Puppet Master Series

So I just finished watching Movies 1-6. I had seen the original Puppet Master a couple times but never bothered with any of the sequels. I still have more sequels to get through but I figured I'd start this.

Anyone else a fan of this series? Also if you've seen the latest two movies (Axis of Evil and Axis Rising), how are they?

Anyway, for the unenlightened, the movies are about...well, killer puppets. There's a wide variety of murderous capabilities ranging from good old hack and slash to immolating to death by leeches.

The first film was straight-up horror. Not bad and a bit creepy even. Second and third movies got a bit less horror-centric and they definitely were more interesting. Gave more info on our puppet pals. 4 and 5 were very silly but they turned the puppets into out-and-out good guys which was a very smart move.

Movie 6 was awful. Don't ever watch it.

Also if you are a fan of the series - favorite puppet?

I'm a fan of the earlier Full Moon Pictures stuff in general.

The first film is fine, but the pacing is a bit leaden. Not my favorite film from David Schmoeller, but a pretty good one. II is a fun movie, and also introduced Torch, who's one of my faves. III is possibly my favorite, though it has typical low-budget gaffes like the stuntman they found to double Walter Gotell in the scene where Six-Shooter kills him(seriously, it's hilarious).

4 and 5 are fun movies. Really cheesy stuff, but entertaning.

Curse of the Puppet Master sucked, but it was at least an interesting attempt to make the troupe killers again(which is probably why the death scenes were the only interesting thing about it).

Retro Puppet Master is a little better than the previous film. I normally don't like when R-rated franchises go to PG-13, but it's not like the others are all-out gorefests.

Everything afterwards can be described as crummy to varying degrees.

And my favorite puppet is probably Tunneler. They're all pretty cool, though.

edited 9th Oct '12 10:28:00 PM by Prowler

It's good to see another fan!

You like other Full Moon stuff too? Do you have any recommendations? I'm pretty sure the only thing I've seen by them is this series.

My only complaint about the first movie was why on Earth didn't Dana fucking scream? You might remember she had several struggles with Pinhead and Blade and survived for what must have been five minutes at least. Not once in all of this did she let out more than a slightly below-normal gasp or moan.

It's very irritating because we all do the "don't do that you idiots!" thing when it comes to horror movie protagonists. But her not even letting out a single high-pitched eek is a bit too much.

(It even dwarfs the fact she was crawling for several feet when she could have easily limped along with her good foot)

The biggest problem with Curse of the Puppet Master was its emphasis on human characters who are not really that interesting. Admittedly Tank is probably one of the better heroes the series has seen but I'm still watching the movie for the puppets and not his clumsy romance with the crazy doctor's daughter.

The ridiculously abrupt ending didn't do the movie any favors either.

Also I'm wondering - did you like the guy who played Toulon in Movie 2? I was disappointed when he didn't return. He had the most wonderfully Obviously Evil acting.

As for my fave puppet, I guess Pinhead. I like him because he was kinda worthless in the first two films but he got pretty awesome later on. As you said though, all the puppets are great.

Castle Freak is one of the few Full Moon flicks I could call un-ironically good. Demonic Toys is hilarious, blood-splattered cheese. The Subspecies films are decent.

And, yeah, Dana spending five minutes getting beaten and slashed at with nary a loud noise from her is pretty ridiculous.

Along the same lines, I think if I got a giant drill right in the mouth, I would make a noise loud enough for somebody in the same room to hear it.

And Steve Welles is a delight as Toulon. (When I heard Bane's voice in The Dark Knight Rises, I kept thinking back to that performance.)

I'm reviving this because I just learned of this bookand it even has an audiobook and it rules https://www.audible.com/pd/It-Came-From-the-Video-Aisle-Audiobook/B0836M9P3Y?qid=1623843833&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=1H06TTNFV6AHN10CDSNK

There is something that I have always wondered.

Are the doll and the guy whose soul the inventor uses to create the doll the same person?

Or does the soul only serve as a kind of fuel, and the doll becomes a different person?