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However, being that Heinlein was one of the few sci-fi authors I +didn't+ read (I'm more of an Asimov and Bradbury fan myself) as a kid growing up, and I haven't seen the original film, I didn't have any problems with this movie when it came out in theaters. In fact, I found the premise genuinely creepy, the effects highly believable, and the presence of Donald Sutherland to be a masterful touch. It may not go down in the all-time pantheon of "greatest sci-horror films" ever, but if it was playing on HBO I wouldn't change the channel. Sometimes I think people get too caught up in whether a story is true to the original, and forget that it's JUST a movie and they should try to enjoy it on that basis.

Aliens have landed in the small town of Ambrose, Iowa. The locals have made an attraction of an alien landing. Government agents Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland) and son Sam (Eric Thal) arrive with Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) and Neil Jarvis (Richard Belzer) to investigate. They discover stingray-like creatures using humans as puppets. They escape back to base where agents Alex Holland (Keith David) and Dr. Graves (Will Patton) examine the parasite.

The problem for this movie is that the solution seems so obvious. Everybody should walk around without their shirts. The soldier can have extra armor on their backs. The President should be warning the general public. The movie starts out great with Julie Warner and her boobs theory. However, the tension peters out after they escape from the town. The movie wants to have a big third act but it's never big enough.

It looks like a UFO has landed in a small Iowa farm town. A top-secret US government investigative team from the "Office of Scientific Central Intelligence" goes out to investigate. The three stars are: limping leader Donald Sutherland (as Andrew Nivens), his handsome son and partner Eric Thal (as Sam Nivens) and sexy alien biologist Julie Warner (as Mary Sefton). They are about to conclude the whole thing was a teenagers' hoax, but Ms. Warner realizes aliens have landed. The reason, according to Warner, is that no males on the scene have noticed her arousing figure or tried to look down her unbuttoned blouse. You can almost hear her say, "Don't look at that alien spaceship, dammit, look down my shirt!"...

Now, these aliens attach themselves to your back (your spinal column, specifically) and they multiply quickly. The way to see if someone has been "infected" is to order the person to, "Take off your shirt!" Since this trick works, we're left wondering why most people in the cast are allowed to keep their backs covered. Most viewers would not protest Warner and Mr. Thal acting without their shirts (Thal goes without pants, too). If you don't mind wondering about plot confusions and contrivances like that, you could do worse than Stuart Orme's vision of Robert A. Heinlein's science-fiction novel. Thal and Warner are an attractive couple and Mr. Sutherland is a classic performer who can improve movies by simply being there.

****** The Puppet Masters (10/21/94) Stuart Orme ~ Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Donald Sutherland, Keith David

One science-fiction film that turns out to be less disappointing than expected is this loose adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel.

Donald (give me another part in an alien pod movie) Sutherland interprets the role of Adam "The Old Man" Nivens, head of a secret government protection agency that has its hands full trying to stop an alien invasion by slug-like mental parasites which tap into people's brains, controlling them toward their own ends.

Eric Thal (of A STRANGER AMONG US) draws a blank where a strong character should be in the role of Sam, son of the Old Man, and fellow agent. Julie Warner (from DOC HOLLYWOOD) fares a little better as Mary, a NASA xenobiologist along for the roller coaster ride.

The opening scenes do justice to the setting and atmosphere of the book, and the skeleton of the original plot is unpredictable and thrilling, but eventually, the compromises in adaptation give rise to Hollywood-style sci-fi conventions such as alien hives.

Several realistic, key elements are thrown out, along with almost all of the sharp dialogue which made the book a hit.

However, the special effects are convincing, and the cinematography and editing are streamlined and tight. Far from being definitive, this version of the tale is nonetheless sufficiently satisfying and worth a look.

