- Film:
- David Schmoeller
Reviewed by: David M. Brown
- Rating:
- 3
Summary:
Puppet Master has some of the eighties charm of horror films from this decade.
More DetailsAbout Puppet Master (1989)
Puppet master Andre Toulon (William Hickey) discovers an ancient Egyptian power which enables him to give life to his dolls. But far from respecting the life so recently bestowed upon them, the dolls set about causing havoc, murder and mayhem in a variety of ingenious ways. Alex Whittaker (Paul Le Mat) and his band of merry psychics set out to investigate, but then there’s nothing the dolls like more than the inventive death of a nice fresh psychic…
Starring: Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle
Directed by: David Schmoeller
Runtime: 88 minutes
Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Amazon USAmazon UKIMDBReview: Puppet Master
The Puppet Master franchise is now more than ten films but it all started in 1989 with this one. The film begins in 1939 in Bodega Bay, California, where an aging puppeteer Andre Toulon (William Hickey) is working on living puppets. One puppet known as Blade comes racing to the hotel room and Andre puts him and the others away in a box which he hides in the wall. Two Nazi spies approach the room but Andre kills himself before the spies can. The film then moves on 50 years where four psychic friends make contact with one another, having had strange visions. They link these to an old friend, Neil Gallagher (Jimmie F. Skaggs), who now lives at the hotel in Bodega Bay with his wife, Megan (Robin Frates). When the psychics – Alex (Paul Le Mat), Dana (Irene Miracle), Carissa (Kathryn O’Reilly) and Frank (Matt Roe) – arrive they find that Neil has committed suicide. The friends are invited to stay for a while and begin to search for clues to what Neil was up to.
Although the psychics have a series of visions in the hotel and can sense danger, it doesn’t stop Neil’s secret weapons from attacking them. Although dead, Neil has gained control of Toulon’s puppets and they begin wandering the hotel with murder very much in mind. The main puppets that feature here are Blade, Pinhead, Jester, Tunneller and Leech Woman. They may be small in size but our puppet friends are certainly resourceful and start to pick the psychics off one by one. How is Neil controlling them from the grave though? Why are they attacking the other psychics? What does Megan have to do with it?
Puppet Master has some of the eighties charm of horror films from this decade. The story is okay, the puppets are an intriguing bunch, the cast are not great but not atrocious actors and there is enough unpleasantness here to make a reasonable evening’s entertainment for horror fans. Ten sequels followed this one film. It may take me a while to get through all of them but I expect I will in time.
Verdict: 3/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 706 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
