Puppet Master: Legacy

Puppet Master: The Legacy features a woman named Macclain (Kate Orsini) who has been hired to discover the secret behind puppet master Andre Toulon's (played by actors Guy Rolfe & William Hickey) serum that manages to give life to his inanimate wooden puppets such as Blade, Tunneller, Six Shooter, Torch, Leech Woman, Pinhead & the cool Jester who each become living killing machines ready to protect their creator. Macclain breaks into Toulon's final resting place Bogeda Bay Inn where she finds Toulon's old friend Eric Weiss (Jacob Witkin) & threatens to torture & kill him unless he hands the secret over, as the two argue the truth about Andre Toulon is revealed as his entire life & the events surrounding his killer puppets are told...

The problem with Legacy isn't the fact that it the majority of it shows all the past movies with a very small subplot.

The problem is that it was horribly edited and with a better storyline could have meshed the current situation with Peter and the previous story lines so much better. I'm actually kind of a fan of the idea to playback all the memories but the wrong scenes were shown and it didn't flow. It's not a good movie at all, the eighty percent of old scenes were boring and the new twenty percent were highlighted with a couple of horrible acting and more questions than answers. The lady agent is just horrendous and her story is completely far-fetched and laughable. I'd stay away from the movie or else just fast forward through the past events and check out the terribly cheesy plot that comes in and trickles out every so often. This was all app supposed to be the last movie but it would be 7 years later before a new movie would be released. 

2/10
2.6/10 IMDB

Puppet master 6

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.

4.5/10
3.8/10 IMDB

Retro Puppet Master (Puppet Master 7)

This tale precedes the events of Puppet Master III, and explores the origins of the puppets themselves.
Sadly, as grand a concept as this has- a story starting in Egypt in the late 1800's where the secrets of a God's power are stolen and then moving to a young Toulon running a puppet show in Paris in the early 1900s, the whole affair is a little too drawn out to fulfil it's potential.
It's a shame because director Decoteau has previously directed two of the stronger Puppet Master entries- part 3 and 6, a fun return to form after a couple of really bad sequels.
This is not to say it's a film without merit where any fan of the Puppet Master series will enjoy finding out about how it all began, the cronies of the god are fairly sinister in an Agent Smith/ Matrix kind of way, and there are a couple of new puppets to keep you entertained.
The film could be described as ambitious too, considering budgetary constraints. Creating a period piece obviously creates complications in filming, so this, as with Puppet Master III, is admirable- the simplest route was not selected.
On the downside, the puppets themselves move especially badly in this entry. It's a far cry from the beautiful stop-motion animation of earlier films.  We really are talking about movement like a 4 year old's Barbie. Also considering these are meant to be early versions of the puppets we know and love, some of these wooden versions really miss the mark. Blade especially. When looking at the cover I actually assumed Dr Death's skeletal appearance was an early, and quite impressive, early version of Blade, when in fact he's this bizarre troll-faced puppet, with only the hair and costume in common. Quite sad really, as the puppets are after all the stars. And the male lead, Greg Sestero as a young Andre Toulon, is perhaps more wooden than the puppets.
Still, it's worth renting perhaps rather than buying, (if you are a completest then it's a buy) for those who have to know how it all began. Just don't expect anything super special.

5/10
4/10 IMDB

Puppet master 5

First of all dont beleive all the harsh words that were said about this sequal. In myt opinion it is definently worth a watch. This one was creative and diffrent as each movie in the series.  Puppet Master 5 was supposted to be the last one in the series.  This was shot back to back with part 4 picking up right where part 4 ended.  Director Jeff Burr does a great job behind the camera, able to pull off a few suspenseful moments, adds plenty of tension and throws in a few bloddy murders here and there. The acting remains reasonably above par for this type of film. GORDON CURRIE is perfection as Rick, the wiz kid set to become the new puppet master, while CHANDRA WEST is fun to watch as his girlfriend. The human villains are really fun to watch as well, especially the one playing the head of the company Rick works for, who has comes to Bodega Bay Inn to capture the puppets & their secret in order to sell it to the highest bidder. Sadly THERESA HILL who is rather talented who had her character put to good use in the last film, is wasted in her role as the psychic channeller Lauren. Since she spends the entire film in a coma, lying in a hospital bed. Her part could so easily have been written around since she serves the plot none at all. David Allen returns to do the stop motion animation & was clearly having a ball since the effects seen here are really something special & best of all TORCH is back (though where he was in Part 4 is never explained).
  It's clear that FULL MOON deliberately took one film apart in order to make two movies, since there really isn't that much going on in Part 5, that it couldn't have been added to Part 4 to make one movie. The vast majority of the scenes here feature people walking down dark hallways looking for the puppets or stumbling around when running from the Totem demon, which added alongside a five minute flashback sequence, a three minute opening credits intro & a four minute closing credits sequence, & several pointless scenes of Sutek trying to bring the totem to life after several pelvic thrusts, scattered throughout the first forty minutes of the movie eats up a sizable chunk of the films sparse 80 minute running time. A lot of the footage here seemingly was padded in, to max out the films running time. Puppet Master 5 ends on what is probably the best note possible: a near-nonstop special effects extravaganza in which the puppets truly shine (if only for a time), followed by a heart-warming moment between all the leads. This was originally intended as the final film, and I almost wish it was, as it would have been a fun note to end on.

