TR reviews horror franchises: PUPPET MASTER

[Lick Ness Monster]

PUPPET MASTER
1989
Director: David Schmoeller

What an endlessly inventive movie this is! You'd think that the approximately eighty-thousandth movie about dolls that "live" would be stale - but man would you ever be wrong about this one.
I believe that more than any other horror series (even "ANOES"), the direct-to-video "Puppet Master" movies have the true feel of a horror epic, with sunny chapters (Part 4), dark, macabre ones (II) and backstory (III).
Of course, they all have to begin somewhere, and what better place
than here...
The extensive backstory of Andre Toulon, the inventor of the living puppets crafted with expert care by the master, is only VERY briefly touched upon in this film in the opening passages, as an old Toulon puts the final touches on Jester - a supposed ringleader of the puppets.
In the present day, a group of psychics descend on the motel, where a colleague of theirs has recently died. And from here ensues one of the best-executed hours in movie history, as each one of the psychics (all of them, with the exceptional of Alex Whitaker as portrayed by the woefully underrated Paul Le Mat) reap what they sow. Each of them are evil, hateful people, not using their unique abilities for the betterment of mankind but rather for their own selfish or sexual gain. Thus, the murder scenes in this movie rise to the state of artistry for two reasons: (1) it seems that nobody in movies can commit fantastic murder scenes quite like little dolls, and (2) situation is much more important in slashings than the gory details.
Which brings us to the finale - Neil Gallagher, the man who supposedly died at the hotel, merely did so as an act to bring himself back from the dead as something far superior to a normal human being and the climax as the puppets turn on him. I believe this to be one of the three best murder scenes in movie history - and for those of you who haven't seen the film, there's no mistaking it when you see it.
Cannot recommend this movie enough, one of my top three horror films of all time.

**** / ****

[MCMGM]

Love that movie.

[I'm The Cool One]

puppetmaster movies still gimme nightmares! lol

[rra]

Yeah, loved your review Thomas Rigby and you're right.....its a good movie.

Really, how many horror pictures where the stalking killer(s) are probably the good guys?

[erisi236]

One thing I found odd about the Puppet Master flicks was if they wanted Andre Toulon to be a good guy or a bad guy.

And whats the deal with Puppet Master 3? It's set in 1941, while Puppet Master 1 begins in 1939 with Toulon killing himself!

[Lick Ness Monster]

erisi236 said:

One thing I found odd about the Puppet Master flicks was if they wanted Andre Toulon to be a good guy or a bad guy.

And whats the deal with Puppet Master 3? It's set in 1941, while Puppet Master 1 begins in 1939 with Toulon killing himself!

That would be classic horror movie time paradox - ignore it. ;D

I believe that the intro sequence in the first flick really takes place after Part III - just delate that date from your memory, it never existed.

And I agree with you about Toulon. Part II is one of the weaker entries in the series - despite a FANTASTIC Toulon in that movie, it is dampered by the fact that the puppets turn on him.

[KingPopper]

I think this Puppet Master is more scary.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VV229DbXic

[AriadosMan]

erisi236 said:

One thing I found odd about the Puppet Master flicks was if they wanted Andre Toulon to be a good guy or a bad guy.

And whats the deal with Puppet Master 3? It's set in 1941, while Puppet Master 1 begins in 1939 with Toulon killing himself!

In many horror franchises, the "evil" main character ends up being retconned somehow to be more sympathetic over the course of the run.

Anyway, the movie was pretty good, although Leech Woman still makes me cringe for some reason when I think about her.

[KingPopper]

Wasn't there a Puppet Master vs. some other killer toy movie, on Sci Fi a couple years ago.

[AriadosMan]

kingpopper said:

Wasn't there a Puppet Master vs. some other killer toy movie, on Sci Fi a couple years ago.

Yes, and it totally sucked.

[erisi236]

kingpopper said:

Wasn't there a Puppet Master vs. some other killer toy movie, on Sci Fi a couple years ago.

That would be Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys.

Demonic Toys being another one of Full Moon Features killer toy movie franchises.

