3. Making Contact (1985)
Genre: Fantasy
Making Contact (also known as Joey) is interesting for a number of reasons. First, its co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich (I can hear you groaning from here!). Secondly, its a German film shot in America, with predominantly American actors. And thirdly, for a kids film, its pretty scary! Like a suburban Grimms fairytale. It has a very Spielbergian feel to it, like it was shot in the same neighbourhood a E.T. and Poltergeist and like those films, focuses on a young child - Joey - who has recently lose his father. Instead of finding an alien in his backyard or the dead in his T.V., Joey discovers he has developed telekinesis and can move objects and bring his toys to life (and a great scene with the Millennium Falcon). Oh, and he starts to talk to his dead dad via a toy telephone. Like you do. Just like Elliot in E.T., Joey becomes a laughing stock amongst his peers and teachers when he tells them and so one day, in a bid to escape the hassle of it all, ventures into an abandoned house where he stumbles across a ventriloquists dummy that springs to life and makes friends with Joey. But the dummy is possessed by a demon and terrorizes Joey into not believing that the person on the phone isn't his father. Joey doesnt believe it so the demon threatens his mum, friends and inhabitants of his town - forcing Joey to enter the spirit world and fight to end the demons reign of terror. Making Contact/Joey is like a cross between Poltergeist, The Goonies and The Indian in the Cupboard. Its nostalgic fun for adults and will creep out the younger kids, And did I mention the kick-ass Star Wars shots? Making Contact/Joey is available on DVD but I recommend the German edition which has both the US and German language (English subs) versions of the film. The German version of the film is uncut whilst the US version is heavily truncated (and thus confusing). Again, best to shop via Amazon or eBay.