''Playroom'' is a 1990 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Manny Coto Manuel Hector "Manny" Coto (born June 10, 1961) is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs. Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' in its final season, and executive produc ...

in his directorial debut. The film stars Lisa Aliff, Aron Eisenberg,

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...

, and

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan s ...

. The

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

was James L. Carter and the

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

was

Vicky Jenson Victoria "Vicky" Jenson (born March 4, 1960) is an American film director of both live-action and animated films. Retrieved April 9, 2014. She has directed projects for DreamWorks Animation, including ''Shrek'', the first film to win an Academy ...

, who later went on to direct ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...

''.

Plot

Chris (

) is an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

who has nightmares about the murder of his family, which occurred when he was a child, while the family was living in the ruins of a European

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, while his father sought the tomb of Prince Elok, a ten year old prince who was obsessed with torture and worshiped a Slavic demon. Chris decides to return to the site and continue the search with his girlfriend Jenny ( Lisa Aliff), a magazine editor who funds the effort in order to cover the story. Chris quickly begins to experience delusions such as the return of an

imaginary friend Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reality. ...

from his childhood, Daniel ( Aron Eisenberg). In the meantime, the mental patient who had been wrongly accused of the murder of the family, Roman Hart (

) also shows up in the town near the ruins, seeking revenge. Ultimately Chris recovers his memories of the murder of his family and discovers Prince Elok's chambers, causing the demonic Prince to reappear as a monster.

Cast

* Lisa Aliff as Jenny * Aron Eisenberg as Daniel *

as Chris * James Purcell as Paul *

Jamie Rose Jamie Rose (born November 26, 1959) is an American actress and acting instructor. Born in New York City, Rose was raised in Southern California, where she began her career as a child actor, first appearing in commercials. She made her feature fil ...

as Marcy *

as Roman Hart *

Kimberly Beck Kimberly Beck (born January 9, 1956) is a former American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Trish Jarvis in Joseph Zito's '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984). Her other film roles include Alfred Hitchcock's ''Marni ...

as Secretary

Release

The film was released on VHS by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

on April 15, 1997.

References

External links

* * * * 1990 films 1990 horror films 1990s monster movies American monster movies Films directed by Manny Coto 1990 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1980s English-language films 1990s American films {{1980s-horror-film-stub