Evil Toons
A 1992 B-movie spoof of haunted house films.
Evil Toons is a 1992 American B movie that blends live-action with adult animation, written and directed by Fred Olen Ray. It lightly parodies classic haunted house films.
In the 1930s, Gideon Fisk hangs himself in the basement of his suburban mansion to spite a book bound in human skin. Decades later, four female college students are hired to clean the vacant house for a weekend. They discover a dagger in a chest in the basement. That night, Gideon’s spirit delivers the book to their doorstep. Inside, they find sketches of bizarre monsters, some engaged in explicit acts. When one of the women reads an incantation, a cartoon drawing emerges and becomes a sentient creature. It stalks and kills the sexually adventurous Roxanne, then takes her form, later doing the same to her boyfriend, Biff Bullock. The demon plans to collect all souls in the mansion to free itself and its fellow demons from the book. After finding Biff’s body, the remaining women call their boss, Burt, but the demon lures him away and kills him. The demon murders all the women except the sexually inexperienced Megan. Gideon returns and helps Megan stab the demon with the dagger. Before it can retreat into the book, Megan throws the book into a fireplace, incinerating it and erasing the demon. Gideon explains he needed a mortal’s physical strength to destroy the book and end his curse, then ascends to the afterlife. The next morning, all victims are revived, remembering only nightmares. Megan is horrified when the neighbor, Mr. Hinchlow, arrives with a portable TV to watch Saturday-morning cartoons.
The film was shot in eight days. Due to a low budget and high animation costs, the animated demon appears for only about 90 seconds. Director Fred Olen Ray said mainstream Hollywood executives refused to finance it, calling the premise too risky. He noted, “Even Roger Corman turned us down… He said it was too risky… so we did it ourselves.” The film has subtle ties to H.P. Lovecraft’s universe: Roxanne mentions Miskatonic University, and the demon-summoning book resembles the Necronomicon.
On May 4, 2010, Infinity Entertainment Group released the 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD.
Reception was largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes gives a 33% score based on six reviews, with an average rating of 3.29/10. Critics panned the acting, dialogue, animation quality, and its sparse use. The 2000 book *Crea
- Release year
- 1992
- Country
- United States
- Genre
- Live-action/adult animated comedy horror
- Director
- Fred Olen Ray
- Runtime
- Approximately 90 seconds of animation on screen
- Rotten Tomatoes score
- 33% based on six reviews
Lore & Background
The plot begins in the early 1930s, when Gideon Fisk hangs himself in the basement of his suburban mansion to spite a possessed book made of human skin. In the present day, four female college students are hired to clean the vacant mansion over the weekend. They find a strange dagger hidden in a chest in the basement. That night, Gideon's cursed spirit delivers the book to them. When an incantation is read, a drawing emerges from the book and becomes a sentient cartoon demon. The demon stalks and attacks the sexually liberated Roxanne, taking her form after murdering her, then does the same to her boyfriend, Biff Bullock. The demon plans to collect the souls of everyone in the mansion to free itself and its fellow demons from the book. After killing the women's boss, Burt, the demon murders all but the sexually inexperienced Megan. Gideon returns and aids Megan in stabbing the demon with the dagger. Megan throws the book into the fireplace, incinerating it and erasing the demon. Gideon ascends to the afterlife, and all victims are revived the next morning, remembering the events only as nightmares. Megan becomes horrified when the neighbor, Mr. Hinchlow, arrives with a portable television to watch Saturday-morning cartoons.
Reader's Guide
Evil Toons is notable as a low-budget B movie that combines live-action with adult animation, a rarity for its time. The film was shot in eight days, and due to budget constraints, the animated demon appears on screen for only about 90 seconds. Director Fred Olen Ray stated that mainstream Hollywood executives would not finance the film, citing risk, and that even Roger Corman turned it down, saying it was too risky. The film has subtle connections to H.P. Lovecraft's universe, with a mention of Miskatonic University and a book resembling the Necronomicon. Reception was largely negative; Rotten Tomatoes reports a 33% score based on six reviews, with critics criticizing the acting, dialogue, animation quality, and its sparse use. The 2000 book Creature Feature gave it two out of five stars, calling it a sorry excuse for a film that wasted the talents of Carradine and Miller. Despite this, the film has a cult following and was released as a 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD by Infinity Entertainment Group on May 4, 2010.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot in eight days.
- The animated demon appears on screen for only approximately 90 seconds.
- Director Fred Olen Ray said even Roger Corman turned down the film, calling it too risky.
- The film includes a reference to Miskatonic University, connecting it to H.P. Lovecraft's universe.
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