El's Review of Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders

[elireburg]

Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders: Perhaps one of the "least-bad" movies ever featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I mean, I got through it without cringing or anything. Though it WAS technically a bad movie, it was a very "good-bad movie".

For those of you n00bs out there who havn't seen the episode, it begins with a Grandfather telling the tale of Merlin. Merlin has now come to the 20th Century to open a Shop of Mystical Wonders. There are 2 parts to the story: Part 1 involves a snobby reviewer (not unlike myself, hee hee hee) who gets his hands on Merlins magic spell book. He then messes around with the spells and becomes old. Part 2 involves an evil toy monkey which Merlins loses to a thief who then sells it to a thrift shop who then sells it to a little boy. The Monkey actually kills a fly, a dog, plants and more.

For those of you who like fantasy stories, this is the best "good-bad movie" out there. Watch the MST3K episode!! ;D

Review by El Ireburg

[SOL Stowaway]

While I certainly agree that Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders isn't anywhere near the worst movies ever done...I personally think that I Accuse my Parents, Space Mutiny & even Cave Dwellers would all be a bit more fun to watch un-riffed.

I do very much think of Merlin as a bad film, taking into account that the producers just decided to use footage from the early 80s film The Devil's Gift, probably writing their story AROUND that. I do see your point though. There are many enjoyable moments in Merlin. For instance, appearances by not 1 but 2 over-zealous pseudo-psychics!

[ajb333]

I consider Merlin's Shop to be one of the worst movies they ever showed, since it's so wrong for kids.

[Aquabat]

"Remember to believe in magic, or ill kill you."

[monarch]

aquabat said:

"Remember to believe in magic, or ill kill you."

"Clearly Merlin has brought good into the world."

Double your pleasure with two, two films in one. I agree to disagree on the technical merits of MSoMW or the general plot. This movie stinks on toast. From the hideous musical arrangements (doo doo doot doo doot doo) to the apparent hatred of all goodness everywhere, MSoMW stands as the only fairytale that would make the Brothers Grimm cringe. It is also the only MST3K episode where one of the characters drops the F bomb.

Rock-N-Roll Martian
F-N-Roll Martian

As ajb333 wrote, this is a kid's movie. Maybe if your kid is Damien!

Grampa Borgnine must have needed the cash.

[uruseiranma]

Oh, who could forget the first person we encounter in the story, that theif who runs out of some store, and Crow's commentart-

'Merlin was a thieving crackhead who fenced VCR's to feed his habit!'

[gasdrawls]

One of my all time favorite episodes. The best part is when the possessed cat attacks the pretentious critic who lights it on fire and Crow does an impersonation of Borgnine narrating the story to his grandson who pleads for him to stop.

[ObscureGamer]

I too found this to be one of the most enjoyable and easy-to-watch episodes in my collection. The host segments are fair to good, and the riffing is par excellant. Even Pearl was funny in this one. "Taste the rainbow of fruit pain!" I think that line of Pearl's would have made for a much more enjoyable Skittles commercial than that ghastly, nauseating one with the old geezer with a milking machine siphoning milk from his nipples.

My favorite part of this episode was M&tBs parroting Borgnine's narration, either to describe horrifying and graphic events ("Come back from behind that couch, Billy, it gets worse!"), or to describe boring and mundane events ("...and then he plodded around the kitchen, and got himself a cold beer"). Also funny was Mike's deeply sardonic attitude toward the casual insertion of demonic images for a movie aimed at kids ("I don't like the way they portray the Devil. It's so biased").

[greengoblin]

Yup it's a so bad it's good fantasy anthology that plays as a poor man's Harry Potter and "Twilight Zone The Movie" combined, but the MST3K crew had a ball riffing this.

[ObscureGamer]

I think the Catholic church ought to recognize St. Merlin! The patron saint of bad movies. ;D

[Mystical Can]

Loved it. The fact that the two movies were spliced together that were from totally different years makes it a classic. Merlin acts all powerful, but he's just a sick old man who loves unleashing evil on the world, but Borgnine makes him sound like a 'good person' to that horrible actor of a kid who figures out all the plot holes.This is one episode that I run in the background many times along side, Boggy Creek II, and Mitchell.

[Krankor]

Grampa Borgnine, not another subplot!!!!!