Not having read any of the highly acclaimed writer Robert A. Heinlein's work, including the original novel "Puppet Masters", I can't really comment on whether or not this piece does him or his work any justice, but from a point of view that hasn't in any way been influenced by his work or others' opinions(...maybe scratch that last one), I must admit that it's not half bad. The plot is pretty good, and it keeps developing at an adequate rate, while keeping a fair pace, but it seems to drop a tad once this entered its last half or so. The acting is decent enough, with Donald Sutherland being the one to stand out and deliver a marvelous performance. The characters are well-written, well-casted, credible and believable. This is strangely similar to TV features, in the way it's shot and edited. The special effects are great, but short of spectacular. The creature design was reasonably interesting, and well thought out, and the related effects are actually relatively nicely done. The science fiction aspects of this, with the aliens and their actions are well-done. I liked the way the film utilizes mood and atmosphere rather than excessive gore to scare and thrill the audience. The atmosphere and mood are decent enough, just not as well-done as they could have been. The movie also fails to inspire the same paranoia and fear that, for example, John Carpenter's The Thing does. Finally, the climax was a bit overly Hollywood-like, but hey, this does provide about 110 minutes worth of sufficiently entertaining science fiction-horror about the always dreaded extra-terrestrial invasion. I recommend it to fans of the genre and/or Donald Sutherland(it should also be noted that Keith David rocks, as he has something of a tendency to do). 6/10

This was a decent sci-fi flick. Good performances by Julie Warner and Eric Thal, and of course there's no role that Donald Sutherland can't pull off. Alien effects were revoltingly good. OK, it's not completely true to Heinlein's magnificent novel. Hollywood has a formula, (the happy ending, the obligatory love interest of one or more of the stars, etc.) and any deviation from it is exceedingly rare. That's why foreign films are good, because they are not bound by the formula. I've noticed that great sci-fi movies are almost always originally written for the screen, rather than adapted from books. Books are always better than movies, but science fiction seems to be particularly so.

When reports of an extraterrestrial landing in Iowa are reported, a team of federal agents with the OSCI (Office of Scientific Investigation) consisting of exobiologist Dr. Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) father and son Andrew and Sam Nivens (Donald Sutherland and Eric Thal), the trio soon discover that despite reports of the landing being a hoax/tourist trap, it is in fact very real and has unleashed scores of parasitic slugs that control human bodies by attaching themselves the back and inserting themselves into the spinal cord and brain. With time running out, the team races to try and find out how to stop this invasion.

The Puppet Masters is a 1994 science fiction thriller loosely based off the 1951 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. Thanks in large part to derivative works most notably the 1954 novel The Body Snatchers and its various adaptations, The Puppet Masters hadn't found itself ingrained in popular consciousness in the same way its derivatives had. Executive producer Michael Engelberg had been a fan of the original novel having read it in his youth, and with his friendship with Michael Eisner who became head of the Walt Disney Company he was able to develop the film over the course of 8 years until its eventual release in 1994. Due to a mixture of cost saving measures as well as distancing itself from similar films, the script played very loosely with the source novel shifting the premise from 50 years in the future to a more contemporary setting, as well as removing various more outlandish elements that would have either been too costly or too silly removed from their original context. Made for $15 million, the movie was largely ignored by the public opening in 6th place and only making a little over $8 million before being pulled from theaters. Critical reception wasn't particularly kind either with many making unfavorable comparisons to prior films such as The Thing and of course Body Snatchers. There's nothing objectively wrong with the movie, but by that same measure there's nothing all that right with it either.

From the opening setpiece in rural Iowa, The Puppet Masters hits most of the major beats audiences are familiar with when it comes to this kind of "silent invasion" type story. However, unlike either the 1956 or 1978 Body Snatcher films which told the story from an everyman point of view or John Carpenter's The Thing which put the setting in a place of tight isolation, The Puppet Masters features the story largely being observed from the outside by our three characters and that presents a major issue in giving us any kind of thrills. Because our leads are so removed from the actual invasion and often viewing it from satellite scans or video monitors it leaves us and our characters feeling detached from the story in the same way one can watch a shark through thick glass at an aquarium. Now in the last 20 minutes we do get more actual tension and unease and there's occasional episodes of direct threats, but for the most part the movie takes a very dry and procedural take on this material and it just robs the premise of life.

