Retro Puppet Master

If you've seen the Puppet Master movies and enjoy them, then yes, watch this one too. But if you are an average person who has never seen any Puppet Master movies, then I will warn you. This movie as a stand alone is terrible. Nothing about it is scary in any way. There's no gore, no blood, no heart pounding moments. You can tell it's all staged and the acting is very B rated. All in all it feels more like a play that was acted out in the theatre, then a well acted film. The story is super cheesy and cliche. But as a fan of the Puppet Master movies, it was nice to see where it all started. I was happy for an origin story.

David DeCoteau directed 'Curse of the Puppet Master' (the sixth Puppet Master movie) as Victoria Sloan and here directs the seventh as Joseph Tennent. Not sure why a director of some of the most ridiculous movies ever made would replace their name on their more credible work but there we go. This seventh instalment is well made and excellently acted with the last actual performance of Guy Rolfe, not just as Andre Toulon, but ever. Rolfe is without doubt one of the world's greatest actors and as Andre Toulon the most fantastical performer of Full Moon Productions' entire catalogue. This film travels back to early 20th century Paris to find the origins of the Puppets, there are a few extra puppets here that - as yet unexplained - do not appear in other films. Our favourites here, such as Pinhead; Torch and Tunneler are more traditional wooden puppets, not yet fully developed and very low on personality and colour - their oak finish makes them seem far more sinister though. For the first time Richard Band's amazing Puppet theme does not appear and is ultimately the only major error of judgement in a fun and fantastically produced addition to the series. Watch the dead homeless man on the steps though (who first gives his 'life' to the puppets) - though dead and looking almost like a puppet himself he can't help blinking in full camera shot. The film is old fashioned and almost Sunday afternoon family fun (like an old detective drama or something). Surprising.

Rather uneventful (in terms of puppet-action) 7th installment of the "Puppet Master" franchise. It lacks the stop-motion action of Dave Allen (involved with the previous movies). It was nice to see the older (retro-)versions of some of the famous puppets these films are known for and it was interesting to learn something about the origin of Andre Toulon's re-animating skills. Most acting felt a bit below par. Only Brigitta Dau was decent enough. As a 'neo' Full Moon movie, this one would pass the test. As a 'horror' movie in general, I'd have to flunk it. Hence my over-all rating. Being that it's part 7 in the "Puppet Master" series, I actually thought it would be worse. And given that it's directed by David DeCoteau, I expected it to even totally suck. You just never really know anything for sure, do you? Or maybe once in a while miracles do happen after all.

This is where it was said that the Puppet Master series begins, but it has also been the last Puppet Master movie made before "Puppet Master: The Legacy", so in a way you can say that it acts as a beginning and an end to Full Moon's brilliant movie series. The puppets all have a new (or since this movie has the word "retro" in the title, I suppose it's an old) look to them, but not all of them do. The ones that were left out were Torch, Jester and Leech Woman (thank God). This movie relates mostly to the storyline of Puppet Master #4 and #5. There were some scenes in this movie that I found to carry on and have less action then they deserved, such as random fight scenes. If you're ever planning on watching the Puppet Master movies, watch this one first. This was actually the last Puppet Master film that Guy Rolfe starred in, which really is a shame; he portrayed the role of Andre Toulon better than any of the previous actors. Guy Rolfe passed away in the year 2003, so that means that if any more Puppet Master movies are made (other than "Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys"),an other actor will have to play as Toulon. Let's hope that person is as good as Guy Rolfe, although that will be impossible.

The film follows on Puppet Master 3, but is actually also intended as the first film in the franchise, as it takes us back to 1902 when Andre Toulon learnt the secret to bringing the puppets to life. The majority of the film is set in 1902.

Bad acting. Bad accents. Silly dialogue. Silly plot. Very poor effects - even for a B-movie, and the puppets are stocky and lifeless. This was annoyingly bad on every level. It is also a vessel for religious mockery. You won't miss anything by not watching this installment.