Puppetmaster (1989) (V)

Director:

David Schmoeller

Writers:

Charles Band (story) &
Kenneth J. Hall (story) ...

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A box of little toys has just become a gang of little terrors. This is not child's play...

Plot:

Neil Gallagher found the secret to Toulon's puppets who come to life and then killed himself. Alex and...

Plot Keywords:

Puppet | Psychic | Suicide | Supernatural | Severed Finger

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Le Mat	...	Alex Whitaker
William Hickey	...	Andre Toulon
Irene Miracle	...	Dana Hadley
Jimmie F. Skaggs	...	Neil Gallagher
Robin Frates	...	Megan Gallagher
Matt Roe	...	Frank Forrester
Kathryn O'Reilly	...	Carlissa Stamford
Mews Small	...	Theresa (as Merrya Small)
Barbara Crampton	...	Woman at Carnival
David Boyd	...	Man at Carnival
Peter Frankland	...	Assassin #1
Andrew Kimbrough	...	Assassin #2
Ed Cook	...	Pinhead (voice)
Linda Cook	...	Leech Woman (voice)
Tim Dornberg	...	Tunneler (voice)

Also Known As:

Puppet Master (USA) (alternative spelling)
Puppet Master I (USA) (DVD box title)
The Puppet Master (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min | West Germany:75 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut version: 16) | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Castle Green - 99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

In the finger-slicing scene, the blood was dyed green to avoid an "X" rating.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dana is walking down one hall with Leroy and a bottle of champagne, the exit sign is backwards.

Quotes:

Alex Whitaker: I had this dream and I came here to make sure it didn't come true

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Arrival (1991)

Much Better Than I Would Have Believed

I thought this would be very low-grade horror and dumb with poor special- effects, but I was surprised: it was good.....very entertaining. It inspired me to see the sequels, too, and they - most notably the third one - were good, too.

It's a little slow to start with, but once the puppets begin their attack story gets interesting, concluding with a gruesome ending. William Hickey gets decent billing in here but he's only in the film for a short time in the beginning. After that, it's just Paul LeMat and a bunch of unknown actors.

In all, not super but more-than-decent entertainment for an hour-and-a-half.