As for the cast, they do what they can despite the thin roles given to them. While Donald Sutherland and Keith David are always welcome, they're presence here only serves to remind you of the superior takes on this kind of material such as Sutherland's very good 1978 Body Snatchers remake or David's role in They Live which both took this premise and in their own ways added a bit of humor or satirical spin to the material. The movie feels very mechanical in nature with none of the cast getting a chance to stand out as we move from points that feel manufactured rather than engrossing and the cast of veteran actors have to rely on their own charm and charisma to pick up the slack. Unfortunately this really shows with Eric Thal who is just a charisma vacuum and he feels so flat in his delivery especially in comparison to Sutherland. I don't know if it was bad direction or just a lack of tying into the character, but as a lead he often feels overshadowed by the background elements.

The Puppet Masters is a very thin and basic take on the body snatcher type format that hasn't done itself any favors by toning down the more outlandish aspects of the original novel into something more homogenized and manufactured. It's a movie that exists, does what it does, and ends without leaving much impact.

Probably produced following the smash success of The X Files, The Puppet Masters is a pretty solid slice of alien invasion pulp fiction. The casting is good, with Eric Thal and Julie Warner proving to be charming enough stand-ins for Mulder and Scully. Elsewhere, sci-fi genre fans may appreciate the appearances of Yaphet Kotto (Alien), Keith David (The Thing) and of course the great Donald Sutherland (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers).

Behind the camera, it's an unusually British affair with director Stuart Orme, cinematographer Clive Tickner, and composer Colin Towns all heralding from the UK. They do nice work - Orme provides a tense and pacey first half, Tickner's very fine work lends a stylish visual sheen, and Towns' music is lushly complex.

However, although it starts out well, the flick loses some energy and traction around the middle and doesn't get it back. Its potential begins to slip away and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe budget/script cuts. The last third in particular, with its under-powered action set-pieces and somewhat perfunctory ending, suggests that the film had hit the glass ceiling of its production resources... or perhaps even its creators' full interest.

Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable sci-fi thriller for a good part of its running time. Might make a nice viewing companion with The Hidden (1987) or certainly any number of old X Files episodes!

I remember watching this as a kid and thinking it was so scary. Now on rewatch I realize it is a campy sci-fi movie but with some good practical effects and John Carpenter vibes.

It's pretty obvious that director is mostly active in the TV-series and TV movie genre. "The Puppet Maser" has at times an awfully TV-movie looking visual style and the characters and story are mostly wasted. Still the movie is entertaining enough to find it watchable and perhaps even also recommendable.

Still it's a shame, because the movie had all the potential to become a science-fiction classic in the style of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". The story is very good and also original. The execution of it is just plain bad at times. All of the characters are wasted and the movie is filled with some plot holes and illogical moments. Seriously, I'm convinced of it that with a different director at the helm, this movie really could and would had grown in to be a classic science-fiction masterpiece.

However as entertainment this movie is good enough. Science-fiction fans will certainly enjoy this movie which is mainly due to the original alien invasion story and the above average special effects.

Don't expect great things from the cast though. The dialog and acting is at times B-movie like. Eric Thal is a failed movie-hero and Donald Sutherland is wasted. Also Will Patton and especially Yaphet Kotto are criminally underused.

The movie is certainly watchable but to most this movie will probably seem like a silly science-fiction movie. The movie is perhaps best and possibly only watchable and recommendable to the fans of the science-fiction genre.