5.5/10 

5/10 IMDB

Puppet master 4

Puppet Master 4 is set at the abandoned Bogeda Bay Inn where teenage boy genius Rick Meyers (Gordon Currie) is working on the Omega Project for the Biotech Institute which concerns the pursuit of artificial intelligence. Rick's girlfriend Susie (Chandra West) and a couple of her friends including psychic Lauren (Teresa Hill) and the obnoxious Cameron (Ash Adams) turn up to stay for the weekend with him. Susie notices a strange puppet and Rick say's it's been there since he moved in, then Lauren feels something evil about it and leads the friends to a large chest in a forgotten storage room and several other strange puppets inside it as well as the diary of German toymaker and puppeteer Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) which describes a green serum which can animate the puppets and give them life which by an odd coincidence is just the thing that Rick is working on. Meanwhile Sutek the ancient Eygptian God whom Toulon stole the reanimation secret from in the first place wants it back and sends various little monsters out to get it and kill anyone who has learned about it starting with Rick, his chums and Toulon's puppets...
Originally having the working title Puppet Master 4: The Demon this was directed by sequel specialist Jeff Burr whose other credits include Stepfather II (1989), Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), Pumpinhead II: Blood Wings (1994) as well as the following Puppet Master sequel Puppet Master 5 (1994) which was actually made at the same time as Puppet Master 4 and continues the story with pretty much the same cast of actor's and character's. Event at only 75 minutes long not much actually happens, out of the four main teenage cast members only one is killed and I didn't like the fact that the Toulon puppets don't get to do anything and aren't used as the main threat which ends up falling to Sutek's little monsters which are forgettable and don't have any particular stand out features.
A lot of the previous Puppet Master films continuity is forgotten about or ignored here as well, I mean where's Torch from Puppet Master II (1991) which this follows? Although having said that Torch does appear in Puppet Master 5. The character of Andre Toulon has been completely rewritten and changed which doesn't help and the puppets which were once so cool and so deadly are turned into the hero's here and actually protect Rick and his mates from Sutek. The majority of the special effects are surprisingly good with simple yet very effective stop-motion animation and animatronic puppet effects used throughout, I just wish the puppets were meaner and had been given more to do. The only really terrible effect is the awful rubber monster suit that is supposed to pass as Sutek the Demon God. The gore levels are low, someone has their finger cut off and there's some mild blood splatter but this feels like it was made for a PG rating and if there hadn't been some 'F' word swearing it would surely have gotten that PG rating.
Production wise Puppet Master 4 is pretty good, the wonderful location used for the Bodega Bay Inn scenes really help as I'm sure the production team would have struggled to build sets that were half as good and anywhere near as atmospheric. The cinematography is quite nice on occasion with some moody lighting and a power cut coupled with a good thunder storm going on outside with sporadic lightning flashes always helps the feel. The acting is alright by a fairly young and attractive cast, most of whom return for the next one Puppet Master 5.
Puppet Master 4 has a few good points like the return of the puppets and some nice special effects and one or two good moments but it's nowhere near as good as the first three and you can tell the producers are milking the franchise and see it as a money making exercise rather than anything else, or maybe I'm just being too cynical? Splitting what would have sat happily as one long film into two 70 odd minute ones along with turning the once killer puppets into the good guy's and reducing the gore and nudity to virtually zero probably say's it all really. If you are a purest and must watch every sequel in the series, then watch this. If your not, then you can stop after part 3 and skip to part 6. Just my opinion.

5.0/10

5.2/10 IMDB

Puppet master 3

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge is easily the best of the series. Of course that's not saying much, and the film definitely has its flaws, but if you watch the films in order you will be amazed at the jump in quality from the awful first two movies to this third installment .The third entry of the straight-to-video series in producer Charles Band's Full Moon's "Puppet Master" goes for a prequel set-up in outlining the origins of Andre Toulon and his animated puppets in the backdrop of a war-torn Berlin through the Nazis up rise in WW2.

