Puppet Master (1989)

Tagline: “Evil comes in all sizes”
Duration: 90 minutes

Film Quality: 4/5
Gore Content: 3/5
Entertainment Value: 4.5/5
Originality: 3.5/5

Introduction

Fresh from the demise of his Empire Pictures film studio, horror auteur Charles Band turned his attention to new company Full Moon Pictures, looking to make and distribute low budget horror and sci-fi that had the appearance of bigger budget movies…kind of like a modern day Val Lewton! He needed something to launch his venture so sought inspiration from one of his previous glories, taking the general premise of ‘Dolls’ and giving it, if you’ll pardon the horrendously pretentious pun, a life of its’ own…sorry!

In a nutshell

Following the death of their colleague Neil Gallagher, four friends with psychic abilities believe that their perished pal discovered the secret of Andre Toulon’s experiments in reanimation. Curiosity gets the better of them as they go to Bodega Bay, the site of Toulon’s suicide more than five decades previous…but Galllagher has a few surprises from beyond the grave.

So what’s good about it?

The prologue is a popular method of setting up backstory but I’ve not seen many that are as effective and intriguing as this one. In terms of setting up a mythology it is nigh on perfect. We are introduced to Toulon, know that he has managed to bring life to inanimate objects and that dangerous men will kill for it. Expectations dictate that the puppets would likely be introduced later but no…we meet Shredder Khan before any human characters are introduced and see him moving of his own free will. There is also a glorious point of view shot of Blade running through the hotel, scaring guests. The whole thing raises so many questions. Who is Toulon? How has he given life to the puppets? Why has he done it? What do the Nazis want with him and how do they know about his secret? Why has he committed suicide?

This leads straight into the mythology that underpins the entire film. From the introduction, and the wonderful, albeit brief performance of William Hickey as Toulon, you get the sense that what we are seeing is just a snapshot within this particular universe. There is a massive backstory that we’ve not been given access to and I suppose this is why the series has endured. The aforementioned Shredder Khan is not seen again in the film, despite a huge amount of effort and craft going into its design. It really is a brilliant opening scene and gives the film gravitas, elevating it far above the usual low budget horror in terms of storytelling and plot.

The puppets themselves, created by David Allen’s production company, are works of art, each one uniquely memorable. Blade is the pick of the bunch, apparently modelled on Klaus Kinski who looks innocent and almost childlike in the early scene, becoming more like a film noir villain with his facial and fashioned contrast of white and black. Jester, as he should be, represents the mood of the puppets with his constantly changing facial expressions. Pinhead is clumsy and awkward looking, every bit the street brawler, Tunneler provides the obligatory gore with his drillbit head whilst Leach Woman gives one sex crazed psychic what he most desires and fears at the same time. They’re wonderfully realised and very well brought to life through stop motion effects…one scene showing Pinhead climbing out of a coffin took days to produce for what is a ten second clip. It’s lovingly rendered and the end result is a testament to their combined craft.

I have to admit that most of the acting left me a bit cold, other than Hickey, however I found Jimmy Skaggs (left) excellent as the mysterious Neil Gallagher. He has the look of a ventriloquist’s dummy at times, with his overly slicked back hair, almost painted on smile that he lets slip on occasion, masking his true evil intentions. It’s a very good, again albeit brief, physical performance and kudos to the make-up team for giving him that effect which for me is a part of the film which doesn’t get enough attention.

It is a very well-crafted film, given a great look by Lucio Fulci’s frequent cinematographer Sergio Salvati and brilliant, carnival-esque score from Charles Band’s brother Richard which comes across as both scary and playful…all the fun of the fair! It’s very competently directed by David Schmoeller, who also directed the mannequin-themed horror ‘Tourist Trap’…he’s clearly very much at home with automatons! I love the shot of Blade at the end of the hall bathed in shadow, similarly the shot of Tunneler in the doorway, highly effective use of light. It was released straight to video despite being shot on 35mm for a theatrical release as Charles Band felt it would make more money in the booming VHS market. A very shrewd man who clearly knew his audience.

