Puppet Master

1988 horror movie

Rating: 11/20

Plot: Former psychic colleagues assemble at the hotel after another colleague dies. There, they are assaulted by puppets.

I was disappointed that this movie, like Mousehunt, kills off William Hickey way too early. Man, that guy was terrific. He's really great as Toulon, who I suppose is the real "puppet master" in this scrambled mess of a movie.

This movie has something like nine sequels. I'm willing to bet I don't personally know a single person who has seen any of them though. Do I just not know the right people or is this a franchise that refuses to give up? Puppet Master, the little-engine-that-could of Hollywood.

Of course, the best thing about this movie, as you might expect, would be the puppets. They're stop-animated at times and are just odd enough to always be compelling. There's Blade, sort of the leader of the group.

Tunneler, a goofy-looking mo-fo who could very easily be a lame Masters of the Universe character.

Leech Woman, my favorite, who expels leeches from her mouth onto the bodies of her victims. No, I can't figure out how the heck she manufactures leeches. All I know is that it's strangely hot. 

Most uselessly of all, there's Pinhead, who spends the majority of his time on screen getting thrown around like a defected stuffed animal. 

And there's Rolfe:

The puppets all seem like they were planned in a hurry, almost like the person in charge of that part of the production forgot to design the things until the last minute, ironic since the movie has the word "puppet" in the title and all. There are some gruesome moments and an intriguing enough story, complete with a fair share of surrealistic touches, to make this worth the time if 80's-era cult horror movies. If you're looking for a coherent story, good characters, or actual scares, you might want to look elsewhere.