Retro Puppet Master

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.

I have seen only of one of the other Puppetmaster movies and remember that it was about an older man with his killing puppets. So I had no knowledge of the beginning of the old man but this Retro film gave me a feel for the man named Andre Toulon played by Greg Sestero. It was not a movie filled with overwhelming killing like the other film I saw but gave the characters a heart. Toulon was a young man that cared for the downtrodden. A man that was falling in love with a woman named Ilsa who likewise cared for people in need when she helps to save an old man attacked. This old man was Afzel, a sorcerer that stole the secret of life. Afzel is being hunted by servants of Sutekh because of this secret. These servants kill all of the friends and fellow puppeteers of Andre but they live again in the puppets of their own creations. Now it is a battle to the death between the servants of Sutekh and Andre and friends when Ilsa is taken hostage. The ending leaves you wondering why these friends would become so evil later in chronological time?

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.

I don't understand all these bad reviews. I believe this movie was one of the best in the Puppet Master series. Being made on a low budget, one can comprehend why the special effects and acting were not spectacular, but they were not completely horrible.

Greg Sestero brought a lot of charisma to the role of Andre Toulon. He has a lot of potential, and I hope to see more of him soon. And though the cinematography was not excellent, and there was minimal violence and gore, this film was a lot of fun. I am a big Puppet Master fan and have grown to expect blood and gore from the films of this series, but I can say that I was never bored through the entire course of watching Retro Puppet Master. So, if you ever get an opportunity to see this movie, don't automatically regard it as unworthy of your time. Give it a chance. You might like it.

In 1989, writer Charles Band and director David Schmoeller created "Puppet Master", an inventive horror film about a group of puppets magically brought to life by its maker, Andre Toulon, and took to America during World War II. While the original film and its sequel were basically straightforward slashers, the third film made an important big change in the format, moving away from horror to fantasy and setting the movie in the WWII, explaining how Toulon escaped from the War and moved to America. The following three films in the series had the Puppets as heroes and took place in the present, returning the gore and violence to the series by walking the fine line between horror and fantasy. "Retro Puppet Master", the seventh chapter of the Puppets' saga, takes the series again further into fantasy, telling the story about the origins of Andre Toulon and the Puppet's first adventure.

In turn of the century Paris, young puppeteer Andre Toulon runs a small puppet theater where every night he and his crew make a living. One night after a show, he meets Ilsa, the Swiss Ambassador's daughter who secretly watched his act, however, the circumstances of their meeting are not nice as Ilsa found the body of the mysterious Afzel after he was brutally attacked by a pair of thugs. Andre takes care of the wounded Afzel, who claims to be a 3000 years old sorcerer, but while at first he believes the man is crazy, soon Andre begins to believe, as the dying Afzel tells him the secret that will put Andre in danger for the rest of his life: the ancient gods' secret of giving life to inanimate things.

Ever since it was released, "Retro Puppet Master" became quite a controversial movie among fans of the series, as the screenplay (by Benjamin Carr) is definitely more a fantasy adventure than a horror film, making it receive many critics due to the lack of gore and suspense. Personally, I think the move really helps to the story, as for the first time in years the focus of the film is not on the Puppets, but on the Puppetmaster himself, so the toning down of the horror is a reasonable change. The story is also about how he met his future wife Ilsa, so romance plays a very important part of the story (another difference with the previous installments).

Directed by a long time Full Moon regular, the notorious David DeCoteau, "Retro Puppet Master" is surprisingly a change of tone from the typical late 90s Full Moon releases. It's a lot subtler, and even classier than other DeCoteau films, and is probably his best film in a long time. While the cinematography looks like the average TV movie and the special effects are of a terribly bad quality (due to budgetary constrains), the movie looks very good considering its a period piece, and even the score (by John Massari) fits the new tone of the film as a glove.

Newcomer Greg Sesstero has a big challenge when playing the younger version of a character that basically was created by the great Guy Rolfe (who has a cameo), however, Sestero makes a terrific job and adds a lot of charm to the role. Brigitta Dau makes a good job as Ilsa, and like Sestero often make sup her lack of experience with her charming personality. Jack Donner does a terrific low-key performance as Afzel, but the efforts of these three actors get ruined by the average performance of basically everyone else in the film.

Worth to point out are the terribly bad performances of the three servants (the main villains of the movie), who easily are the worst part of the film. While some of this may not be entirely their fault (as their lines are also the less inspired part of the script), their lack of talent make a bad role atrocious, as it literally kills what could had been a good movie. While I praised Carr's original take on Band's idea, it's safe to point out that his work does not help the film to reach its true potential, as some lines of dialog are simply awful. Many has been written about the simplistic special effects, and while sadly they are not on the level of the previous films (they are of TV Series quality at best), at least there isn't an overuse of them through the movie.

"Retro Puppet Master" has received a lot of what I think is an undeserved bash through the years, however, it's safe to say that it's one of the best film sin the series. While it certainly could had been a lot better, it really shows that Band was concerned in saving his beloved franchise (he would do a better job in "Legacy"), and DeCoteau's direction is remarkably effective (almost reminiscent of his better earlier work). While many fans don't like the change to fantasy, I think it was what this particular chapter needed. Watch it with an open mind and low expectations, and you'll be rewarded.

6/10