[Lick Ness Monster]

PUPPET MASTER II
1991
Director: David Allen

If you think of these movies as a complete, horror epic (at least the first five films - which you should), I believe "Puppet Master II" to be the darker, "Empire Strikes Back" episode of the series. It contains the only truly villainous version of the series' main star, Andre Toulon, and some of the themes in it are really quite unsettling.
While some fans have really had a lot of fun with the chronology of the series (and I'll get to that at a later date), it's fairly obvious that this particular entry is a direct sequel to the first film and takes place not soon afterward (the reference to Alex Whitaker making that clear).
In the film's very first scene, Toulon is reawakened by the puppets, although we don't know for what reason...yet.
A group of paranormal researchers (a brother and sister and a couple) have come to the Bodega Bay Inn, investigating the claims of the paranormal activity having gone down there. This film is much quicker to get into the chaos of the story - the first victim is taken less than thirty minutes into the film.
The film's main plot point is good and bad - sometimes both at the same time. For all who haven't seen it, essentially this is a beauty and the beast movie, with Toulon believing that the lead female researcher is his wife reincarnated. And Toulon needs to use his powers to make that dream happen.
I also have to comment that I LOVE the look of Toulon in this movie. Taking a page from "The Invisible Man," special effects wunderkind Dave Allen dresses actor Steve Welles (who has a very creepy and soothing voice simultaneously) exactly as Claude Raines in the earlier film, making a very cool, slick villain indeed.
And since Allen is in the director's chair, the main aspect of the film is also very satisfying as well - the puppets themselves. The movement and mannerisms of the little demons is much more fluid in this film, particularly impressive in the scene where Blade jumps down from a bed - all in clear sight, unlike much of the first film - to attack Wanda (Charlie Spradling), the film's requisite slutty character (and also quite hot, if I say so myself). The effects in this film are amazing considering the miniscule budget.
A number of things drop the rating, however. The acting, with the exception of Spradling and Welles, is atrocious - the worst offender being Collin Bernsen as the token hunky guy who shows up to romance the lead researcher, thus leading to phantom of the opera jealousy angle with Toulon. The pacing is way off at times, particularly the murders of the annoying country couple and a couple of Toulon's extraordinarily long monologues. And it just doesn't have the same "cool" factor of the first movie, despite the addition of Torch, one of the better puppets in the series.
An interesting movie - as a more macabre version of Phantom of the Opera or Beauty and the Beast, it's very good. But as a Puppet Master movie, it's not on the same par with the first.

*** / ****

[Lick Ness Monster]

PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE
1991
Director: David DeCoteau

The prequel is a rarity in an of itself when it comes to the horror genre, and even rarer still when it actually gets it right.
The answer in this film is a resounding right. Gladly choosing to retcon pretty much all of Puppet Master II, Toulon's Revenge casts the master puppet creator as a genuinely likable character, generally benevolent and a tragic victom of nazi Germany.
If there is one sparking aspect that shines in this movie, it is the acting. While the first two films have a lot going for them (the first definitely more than the second), this one boasts some genuinely good actors for the first (and only) time in the entire series. Simply put, Guy Rolfe is magnificent as Toulon, and would continue to play him for his sporadic appearances in the remainder of the series.
The story, in a nutshell: As the film opens, Toulon is presenting his stringless marionette show to a group of schoolchildren in nazi Germany, circa 1941. His show frequently mocks Hitler himself, which causes endless annoyance to Major Krauss (Richard Lynch). Meanwhile, Dr. Hess (excellently played by Ian Abercrombie, best known as Mr. Pitt on "Seinfeld") is seeking to find a way to build the perfect soldier, and hears about the mystical secrets this Andre Toulon has discovered.
The true fun of this film lies in the various ways we discover the origins of each of the puppets. While I'm strongly against remaking classic horror films, I actually believe that, IF anyone ever decides to remake "Puppet Master," it should be of this film simply because I think it would be fascinating to actually SEE the characters before they became puppets. Their stories sound captivating.
The film is predictable - that I won't deny. Elsa, Toulon's beloved wife, is killed by the nazis, leading to the feverish revenge plot as Toulon turns his puppets loose on the government officials who have destroyed his life. But the true impact of this film is the acting - Rolfe and Abercrombie are unbelievable, and deserve accolades for turning (admittedly) another low-budget direct-to-video film into something very poignant and memorable.
Oh, and this film was the first appearance of Six Shooter, one of the more popular puppets in the series. Absolutely ingenius creation.

*** 1/2 / ****

[Lick Ness Monster]

