with nice low-end. Speech came across as distinctive and concise. In the end, this turned into a “B” soundtrack.
We find two featurettes on the DVD, and Toys of Terror Come to Life spans five minutes, seven seconds. It brings notes from director Nicholas Verso, animation director Seamus Walsh, puppet wrangler Barney Marquez, and actors Dayo Ade, Kyana Teresa, and Zoe Fish.
“Life” looks at the movie’s use of stop-motion animation. Though brief, it offers a decent view of the processes.
A Terrifying Weekend runs five minutes, four seconds and features Verso, Ade, Teresa, Fish, and actors Georgia Waters, Verity Marks and Saul Elias. “Weekend” covers production design, stunts, and general elements from the shoot.
“Weekend” attempts to provide a basic “making of” show. It comes with some good shots from the set but it tends to feel a bit superficial.
Under trailers, we get ads for Deep Blue Sea 3, Snatchers. No ad for Terror appears here.
As an attempt to offer a scary Christmas story, Toys of Terror feels fairly limp. Though the film comes with moments that threaten to blossom, it seems oddly restrained and flat. The DVD brings generally positive picture and format but it lacks substantial bonus materials. This becomes a mediocre flick at best.