7/10

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I strongly disagree with many of the other reviews of this film. It is a very faithful adaptation (given Hollywood's history of adapting for the screen), and one of my favorite movies. It is not entirely faithful, i.e. Operation Bareback (which I would have enjoyed) was forgone, probably due to the mass nudity that it would entail. The love interest, the storyline and the characters were very close to the novel. Some criticize it as a ripoff of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but the novel actually pre-dates that work, so who copied from whom? The scope of the movie was scaled back and little mention was made of landings and conflicts in other countries, but this may be due to editing exigencies. The aliens are suitably creepy as my wife will agree, as she still refuses to watch it again, and it manages without the gore of many similar movies, although it is rather violent.

Compared to another recent Heinlein adaptation, Starship Troopers, this film was much truer to the author's original work and is a thrilling and thoughtful treat. Sadly, it looks like no sequel will be forthcoming to carry the battle to the moons of Saturn.

Unfortunate enough to share a name with a brand of dirt-cheap Charles Band movies (but completely disconnected from them) I always figured that The Puppet Masters would be just as schlocky. It ain't art, but it is decent, low-brow, brainless entertainment.

A bunch of alien manta-rays land in Iowa in a confusing opening sequence. The authorities arrive and discover that the locals are slowly being turned into mindless slaves to their alien hosts. Sound like the X-Files? It very much does play out like a 3-part episode with virtually the exact same character dynamic and interaction. The tagline for the movie is even 'Trust no one'.

It also feels like a John Carpenter movie in some respects (the presence of Keith David, who really ought to be in every movie, only adds to this). And while it's a fairly non-epic movie it does feature some nice anamorphic Panavision photography and a bunch of character actors to keep you entertained in-between the silly plot developments.

As well as feeling the X-Files it also comes across as an Invasion of the Body Snatchers rip-off, odd since co-star Donald Sutherland was in one of those movies. Four years later another very similar film called The Faculty also featured mind-controlling alien parasites, as well as the Brain Slugs from Futurama. But apparently it's taken from a novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein but with little in common, perhaps thanks to a zillion re-writes.

These kinds of movies often have some kind of political subtext, but Puppet Masters embraces its low-brow but clever silliness and ends up a guilty pleasure.

It really makes no sense how this film could not have worked. Working off a script based on a Robert A. Heinlein novel, with the venerable Donald Sutherland in one of the lead roles, and with alien invasion the subject matter, this should have been at least a seven star Science Fiction film. As Sci-Fi goes, the superior ones focus more on futuristic and/or scientific concepts, with action and/or special effects adding to the spectacle. That is why films like the Star Wars saga really aren't Sci-Fi, but action/adventure first (and in the case of Star Wars, fantasy) and science fiction second at best. This film does delve into the biology and culture of the aliens, but just barely. Mostly it focuses on hokey special effects and a few watered-down action scenes to fill up screen time. The aliens themselves are quite realistic and original, a plus for the film. The chemistry between Donald Sutherland as the leader of a secret government agency and his son, played by Eric Thal (an unknown at the time) is actually quite good. In addition, Julie Warner actually does well as the scientist working for Sutherland and of course plays the romantic interest for Sutherland's son. While not a superior actress, she performs adequately, although her talents are more suited to television, as it appears this movie was. While most will think, as I did, while reading the plot synopsis of the film that it is a rip-off of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Sutherland starred in the remake of this film in 1978), the actual book was published in 1951, prior to the original film as well as the novel written by Jack Finney. Bottom line: not a bad movie to watch when you know you will be distracted as it requires very little of your attention and there are enough action scenes to move the pace along, but science fiction and Heinlein fans will be disappointed.

This was a decent film. The book was far better.

If the book had been made into a three-hour film, it would have been excellent. They would have had time to do things right. As it is, they compact a wide-ranging tale set in the future into a dodgy action flick in the present day.

Do yourself a favour - read the book.

Donald Sutherland is too cool, though.

