Puppet Master 5

Between Puppet Master 4 and 5, you'd have one full movie's worth of plot. Maybe.

PM5 here picks up almost exactly where PM4 ends, to the point where it kinda feels more like the next episode of a television series. It's a lot of the same actors, a lot of the same sets even, and an extended (we're talking like 5-10 minute) recap of the previous movie.

Unfortunately this makes it less of a movie than even the last one. I was shocked to look down at the runtime and see 25 minutes remaining even though basically nothing had happened yet. It spins and spins and spins its wheels, retreading a lot of the action of the previous movie, but with fewer puppet scenes and less effects.

So while I was willing to forgive Puppet Master 4 as simple "dumb fun", Puppet Master 5 isn't nearly as charming or as weird. It's just kind of tiresome.

Having escaped from the hotel, the new puppet master and the remaining dolls find their encounters with the demon cult aren't over as they launch another attempt at protecting their ancient secrets forcing them all into one last battle to finally defeat the beings.

This here wasn't all that bad of an effort in the series. As this one manages to follow-up on the story-line from the previous effort, in effect leading through the events of the last film to start this one off with as it deals with the ramifications of their actions dealing with the police, this one feels the most logically connected and cohesive entries here by finally giving some answers as to what's going on. There's a lot to like here about how that in itself corresponds to the different elements of the past movies with the connection found between the serum's mechanical frequencies and the gateway into the other dimension which finally solves the riddle of how they worked and why they were initially targeting the computer group from before. That also leaves the film with some enjoyable action scenes as the confrontations that arrive here come into play quite nicely against the story-line here with the majority of the film afterward dealing with the robbers' attempt to snatch them up inside the hotel and resorting to plenty of great encounters protecting themselves, leading to the demon puppet arriving along the way which generates not only their encounters with the puppets but also with the demon-puppet creature getting involved with the series of encounters in the hallways as it tracks down the group in some fun, chilling stalking scenes. Still, the majority of this time is used with the puppets in control leading to some suspenseful stalking scenes of them looking for the puppets throughout the darkened hallways of the house, the fun of the kitchen encounter with the robbers or the great sequence in the lab trying to resurrect the main doll to help them fight off the creatures, providing the big finale battle with the puppets and the demon puppet being that ends up resolving the entire story-line quite nicely. These here give this one enough to like to hold out over the few minor flaws here. The main problem here is the fact that there's quite a large amount of time here spent without bringing the demon- puppets as there's very little screen-time here that it almost makes the film forget they're even involved much in the film. There's a point where it could've easily brought them into play here as they're attacking the puppets for the main story-line and the entrance into the dimension happened quite early, so there's little excuse as for what there's little need for it to be as uninvolved as it is in that manner. That also highlights the fact that the main puppet doesn't have a whole lot of screen-time anyway as the entire film comes off like the last one where they spend the whole film trying to reanimate it when it was already alive, so it all builds up to that fight. It's a little repetitive, which is what holds this back somewhat from the previous effort.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

I recently rewatched Puppetmaster V (1994) on Amazon Prime. The story continues with the college genius who has taken over as the Puppet Master after WWII, now in police custody after losing control of the puppets during their ongoing battle with an ancient spirit. The police bring him back in, hoping he can regain control of the puppets and stop the chaos. Meanwhile, the puppets have their own plan to rescue him while finishing off the spirits from Puppet Master 4.

Directed by Jeffrey Burr (From a Whisper to a Scream), the film stars Gordon Currie (My Blue Heaven), Chandra West (White Noise), Ron O'Neal (Super Fly), Teresa Hill (Bio-Dome), and Ian Ogilvy (Death Becomes Her).

Puppetmaster V maintains the same quality as Puppet Master 4, with a weak storyline and execution that doesn't quite match the stronger entries of the first three films. The acting is serviceable, but the real fun remains in watching the puppets in action. The film wraps up the story arc from Puppet Master 4 effectively, while leaving room for the series to explore new directions.

Overall, this is a must-see for fans of the series and horror enthusiasts, but it falls short of being a classic. I'd rate it 5/10.

PUPPET MASTER 4 was a lot better, but this movie is still satisfying. It is about a scientist who gathers three guys to enter the abandoned hotel to try and capture the puppets. But the survivors from PUPPET MASTER 4 are going to try to stop them. This makes a cool movie.

It is not as good as any of the predecessors except for PUPPET MASTER III: TOULAN'S REVENGE. That was the crappiest of the series. So, with that crap there in the middle, this movie makes a worthy fifth addition.

Not much of a shock factor here unless you are very easily frightened. There is not that much gore either. So, if you want a nice, mellow horror film that will most likely satisfy your appetite for horror, this is probably the best movie to pick.

PUPPET MASTER 5 gets 3/5.

This installment is completely unnecessary, as it is very similar to Part 4. In fact, Puppet Master 4 & 5 were filmed simultaneously, and it shows. They were clearly running out of ideas. The film follows directly on Part 4 with the same actors. The story begins with Rick (Gordon Currie) - now accused of murder - telling what happened in the previous film, but from there it's pretty much deja vu. Torch is back, having only been in Part 2, as if they suddenly remembered about him. Rick acts as if he knows Torch, but he was not in Part 4, and only appeared for about 20 seconds in this installment. Why?

You can easily skip this film and you won't miss any part of the storyline.