Returning home from college, Jane Magrew, (Emily Harrison) and her father, Dr. Magrew, (George Peck) run into town for chores and meet gas station worker Tank Winsley, (Josh Green) being picked on. Noticing his carving skills, they take him to visit their house, a museum of magic props and puppets. Shown a special group of puppets that are alive without being attached to strings, he is commissioned to help carve a new puppet for their show, and he does so at the expense of everything else. When he becomes implicated in a series of murders around town, no evidence is gathered up. Realizing that there's a sinister force at work that's causing the murders, they recruit the help of the puppets to put an end to the danger around town.
The Good News: There's some good stuff here that really helps the film. The fact that there's a return to the original puppets after introducing either new ones or different designs for the classic names is something to appreciate, and it gives the film a more natural slot with the rest of the series pitted back with it's familiar assortment of puppets. The stronger rating definitely comes into play here, making it much more graphic and violent and really letting loose at times. The blood does flow in it's few kills, as there's a couple of face slashings, a hook used to chop up legs and ankles, a drill to the crotch and a couple flurries of stabbing that really come off nicely. There's also a strong opening bit, as a dark-coat clad figure works feverishly to bury an unknown object in the ground during a raging thunderstorm, and sets it on fire bury burying it. The murders in the museum are fun, and the ending has a really nifty gore scene to go out on. It's all apart of the revenge section at the end, which here is justified, fun and comes off as wholly satisfying considering what had been spent on it before. This one also has a really nice ability to still be fun despite the brevity, and it doesn't seem as short as it is and it remains fun throughout. On the whole, this one wasn't as bad as it easily could've been.
The Bad News: There's a few problems with this one that do manage to keep it down. The fact that the relationship with the dolls being in their possession makes no sense, as this one has no scene of the elder passing on the secrets to the next generation. This one doesn't even give any knowledge they know how the dolls came to life to begin with. There's more emphasis on getting the structure right, meaning that it has more significance than the formula which brings them to life, a stark contrast from the others and something that should've been addressed. There's also how easily the newcomer takes to the revelation that they're alive, merely acknowledging it and then dismissing it, getting to the main crux of the story easier but also pointing out the flaw in the pacing. As is usual, the short time means that it plays cruel tricks on the pacing, as the police investigations with the friends, the first dinner time meal and the scene in the postal office go on for too long to beat a simple idea to death, but there's the ending, which just comes out of nowhere and then it's over, when it should've been stretched out a little more. The last flaw is the discussion of the inner will, shoe-horned into the plot for no reason and certainly isn't needed. These here hold the film down.
The Final Verdict: A much better entry than expected, this one has some good parts and a few mild flaws to put this one down. If you've come this far into the series, it's not a bad one and is certainly watchable by series standards, but if there's a problem with the series up until here, heed caution with it.
The Good News: There's some good stuff here that really helps the film. The fact that there's a return to the original puppets after introducing either new ones or different designs for the classic names is something to appreciate, and it gives the film a more natural slot with the rest of the series pitted back with it's familiar assortment of puppets. The stronger rating definitely comes into play here, making it much more graphic and violent and really letting loose at times. The blood does flow in it's few kills, as there's a couple of face slashings, a hook used to chop up legs and ankles, a drill to the crotch and a couple flurries of stabbing that really come off nicely. There's also a strong opening bit, as a dark-coat clad figure works feverishly to bury an unknown object in the ground during a raging thunderstorm, and sets it on fire bury burying it. The murders in the museum are fun, and the ending has a really nifty gore scene to go out on. It's all apart of the revenge section at the end, which here is justified, fun and comes off as wholly satisfying considering what had been spent on it before. This one also has a really nice ability to still be fun despite the brevity, and it doesn't seem as short as it is and it remains fun throughout. On the whole, this one wasn't as bad as it easily could've been.
The Bad News: There's a few problems with this one that do manage to keep it down. The fact that the relationship with the dolls being in their possession makes no sense, as this one has no scene of the elder passing on the secrets to the next generation. This one doesn't even give any knowledge they know how the dolls came to life to begin with. There's more emphasis on getting the structure right, meaning that it has more significance than the formula which brings them to life, a stark contrast from the others and something that should've been addressed. There's also how easily the newcomer takes to the revelation that they're alive, merely acknowledging it and then dismissing it, getting to the main crux of the story easier but also pointing out the flaw in the pacing. As is usual, the short time means that it plays cruel tricks on the pacing, as the police investigations with the friends, the first dinner time meal and the scene in the postal office go on for too long to beat a simple idea to death, but there's the ending, which just comes out of nowhere and then it's over, when it should've been stretched out a little more. The last flaw is the discussion of the inner will, shoe-horned into the plot for no reason and certainly isn't needed. These here hold the film down.
The Final Verdict: A much better entry than expected, this one has some good parts and a few mild flaws to put this one down. If you've come this far into the series, it's not a bad one and is certainly watchable by series standards, but if there's a problem with the series up until here, heed caution with it.
4.5/10
3.8/10 IMDB
3.8/10 IMDB
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