This adaptation of a Robert A. Heinlein novel puts things right into gear when Eric Thal, Julie Warner and the ever-competent Donald Shutterland rush off to Ambrose, Iowa to investigate a registered UFO landing. However, collective-minded alien parasites have already begun to take over, turning humans into puppets to do their bidding. Writing trio Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio & David S. Goyer manage to tie things up fashionably, but also overworked themselves providing just about everything. Being a mixture of sci-fi, horror, thriller, action and drama, it's safe to say the wholesome feels a bit disjoint at places. The animatronic slug-like parasites by Roy Arbogast & Co. are a fine creation and get plenty of screen-time. Ambitious entertainment.

Most of the criticism this film recieves are unfair and from purists of the Robert Heinlein book but that doesn't change the fact that The Puppet Masters is definetly a subpar film. Stuart Orme is no master and the script is nothing to get excited about. In the acting department, Donald Sutherland is by far the most intresting actor in this picture being a class above the rest of the cast. It kicks the action off very early on which gives the film two ways to stay interesting. The first is finding a cure or defense against this unstoppable alien invasion however, this actually doesn't play a major role in the film. They all seem to just sit around and wait for it to fall into their lap which does eventually happen. To keep this film from being entirely stagnant, it constantly has people being possed by the aliens and secretly going about. Except for the fact that it isn't so secret to any remotely intelligent viewer and starts to feel very repetitive after a while.

The best aspect of The Puppet Masters is probably the premise, setting an expectation that the execution just doesn't live up to.

Comparisons are inevitable. Sixteen years after the exquisite "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", Donald Sutherland is involved up to his neck again with intellectually superior but nefarious aliens that invade planet earth and take over its inhabitants. And you can take the "up to his neck" comment quite literally, as the evil aliens are stingray-shaped parasites that exist for 60% out of brain-tissue and attach themselves to their human hosts via a probe in the back of their necks. The extraterrestrial stingrays make an inconspicuous entry, as they land in rural Iowa and colonialize a quite community first, but - as usual - their ultimate mission is world domination!

"The Puppet Masters", based on a novel by Robert A. Heinlein and adapted into a screenplay by more than four (!) writers, has a very solid and compelling first half hour, but turns into a disappointingly tame and routine Sci-Fi thriller after that. Once the first ET specimen has been dissected, it's one cliché after another, including the guessing game of who may or may not be contaminated, the sending in of military cannon fodder, the search for the aliens' sole weakness, the secret agents' romance, and the final battle with the ultimate alien-mastermind. There are many overlong and tedious parts during the second half, which is really a no-go for a film like this. Sutherland obviously realizes the film is not as good as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" but remains as professional as ever, and same goes for several great actors in supportive roles that are too small for their talent (Yaphet Kotto, Will Patton, Andrew Robinson, ...)

This wasn't necessarily the worst movie but it was certainly nothing special with mediocre acting, the most basic filming and that overall below standard no substance thriller feeling. No build up, no intrigue. While I was somewhat impressed by the practical effects and puppetry of the ray like aliens themselves, the end set design was laughable, the cardboard characters and obligatory romance were hollow, and the lack of suspense or cleverness in any of its reveals and everything else left this project lacklustre, feeling like a shell of an Invasion of the Bodysnatchers type plot (though The Puppet Masters book technically predates the Bodysnatchers book, the latter's adaptation(s) was/were definitely given much more thought). So my recommendation would be to watch that instead (and close your eyes at the weird dog scene).

I don't think anyone's really going to be happy with The Puppet Masters.

Die hard Robert A. Heinlein fans aren't going to be happy because while this is one of the most faithful adaptations of his work ever made, it cuts a lot of what was in the book. What could have been a pretty interesting take on the alien invasion genre (at least for films) has been watered down into a pretty generic movie.

However, people who like to see Heinlein's work parodied (as happened with Starship Troopers) or at least just treated as a suggestion to be built upon (as happened with Predestination, adapted from the short story All You Zombies) won't be pleased, either. While The Puppet Masters isn't exactly the most faithful film adaptation ever made, it's still the most faithful *Heinlein* adaptation.

