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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