What about the bad?

The film, effective thought it is, does contradict itself in parts. It’s quite clear that the puppets are there to serve their master (they are puppets after all), however they are clearly possessed of independent thought. When Gallagher turns on his own puppets and attacks the friends of those the puppets have already killed, they seem horrified and turn on their master. However, why do they attack the maid? What did she do and why didn’t their conscience prevent them from carrying that out?

Also, for a short film, it isn’t without its pacing issues and with a bit of ruthless editing it could have a beautifully fast paced 80 minutes…the same length of some of Band’s other films. This could have been the result of its initial ambitions at a cinema run, but having taken the decision to go straight to video, the VHS market could have benefitted from a leaner run time. It certainly didn’t harm ‘Trancers’ or ‘Troll’!

Any themes?

It’s effectively a film about the quest for immortality with echoes of ‘Pinocchio’. The villains of the piece aren’t really the puppets, like an army that does the killing, the order come from a higher authority…they ‘just’ carry out the bidding. Of course this doesn’t absolve them of blame but the villain of the piece is a normal man who has developed a God complex having discovered the secret of everlasting life.

It’s about control and a lack of control. Our psychics seem drawn to the Bodega Bay Hotel despite seemingly knowing that they’re heading to their deaths, all of them having premonitions of doom. If there really is such a thing as fate, and surely as a psychic you MUST believe in it otherwise how could you predict an unmapped future, then they have no control. This puts both the puppets and the psychics at the mercy of forces that they have no control over and both must assert control over their own existence and force that momentum onto Gallagher to break his immortality.

Release History

It’s not a film that’s been associated with censorship but such problems have plagued ‘Puppet Master’ in its early releases, more in the US than UK. The ‘uncut’ version was shorn of 3 seconds upon its initial release (a brief shot of forced nudity in the elevator dream sequence deemed ‘sexual violence) but all gore was left intact. This was the version released by Entertainment in Video in 1989.

However, the US censors really got their knickers in a twist with 1m35s cut, including Toulon’s gory suicide, a comical shot of two puppets watching a couple having sex (come on!!!), a couple of shots of Neil punching Alex (again, seriously!), plenty of the final puppet attack on Neil and one of Leech Woman’s special moves. This version was lazily used as the basis of subsequent UK DVD releases by Film 2000. Thankfully 88 Films did a tremendous job with a blu-ray and DVD release completely uncut and loaded with extras…however Razor got their first in 2010 in the US, so it all had a happy ending!

Cultural Impact

Well they’re still churning out the sequels with ‘Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich’, possibly a reboot to the chronology, slated for a 2018 release! Writers have really rung that back story dry throughout the sequels, which run into double figures and a crossover with ‘Demonic Toys’, some more successful than others and going backwards and forwards throughout the chronology. New puppets have been introduced, you’ve had ‘Retro’ puppet masters, back to Nazi Germany and, much like the ‘Friday the 13th’ series, a ‘Final Chapter’ midway through the series. But you can’t keep a good puppet down and Toulon’s creations have endured incredibly well.

Final thoughts

Benefitting from an incredible opening prologue that hints at a universe and mythology way beyond that which the film explores, that’s what has led to the legacy of this way above average low budget gem, or perhaps we should say ‘rough diamond’. There is a lot to admire in this Charles Band production with excellent writing, good special effects, superb cinematography and wonderfully realised puppets. Easily the best of the series, it was a shrewd move to release it straight to video where it absolutely found its audience and a place as a true b-movie classic has been assured.

Memorable quotes

Neil: “You’re the puppets, I’m the master.”

Alex: “A little life insurance from the White Witch.”

Dana: I’m not a cynic Frank…I like to think of myself as a nasty bitch.”

You’ll like this if you enjoyed…

‘Child’s Play’, ‘Dolly Dearest’, ‘Demonic Toys’, Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Related posts

‘Trancers’ – Click here
‘Ghoulies’ – Click here