Just based on the movie itself, there isn't anything wrong with The Puppet Masters, aside from its questionable quality as an adaptation. The acting, action, cinematography, and dialogue aren't amazing, but it's not going to be tattooed in your memory as exceptionally bad, either. Really, its biggest sin is that it's a middle-of-the-road movie that would have been a lot better if they'd tried being a good adaptation.

...the director really letting him down by not taking him aside on Day One of this shoot, and telling him to CLOSE HIS FRIGGIN' MOUTH! I mean, come on...throughout the entire movie, the poor schmuck has his mouth agape in the same manner he did during the time he was temporarily infested with the alien (which "worked" then, to help portray the horror of the mind/body takeover he was experiencing), but after he was back to normal, and he kept making the same face, it got to be REALLY creepy! Every time he's running, or involved in any sort of physical exertion, there he is, looking like he's infested again! I really do feel sorry for the guy - he seemed competent enough as an actor, if a bit stiff, but as his later resume would seem to indicate, this performance did not do his career any favors, and in my opinion, you can hang that on the director. I really like this movie; whoever shot it (DP-wise) did a great job, but every time I watch it, I can't help but be sad that the director let this major flaw continue thru the whole darn film. But if you can get past that aspect, I think you'll agree this is a fun alternative version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and worth watching.

Peace! MFF/Honolulu 1-17-23.

A relic of late night cable is where I first saw 'The Puppet Masters' in the 90's. Equal parts an interesting & cheesy sci-fi action romp that owes half it's identity to the casting of Donald Sutherland who appeared in the brilliant 1978 remake of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. The other half belongs to the Robert A. Heinlein novel it was loosely adapted from.

Something falls to Earth in Iowa and two agents of the OSI (off-shoot of the CIA) are sent in but disappear. The local news station does a piece confirming a UFO has crash landed, but then quickly retracts their story. Andrew Niven (Sutherland) who runs the agency goes in along with his estranged Agent son Sam (Eric Thal) and a NASA scientist Mary (Julie Warner) to find out the aliens use humans as hosts. Now it's a race to stop the invasion before it quickly takes over the entire country.

A lot of the charm is due to the worn 'Snatchers' formula. It allows for paranoia, chase scenes, action, urgency. There is also more than a few known faces in the cast. Yaphet Kotto shows up as a military general as does Marshall Bell. Keith David & Richard Belzer are fellow OSI agents, Will Patton as a scientist and even Dale Dye has a bit part. Sutherland is always fun to watch and Thal doesn't make for a bad main character, but when this movie flopped his career never took off.

If you think about certain elements too deeply the center will fall apart. It's not the type of flick meant to stand up to intelligent scrutiny. Gooey practical effects and the presentation throughout 'The Puppet Masters' is solid except for some shoddy green screen work near the rushed ending. That didn't stop it from being a fun time for me though.

Here we have yet another Hollywood butchering of science fiction. Unfortunately Hollywood executives seem to think that Science Fiction fans are either idiots who cannot see the cavernous plot holes (ala Independence Day) or like the butchery of a good book into a movie that seems to use only the barest plot parts and character names.

Times and places are changed. It becomes something that only America can solve. Love stories get thrown in for no sane reason. Parts that would make the movie seem more plausible and give an insite into the reason for the invasion in the first place are chopped to a couple of minutes. The easiest way of identifying who does and doesn't have a slug on their back is completely ignored for some unexplained reason. The authorities (e.g. the President) are in almost from the start in the book, but not in the movie. More than one state is involved in the book, compared to three town in the movie. In fact the part of the book that involves other countries is completely ignored. And in the book, there is no "happy ending" where the hero goes wandering off hand in hand with his obligatory love interest.

Judge for yourselves, but I bet the rumblings from RAH's grave were heard for months after this travesty was foisted on the public.