Curse of the Puppet Master (1998)
** (out of 4)
Four years after the previous film, Charles Band and Full Moon decided to bring their puppets back and this sixth installment tries to be its own picture and not just connect to the previous. This time out Dr. Magrew (George Peck) and his daughter (Emily Harrison) hire a slow-witted man (Josh Green) to help them build our beloved puppets. The doctor has been able to give them partial life but he needs help giving them their own souls and of course it doesn't take long for our puppets to harm anyone who goes after their friends. CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER is considered by fans of the series to be the absolute worst but perhaps since I'm not a fan I could see it differently. Yes, this is an ultra low-budget film that doesn't have too much action in it and yes it's clear that the attempt to try and take the series into a new direction didn't work all that great but I thought it was rather refreshing seeing something different and not just a stretch of the storyline that was the first five films. I mean, is what we see here really worse than the puppets battling a Demon God? It's clear that Full Moon was working with no money because the film doesn't even have any stop motion. The puppets, for the most part, are just being pulled by strings or other devices and this is certainly a first for the series. The visual look of them isn't all that impressive and this also means that there's more "story" than action but I'll admit to being a sucker by getting caught up in that story. I thought there were some major flaws in the film but mostly character development. The slow-wit for some reason turns smart and into a ladies man without any explanation. The doctor has some bad motives that come out of no where and I think the twist doesn't work that well. You have a bully local who beats up the slow-wit, sexually attacks the daughter and then breaks into her home yet I guess it never dawned on anyone to call the police. The love story aspect doesn't work either. With all of that said, I still got caught up with the characters because the three leads are actually pretty good in their roles. The puppets might be lacking in terms of special effects but they do get back their killer personalities and we get a couple death scenes that add on some extra gore. The "Part 6" was dropped from the title and I'm guessing this was done to try and sell the movie as something new and original, which it pretty much is. I know fans were outraged that their beloved puppets were put in a new format but I still think it was a good decision and especially after the last two flicks.
