Wednesday, October 3, 2018

PUPPET MASTER – THE LITTLEST REICH: RENEWING A MODERN HORROR



With Halloween just a month away and little coming out this week I decided I had to check out and pass along the good, the bad or the ugly about a new movie trying to reinvigorate a series of films that seemed to lose track the further along it went. Back in 1989 when video stores were still in vogue a small company named Full Moon Pictures was creating and releasing their own franchise films straight to video. Their biggest hit by far was their Puppet Master films beginning with PUPPET MASTER. Here we are 29 years later and that series has spawned 11 sequels. None of them quite lived up to the first film but that is about to change with the 12th film in the series PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH.

Thomas Lennon (RENO 911) stars as Edgar, a struggling comic book artist who works at a comic book store. Recently divorced and forced to move back in with his parents he takes a moment to go through boxes of old toys in his closet and comes across a creepy one, a skull headed dark cloaked creation with knives in its arms. The toy is one of the old puppets made by master craftsman Andre Toulon, seen in flashbacks as the film opened and played by horror staple Udo Kier.

Edgar runs into the sister of one of his old friends and soon love is in bloom. When the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders, a series of murders killing involving Toulon, in a town nearby is about to take place, Edgar decides that he can put his doll into one of the auctions there. Along for the ride are his now girlfriend Ashley (Jenny Pellicer) and his boss/friend Markowitz (Nelson Franklin). The trio arrive at the hotel where the convention surrounding the anniversary is taking place and check in.

Shortly after they arrive they visit the home where Toulon was killed after the massacre took place. His strangely constructed home is now a museum and the main tour guide is Carol Doreski (Barbara Crampton), the officer who shot and killed Toulon 30 years ago. Humorless and all business Doreski walks the guests through the home featuring displays of Nazi memorabilia collected by Toulon as well as books ranging from biology to mysticism. The final item they see is his mausoleum, another strangely built building with rods attached to its roof.

Returning to the hotel Edgar and Ashley discover that his Toulon doll is missing. What they don’t realize is that the dolls have come home to roost, returning to life now that they are close to their home. Each hotel/convention guests with a doll suddenly finds themselves threatened by the doll they brought with them. Police detective Brown (Michael Pare) is brought in but it seems that as he investigates one murder another has taken place.

As the bodies begin to pile up only Edgar and his imagination seem to realize what is going on. When a full scale attack takes place the rest begin to believe him. Now it becomes survival of the fittest as the legion of dolls begin their attack on the humans in the hotel. Just who will survive if anyone is left to be seen.

As I said the original film had a certain charm to it when it was released. Relying mostly on practical effects (non-computer generated images or CGI images) it was a throwback to the ways horror movies were once made. The new film does the same with creature doll effects that are all done physically with real dolls rather than CGI. It adds a sense of reality to what is most definitely an unreal movie. The dolls are less individualized than in the original film and my guess is because by now most fans know which one is which.

Well shot, written and directed the movie clocks in a 90 minutes and that’s a positive thing. Too often movies like this shoot for longer running times but this fits perfect. Lennon turns in a solid and subtle performance here. I’m used to him being loud and grabbing center stage in most films I’ve seen him in but here he’s subdued and it works.

The movie offers a high creep value that will make you consider checking under the bed at night, making sure that there are no dolls hidden beneath waiting to slice Achilles tendons or waiting for you to fall asleep so they can climb aboard to kill you in your sleep. A few nude scenes and some adult situations as well as language makes this a movie not for children, but adults will have some fun with it. And if you were one of those who loved the original but tired of the characters after the far too many sequels then give this one a look. You might find yourself enjoying a new tale of Andre Toulon and his puppets once again.

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