Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework

Kiddie horror? Well, if there is such a movie genre this movie would be a good example. We watched this with the kids for family movie night. I can't say I was very impressed, although the youngest of the kids were riveted to the screen. The older ones got bored halfway through and out came the iPads. I know how they felt. This movie boasts some pretty lame acting, even from well known actors like Shelley Duvall and especially from Margot Kidder. John Neville's turn as the mysterious shopkeeper was a treat though. The special effects were pretty rudimentary and the animatronics or puppetry or whatever it was that brought the doll to 'life' were very amateurish. I suppose these days they would use CGI, although I don't think this movie would have warranted the trouble or expense. To top it off, the movie becomes quite mawkish in the last 15 minutes, as it moves towards its quite predictable ending.

I'd like to be able to recommend this film but I really can't. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It's too silly for tweens and older and while younger kids may be engrossed, I'm not too sure that they should be introduced to voodoo, dark magic and questionable behavior standards (e.g. the doll states that it is empowered by the main character's HATE for his teacher) at their age as a form of entertainment.