PUPPET MASTER 4
1993
Director: Jeff Burr

Well, by this point Full Moon features had managed to get quite a bit out of its highly profitable, highly awesome 1989 original movie. The sequel, while nowhere near as good, was also a huge moneymaker for the fledgling direct-to-video company, and the third boasted excellent acting and even some decent writing.
So, around 1993, Full Moon was ready to hang up its flagship series, filming this and the fifth installment back-to-back with what they hoped would be an epic storyline and a fitting send-off for Blade, Tunneler, Pinhead et. al.
The character of Rick is a polarizing figure for PM fans. It seems that they either love or loathe him; I fall into neither camp. He's the Randy Orton of Puppet Master movies to me - he's not good, he's not bad, he's just meh. While some think his acting is the Puppet Master equivalent of Sophia Coppola in "Godfather III" (yeah, bad analogy, I know), I actually find hi acting more than passable - it's the script that falls short.
So Rick, a child prodigy who JUST HAPPENS to work on artificial intelligence projects, who JUST HAPPENS to work for an evil conglomerate who wants to exploit his projects, who JUST HAPPENS to be conducting his research at the Bodega Bay Inn where puppets who JUST HAPPEN to possess artificial intelligence way beyond what his computer can accomplish already reside. Yeah, I know these aren't Shakespearian movies, but when your script depends this heavily on coincidence you're asking for trouble.
The supporting characters are actually a little more interesting in this one, and a cut above cookie-cutter. Every PM movie, it seems, has to have its requisite psychic character and asshole throwaway victim, but in this film they are excellent, as Ash Adams' Cameron and Teresa Hill's Lauren are actually some engaging characters.
And then there's the film's main plotline - the demon Lord Sutek, keeper of the magic that Andre Toulon used to create his puppets, and his plot for revenge against all who would use it. This film introduced Sutek and the Totems, his personal demons who take on Toulon's now fully protagonistic puppets. This aspect of the film works very well, and Dave Allen Studios' masterful puppetry effects don't disappoint in the miniature battle scenes.
However, whenever the camera turns on Gordon Currie (which it does most of the time in this movie), it falls short. Great action in this movie, but the actual story that is presented to us is not compelling enough to hold my interest for an extended period of time.

** 1/2 / ****

[Lick Ness Monster]

OK, conway pop, Mad Agent, save my thread...

[Lick Ness Monster]

Well, back to writing this for no one in particular...



PUPPET MASTER 5: THE FINAL CHAPTER
1994
Director: Jeff Burr

Ah, alas - the eponymous "Final Chapter" prevalent in many a movie series.
First off, I have to commend Jeff Burr for taking on an ambitious project. It's safe to say that by this point, Blade, Six Shooter and the others had become extremely popular with horror fans, so much so that ending the series was considered no small undertaking. So kudos to the fan first and foremost for at least attempting to give the puppets a rousing sendoff.
But the sendoff isn't quite as rousing as we would like it to be (at least this particular one, as the puppets would return years later - more on that, eventually).
To recap: In "Puppet Master 4", new puppet master Rick (Gordon Currie), a child prodigy turned artificial intelligence expert, found Toulon's puppets at the Bodega Bay Inn and was caught in a deadly battle between Toulon's puppets and the Totems - minions of a demon Sutek who sought to reclaim his secret of life.
The opening of this film finds Rick being questioned by police detectives, as the human victims of the totems in the second film can only be pinned on Rick. Before we know it, however, Rick, accompanied by some dimwitted disciples of the sleazy Dr. Jennings (Ian Ogilvy) who wants to use the power of life for his own financial gain, are back at the legendary Inn where Sutek has once again dispatched a gigantic totem to kill all who want to possess the secret.
So, essentially, this is "PM 4"-lite. In other words, been there, done that, no real new developments - with the exception of the return of Torch, one of the cooler puppets from "Puppet Master 2." The battles between Sutek and the puppets are a little more thrilling and lifelike than in the last film (including one unintentionally hilarious moment as Blade strikes a karate pose to do battle with Sutek).
I also have to state that I believe that Toulon's form of puppet - Decapitron - is a huge letdown. Something with a name that cool should do more than shoot electrical beams - I wish I had a better description, but I don't.
In short, this film has a good setup, and could have had some new developments. My own suggestion? Why not have Dr. Jennings actually seize the power of life, keeping the puppets as his own, with the puppets eventually turning on said corporate sleazeball in a grotesque murder scene mirroring the classic scene in the first film, thus bringing the series full circle? At least, that makes sense to my little pea-brain.
An entertaining watch, but a forgettable one nonetheless.

** / ****

[tennesseetitan]

I thought these movies were all boring as hell.

It was cool at first and the puppets are bad ass but they get old to me as well.

[Big DSR Energy]

I'm just waiting for the "Curse of the Puppet Master" review.

I, uh, liked that one for some reason. *shrug*

[Lick Ness Monster]

dsr said:

I'm just waiting for the "Curse of the Puppet Master" review.

I, uh, liked that one for some reason. *shrug*

Believe it or not, so did I.

[Joe Neglia]

thomasrigby said:

dsr said:

I'm just waiting for the "Curse of the Puppet Master" review.

I, uh, liked that one for some reason. *shrug*

Believe it or not, so did I.

Well, it's certainly better than Retro Puppet Master, Puppet Master: The Legacy and Puppet Master Vs. Wind-Up Chimp With Cymbals.