A group of psychics and researchers' investigation is cut short when murderous puppets belonging to a man who committed suicide fifty-years early ruin their stay at the Bodega Bay Inn, California.
There's something creepy about inanimate objects coming to life, Puppet Master is no exception. Let's put nostalgia aside, some of the performances are hammy, some of the effects are ropy (even for the time) and that's just touching the surface.
Puppetmaster through all it's faults has a great premise with charm to match courtesy of director David Schmoeller. Some of the puppet effects to David Allen and Mark Rappaport's credit are very well executed and Richards Bands accompanying music score is genuinely creepy.
For those who are not familiar with the plot by Kenneth J. Hall and Band the film begins in 1939 with Nazis arriving at the Bodega Bay hotel in search of Andre Toulon (William Hickey) who holds the secret of bring the dead to life. Cut-to the 'present day', a group of psychics assemble to pay their last respects to their shady acquaintance Neil Gallagher and his widower, however things go bad when the Toulon's puppets begin to kill the guests but who is behind the puppets killing spree?
Thankfully Paul Le Mat and Robin Frates straight performances give the film some weight but the killer puppets themselves are the stars of the show each with their own personalities, with names like Blade, Pinhead, Ms Leech Woman and Tunneler you know your in for a good time. Thanks to Sergio Salvati's cinematography Puppetmaster has a quirky dreamlike quality that many big budget horror films lack.
Although no scenes were cut, the question is, and one more pressing than - what is the meaning of life? The biggest question is what happened to Theresa? Answers on a postcard...
Overall, Puppet Master remains one of the best killer doll films out there.
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