a young couple father ben ( solid charles bateman ) and wife nicky ( the lovely ahna capri ) and their daughter kt ( the cute geri reischl of i dismember mama fame ) find themselves trap in a small california desert town populate by hysterical lunatic . bad yet and there a pernicious satanic cult that be abduct little child for their own diabolical purpose . director bernard mceveety and work from an offbeat and inspire script by william welch and l. q. jones ( devil time five director sean macgregor come up with the bizarre story ) and relate the compellingly oddball plot at a slow and yet steady pace and ably create a creepy and edgy and mysterious ooga booga atmosphere . strother martin delivers a wonderfully wicked and robust performance a doc duncan and who the gleefully sinister leader of the evil sect . the top rate cast of excellent character actor qualify a a substantial asset represent jones a gruff and no nonsense sheriff hillsboro and alvy moore a friendly local toby and and charles robinson a a shrewd and fiercely devout priest jack . john arthur morrill bright and polish widescreen cinematography and jamie mendoza nava spooky score and and the wild and rouse climactic black mass ritual be all likewise up to speed . the idea of have toys come to murderous life be simply ingenious ( the opening scene with a toy tank come real and crush a family in their car be truly jolt ) . nice eerily ambiguous end and too . a pleasingly idiosyncratic and under appreciated winner .