During WW2 the Nazis led by Dr. Hess are conducting experiments on life and death, which involves reviving their dead to increase their manpower. However Hess is having trouble controlling his test subjects and the animation doesn't last for long. But Andre Toulon and his life-like puppets capture his eyes, but also that of the Gestapo's Major Krauss who sees Toulon and his puppet show negative propaganda against Nazi regime. They raid his theatre and in the process Toulon's wife is murdered by Krauss. Toulon manages to escape custody and then seeks revenge with the help of his puppets while on the run from the Gestapo.

"Puppet Master 3 is a straightforward (puppeteer of revenge), but effective low-budget b-picture that's a tad more ambitious and constructively complete in its narrative's vision than its formulaic, but playful predecessors. I would tag it as the best of the lot, so far. There's excellent performances stemming from the likes of Guy Rolfe (who sympathetically fills the role as Toulon), Ian Abercrombie and a suitably nasty, cold hearted villain turn by Richard Lynch as Nazi Major Krauss. Rolfe and Lynch simply standout, giving it a little more professionalism and class. What also makes their acting noticeable is that they have a better than average script, which is suggestively tailored and tightly projected in letting the plot evolve and giving space to provide a back-story to the puppets (especially that of Leech woman and Blade). Director David DeCoteau's compact handling is quickly paced and uses the obvious back-lot sets quite well where he crafts lasting tension, seamless excitement and atmospheric imagery of the artistically etched puppets (which once again are expertly engineered and brought across) as they gleefully hand out violently nasty and bloody attacks on the Nazis. Richard Band's recycled score is still as racy, but consisting of an edgy kick within the darker moments.

What amazes me is how well the movie handles a topic as sensitive as Nazi Germany. It's certainly not Schindler's List--the "Germans" are obviously not German, most of the acting is sketchy at best, and some scenes are very, very boring. But the movie actually seems to respect the time period, and never pokes fun at the Nazis or what they did. Indeed, Toulon's explanation of how he makes his puppets gives everything a much more poignant significance. Too bad it all conflicts with the rest of the series, where Toulon is usually a monster and occasionally fights his wooden creations. Everything would have been so much better if only they had used this story for the entire series. Even more amazing is how the film manages to deliver the comedy and inventive death scenes Puppet Master fans expect without ever cheapening the time period or feeling like a different movie. The demise of the main Nazi is easily one of the most gruesome deaths I've seen on film. I bet it took them days to come up with it.

Puppet Master III isn't a classic, but it is one of the better ones. If your a fan of the series, then don't pass this one up!

7.5/10

6.0/10 IMDB

Vault of horror

Yet another good Amicus horror anthology - this one follows the format seen in 'Dr Terrors House of Horrors' and 'Tales from the Crypt', with five strangers telling (or being told) their stories.
'Vault of Horror' starts with a panoramic view of London, which moves round to a modern tower block. Five men enter the building's lift at various levels going down to the ground floor. The lift carries on to the sub-basement where the men find themselves trapped. To kill the time they recount their recurring nightmares to each other.
Whilst much about these anthology films is sub-standard, the short story format doesn't allow boredom to set in and as a viewer I find them enjoyable to watch. They know their limitations and concentrate on giving the horror fan numerous quick-fixes to keep him more than happy.
'Vault of Horror' isn't quite up to the standard of the two genre classics mentioned earlier, but its certainly up with the likes of 'Asylum' and 'From Beyond the Grave' (the latter being slightly over-rated in my opinion).
As is usual the five stories range in quality - the 1st and 3rd segments (Midnight Mess & This Trick'll Kill You) are the above-average standard fare; the 2nd segment (The Neat Job) looks like it is the comic relief story. This impression is mainly due to Terry-Thomas in the main role and on closer inspection the segment is more of a psychological horror/thriller entry - not as fun to watch but still average. The 4th story (Bargain in Death) is the disappointment - the story is fine featuring insurance fraud, betrayal, premature burial etc. but the segment self-destructs with implausible coincidences, poor dialogue and disastrous comic-relief - Arthur Mullard as a grave-digger and Robin Nedwell as a medical student. This leaves Tom Baker to rescue things in the final story (Drawn and Quartered), as a vengeful artist who's been ripped off by critics and gallery owners. This is a longer segment with good characterisation and a decent script which could have been fleshed out into a full-length horror film in its own right.
We all know what will happen in the end, but this only reinforces the affection that fans will have for the film and others like it. It really is a shame that Hammer didn't branch out into the anthology area in the early 70's as well - with these films Amicus proves itself to be the near equal of that more famous British studio.
    This was just recently releaed on bluray uncut thanks to Scream Factory.  It is on a double feature with Tales from the Crypt. This is a must pick up beacuse you get to see it in its intended glory and not the cut version that was put out earlier.

7.5/10
6.6/10 IMDB