Review: Puppet Master (1989)

Stars: Irene Miracle, Paul le Matt

Budget: $400,000

Directed By: David Schmoeller

Puppet master I remember watching this again as a young kid and not really understanding it fully other than it was moderately funny, had some cool little puppets in there and wasn't scary in the slightest. On rewatching it a few years later I finally was able to follow it's story a little better (though not much as I touch on later). I had always gotten it into my mind that the puppets were evil see and though this is true here they do end up some times being either the heroes, antiheroes or just the villian's in later instalments.

Later instalments of which there are many, possibly more than most other horror franchises actually. These possessed puppets have been the focus of many a film maker. Despite the fact that series has never garnered a massive ratings hit in any of its iterations, even to today it only has a small cult following. Smaller than than many other franchises that live on to today like child's play or Friday the 13th, yet there are fans there for this series.

The original here centres on a puppet maker named André Toulon. He has discovered a method of bring inanimate creations to life. It is 1939 when we meet him and he is working on a new puppet.
We see some of his other creations skulking about as he finishes up. One is khan who is watching through the window, the other is puppet master staple blade.
A white faced grinning puppet that has a long black coat, black Stetson and a large sharp knife for one hand, hence the name.
Blade sees two Nazis (who we later learn have been looking for Toulon) enter the building. He manages to make it back to the room before they do. Andre finishes the puppet and places it along with the all the others in a sealed of hole in the wall. Before the soldiers get to him he ends his own life with a gunshot.

Flash to 1989. Random psychics Alex, Dana, Frank, and Carrissa are having odd visions (funny to see Barbara Crampton cameo in one of these scenes) each of them make contact with a mutual friend called Neil Gallagher. They work out that they have found the secret hiding place of Andre Toulon. They all go to the Bodega bay Inn and are greeted by Megan Neil's wife, the inn being the one we saw from the beginning in 1939, she proceeds to tell them that neil shot himself.
Disbelieving but curious the psychics investigate and have more visions. Someone being raped in an elevator, another one is a masked guy dancing with Megan, who turns out to be Neil when he takes his mask off.

Each one of the psychics has a special area, some or able to touch and receive a vision while others like Dana can tell fortunes. Later a puppet with a misproportioned body and small head (pinhead) climbs out of Neil's casket.
We learn later that the four of them were helping Neil research an ancient way of alchemy. Doing so Frank and Neil discover the ability to make the elixir that bestows life on inanimate objects. Unable to perfect it they further learn about Toulon who was a 'True Alchemist' and seek his work out to help them.
Neil inexplicably vanished soon after and a few of them believe he ran off with some new knowledge he found.

That night the puppets get up to all sorts of mischief from knocking out Theresa to just downright killing Carrissa and Frank when they try, in a sexy fun time way to contact Neil.
Dana also ends up killed in a way she forsaw by blade cutting her throat.
Finally Megan takes Alex to André Toulon's room where she says Neil found the secret to the formula. Afraid for his life he and Megan rush downstairs to find the others corpses in the dinning room with a very much alive Neil.

This film is messed up, it feels like it wasn't cut properly in places and the story is genuinely all over the place. This series I can genuinely say got better as the film's went on well atleast to a midway point where it kind of slumped again. One interesting fact is that they also did a crossover with demonic toys (an even worse franchise than this) one possitive I can give this series is they are entertainingly funny, the dolls are very creative too especially tunneler who has a spiral drill on his head. Effects wise I can say some are downright terrible with others middling to fair.
THN awards puppet master a two star rank with a mild watch it if your in the mood recommendation.