TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Puppet Master [1989]


RRP: £5.99
The Punch and you die show
Review date: 2008-10-22 Rating: 6 out of 10

This is the first in a long running series of Puppet Master films. Its an enjoyable little film, with great special effects and an involving story.
In a pre titles sequence we see Puppet Master Andre Toulon take his own life, as assassins approach his room, but not before he has hidden his magical puppets in a hidden panel.
Then the story turns to the present day, where four psychics have been summoned by a fifth Neil Gallagher, to the same Hotel where Toulon died. It seems they have all been taking part in research into Toulon's secrets of animating his puppets. When they arrive, they are greeted by Gallagher's wife, who informs them that he has died, having taken his own life. He may be dead, but there is something else alive in the Hotel, something determined that the Psychics wont discover Toulon's secrets.
The actors are all good, but its the murderous mannequins that are the real stars of the film. They are all excellently animated, and theres much fun to be had as they dispose of their human enemies. My particular favourite is Ms Leech who vomits leeches onto her victims body, draining them of blood.
Having praised the film, I must add that I feel it is a tad overrated, and not the classic many hail it as. Very enjoyable all the same.
The DVD release I am reviewing is excellent, with extras including a making of documentary. I give the film a solid 3 out of 5

Similar Products

Reviews


If you meet Ms. Leech, you should insist that she use mouth wash
Review date: 2007-11-21 Rating: 8 out of 10

She's perfect...gorgeous face, great figure, porcelain skin, raven hair down her back. She has only one flaw. She has a habit of gagging up thick, mucous-covered leeches while making deep, retching noises. Personally, I'd just think of England and avoid kissing her. Please note, in addition to the spoiled corpses in the movie, there are some other spoilers in these comments.

She's Ms. Leech, and the major delight of Puppet Master I is watching her and her other pint-sized companions, Blade, Pinhead, Jester and Tunneler do their stuff. We meet them in the Bodega Bay Inn when a small band of psychics arrive to learn why they seem to be getting strange mind messages from a former colleague, a man named Neil Gallagher. But it turns out Gallagher is dead...we see him in his casket. We also see him sitting in a chair and waltzing wearing white mask. We see him at the head of the table when his friends gather for dinner. Could it be that Gallagher discovered the secret formula an old puppet master named Andre Toulon used to bring life to his puppets? Hmmm. All we know for sure is that 50 years ago, at this very same Bodega Bay Inn, Toulon hid his puppets in a secret compartment, then fired a bullet into his mouth as Nazi agents burst in his room.

And now, in 1989, in the dead of night and in this deserted Inn, Blade, Pinhead, Jester, Tunneler and Ms. Leech seek out the visiting psychics and the Inn's lone maid to slash, smash, strangle, burrow and regurgitate them to death. Only Alex Whitacre and Megan Gallagher, Neil's wife, will survive that night. They find themselves at that same dining table, this time with the bodies of their friends slumped in chairs...and with a live Neil Gallagher maniacally announcing his hideous plot to bring life, not just to puppets, but to corpses.

But what's not to love about murderous little dolls? If a cult film requires a silly but amusing plot, home-spun acting that brings smiles, a stuffed pekinese that shows a lot of talent and death charging at you at ankle level, then Puppet Master is one of the best of the cult films. Among my favorite characters were Irene Miracle as Dana Hadley, a whiskey-swigging voluptuous psychic; Jimmie F. Skaggs as Neil Gallagher, a thin, prancing actor with a face like one of his puppets; Ms. Leech, of course; and Tunneler. When Tunneler goes to work on your face you'll wish you were back in your dentist's chair having a root canal done.

OVERRATED
Review date: 2007-11-01 Rating: 6 out of 10

Puppet Master Andre Toulon, (William Hickey) is working in the Bodega Bay Hotel on a new series of puppets when he is forced to put them into hiding in the hotel. Years later, a group of psychics, lead by Frank Forrester, (Matt Roe) his assistant Carissa Stamford, (Kathryn O'Reilly) and patients Alex Whitaker, (Paul Le Mat) Dana Hadley, (Irene Miracle) and Theresa, (Mews Small) are summoned to the hotel, now run by Megan Gallagher, (Robin Frates) for her husband's funeral. As they wander through the rooms of the hotel, they each begin to experience strange visions of past accidents in the hotel. As they're slowly picked off one-by-one by an unknown force, they discover that it was no accident that brought them together.

