Shadow Puppets

I enjoyed it. The basic concept is simple, of course: let's make a version of 'Cube' that is more down to earth/without the math, try even to give nice explanations for the apparently supernatural, get a few familiar faces since there are only 8 roles to be cast, and then give the picture a rusty, blood splattered look - thus it will appeal not only to the sci-fi audience, but also to the horror fans. Fair enough for a genre movie which wants to make a bit of money. 'Shadow Puppets' surely creates an atmosphere of uneasiness when none of the characters remembers who he/she is, and information is revealed only much later. It's none of the "it's Halloween again" flicks that keeps the audience awake only with a killing every five minutes, actually I think nobody at all was killed in the first half. So this may be worth checking out if you are not into horror in the first place, but also some more psychological thrillers.

I was fortunate to see a special preview of Shadow Puppets. I don't want to give away anything but I will say this: The movie keeps you in suspense from beginning to end, has a believable script, unique special effects, an original premise, and many jump-out-of-your-seat moments. The soundtrack and unusual sound effects increase the terror-level in many scenes. Jolene Blalock and James Marsters are excellent but newcomer Mark Winnick is an actor to watch: he has the best lines and delivers them with adorable ingenuousness. I will definitely see this movie again when it is released in theaters, and look forward to more films by director Michael Winnick.

This one appeared in my recommended based on list on Amazon, so I decided to take a look. Boy I don't know where they get these movies to recommend to me. Aside from the filming location and a little bit of side boob this movie has pretty much no redeeming qualities. Oh and the appearance of Candyman in the movie is always welcome. However the rest of the movie was bad, especially near the end when the reveal comes and the creature starts offing everyone en masse. 3/10.

Man I was hoping for so much more here. I am a die hard Buffy fan and eagerly anticipated a featured role for Marsters. Tony Todd in my view is one of the great actors working today in any genre, and Jolene was one of the bright spots of a dreary Enterprise. Not to mention I love the basic premise, and am a big fan of Cube. Sadly Shadow Puppets mostly falls into the average category. The acting is good, and there is a twist at the end that may surprise you. I believe the majority of the budget was spent on assembling the cast. I was okay with the generic smoke monster, it was what it was, and it was probably better to do something simple instead of a poor CGI creature. The film is never really that scary or suspenseful and there aren't any clever kills or gore moments so that may hurt it in the eyes of those looking for a Saw or Cube. Because of the cast I was hoping for more, but if it were Lorenzo Lamas and Shannon Tweed headlining my review would be less critical. Still it's a "slightly" above average film with a good cast.

I found this refreshing from the usual vampire, zombie, slasher movies. This movie fits in to the mold of the classic The Thing for the simple fact that you don;t who is out to get you. With that the story was good. On the other hand the acting could have been better. Some of the characters seem lost in the scenes and I give Tony Todd props for trying to keep the story up and going. But it still falls short. It's worth a one time watch if nothing more. If you are streaming for a movie to watch for a long trip just to go to sleep. This is the one. Or a overnight party with friends that like horror flicks that are some what campy but easy on the eyes.