Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996)

That was an excellent one.

Don't Believe the Hype

Better Late Then Never

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

A lot of Merlin shows exist out there. This is probably the worst one I've seen. The stories are OK but a concept like this needs a lot more magic!!! It's too bad they didn't do more with the stories. The first episode was interesting but the poor production values distract from the drama and excitement. I've seen a lot of low budget films, so I know the tell tale signs. It just looks like they bit off more than they could chew with the money they had. It looks like they spent a lot on the sets and mechanical effects, but obviously ran out of money or something. Adding Ernest Borgnine helps to fill a lot of holes but ultimately does little for the overall entertainment value. The actors are decent but likely needed a few more takes than the budget allowed. Overall, I would say watch the Merlin mini-series starring Sam Neil.

I was writing this correct an earlier user comment. The part with the toy monkey and symbols is actually a rip off of a Steven King short story. I think it was Four Past Midnight or Skeleton Crew. Since this has to be ten lines, the guy who steals Merlin's spell book comes off as a huge jack off. Every time things go bad for him it's actually hilarious. Earnest Borgnine ends up looking like a crazy old man. Whats he trying to do give his grandson mental problems. The kid is like six and he sits still quietly for two hours while his out there grandfather tells him some cockamamie wild story. Worst movie premise ever. The only times I've ever actually was the Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand version which is very funny. As a side note if your actually going to watch this movie do not do it sober. You will turn it off after five minutes.

How do you explain a movie like Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders? On its surface, the movie seems to be some sort of children's fantasy that was marketed at families. I mean what's wrong with a movie that features a kindly grandfather telling his grandson a couple of harmless bedtime stories about Merlin the Magician? Well, when the two bedtime stories in question feature pets dying in fires, people turning into horrible creatures, and images of Satan – I would say there's a whole lot wrong with it. And surely the movie wasn't aimed at real, hardcore horror fans. The combination of the grandfather and Merlin would be enough to turn off any real horror fanatic.Getting past the question of the movie's target audience, the movie itself offers very little. The movie's set-up as an anthology is clunky at best. As I've indicated, Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders features two wrappings – (1) the grandfather and (2) Merlin. Bad idea all the way around! As for the two featurettes, neither is anything to get excited about. The first is entirely predictable and features poor acting and special effects. And director Kenneth Berton got even lazier with the second featurette. It's nothing more than a chopped-up version of a movie he made in 1984 – 12 years previously. I don't mean he remade that movie – he re-used it! I seem to remember seeing the 1984 movie and not enjoying it. It's not any better with a new name and a dozen years later.Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders makes for a very disappointing MST3K episode. With something this bad and utterly ridiculous, I would have expected a real home-run. I've seen the MST3k episode a couple of times not and cannot rate it any higher than a 2/5 – don't put it at the top of your "to see" list.

omg i so totally agree with un0gosse7fou this is one of the most amazing movies ever! mark hurtado was greatly cast as grandson. i also must agree with un0gosse7fou by saying that i do not know mark, do not attend his church and have never dated him. It is most amazing every time i see it. incredibly also is such great work by such a young actor(now almost seventeen). i particularly liked when it is shown with the robots on the bottom of the screen, making fun of the movie in the process. It was just genius. now the rest of the movie had its downs but we have to agree on the brilliance of young hurtado's work in this said film