The Good News: There was some nice things in here that were pretty nice to see. The most impressive is the special effects used for the puppets. They move and look quite realistically, and are each filled with a specific personality that comes across quite easily. It's almost impossible to see strings used to move them, and this makes them appear quite lifelike. The attention to detail in their personality was also quite refreshing to see, and each one is quite distinctive from the others through a wide range of different techniques. Also nice to see was that all of the puppets seem to share equal screen time and each one gets to cause some serious havoc in their own right. All of them are capable for at least one death, which is a nice idea. The few attacks are well-handled. The scene where a character is blindfolded and bound in bed, thinking their companion is sexually stimulating them while it is in fact one of the dolls vomiting forth leeches which burrow into the skin is pretty twisted. The standout sequence, though, where one character is attacked, overcomes it only to find a second doll coming after her, which chases them and eventually tries to break into the elevator providing some decent shocks. It wasn't that bad when it had to be.

The Bad News: While being hailed as a great film, there was a lot to be left desired. The biggest one is that the film takes too long to really get going and when it does, it doesn't really deliver what you had expected as there's little else on show. There is a long time before the rampage starts, and they're all pretty decent attacks but they come very late in the movie. The motivation behind the villain is also kind of weird. Chances are, he could have resurrected himself quietly and no one would have been none the wiser. He had his reasons I guess, but they seem to be kind of cheesy. I'm still trying to figure out how they could've performed the rite on them-self. It's also the source of a big continuity error that is very hard to shake off. Since the magic only affects non-living tissue, then he couldn't have performed it prior to his own suicide. And obviously he couldn't have performed the Rite after he was already dead, yet it's never explained how that transpired. It's all not quite as good as it's been given.

The Final Verdict: Not quite the masterpiece that many say it is, yet it has moments where a great film is trying to come through. Fans of the series will undoubtedly like this one, and is recommended viewing for them, but it can run the others the wrong way if not in the right mood.


Watch this now, be wary with it's sequels...
Review date: 2005-02-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is the original and best of the Puppet Master films, keeping the Puppet team down to Blade, Jester, Leechwoman and Tunneller, and with a decent, older and more convincing cast. Irene Miracle is particularly good as a barmy fortune-teller, though I wouldn't get too attached to anybody if you know what I mean. The puppets look damn good in this first movie, with a cross between full stop-motion animation and Muppet style techniques giving them a firmly believable presence. Unlike the other films in the series, this movie has both a knowingly hammy script and some truly horrific moments, which makes for a fun, scary and well paced movie, which doesn't rely purely on the gimmick of the puppets to drive the film. If you like the fantasy elements of films like Child's Play, Nightmare on Elm Street or Hellraiser, you may find this low budget gem of a film equally interesting. I recommend this to anybody with an interest in horror or fantasy movies, as it is a great little movie.

Just Good Fun!
Review date: 2004-07-24 Rating: 8 out of 10

I watched this film in an edited form when I was younger and wasn't too impressed but saw it again recently and really enjoyed it. The film does have some originality about it.

I wouldn't say this was at all scary but it is good fun and you can't help but love some of the puppet characters (Blade I particulary like).

For a direct-to-video release this effects are good, on occasion you can tell the puppets aren't real, but most of the time they look as though they really do move on their own.

If you like B-movies you will enjoy this, it's just a bit of fun really!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Paul Le Mat
Jimmie F. Skaggs
Irene Miracle
Robin Frates
William Hickey

Creators:
Paul Le Mat (Primary Contributor)
William Hickey (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Prism Leisure
Manufacturer: Prism Leisure
EAN: 5034377011005
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2002-06-17
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1989-10-12
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional