The Puppet Masters (1994)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Stuart Orme

Writers (WGA):

Robert A. Heinlein (novel)
Ted Elliott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 October 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Trust No-one.

Plot:

The Earth is invaded by alien "slugs" that ride on people's backs and control their minds.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Iowa | President | Suicide | Des Moines Iowa

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Andrew Nivens
Eric Thal	...	Sam Nivens
Julie Warner	...	Mary Sefton
Keith David	...	Alex Holland
Will Patton	...	Dr. Graves
Richard Belzer	...	Jarvis
Tom Mason	...	President Douglas
Yaphet Kotto	...	Ressler
Gerry Bamman	...	Viscott
Sam Anderson	...	Culbertson
J. Patrick McCormack	...	Gidding
Marshall Bell	...	General Morgan
Nicholas Cascone	...	Greenberg
Bruce Jarchow	...	Barnes
Benjamin Mouton	...	Higgins

Also Known As:

Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sci-fi gore and brief language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Hungary:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, California, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

At the start of the film when the boys are trying to convince Mary to go inside the fake spaceship, Andrew Nivens says, "She balked at Pirates of the Caribbean." Both Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, two of the films credited screenwriters, went on to write all three of the, "Pirates of the Caribbean," movies.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Near the end of the movie, as a helicopter lands at the "Des Moines" City Hall, tall palm trees are visible in the background.

Quotes:

Niven: It's the kid from the spaceship. Get him off the car.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Faculty (1998)

Poor Directing, Weak Script & Dialogue Spoil Sci-Fi Thriller

It really makes no sense how this film could not have worked. Working off a script based on a Robert A. Heinlein novel, with the venerable Donald Sutherland in one of the lead roles, and with alien invasion the subject matter, this should have been at least a seven star Science Fiction film. As Sci-Fi goes, the superior ones focus more on futuristic and/or scientific concepts, with action and/or special effects adding to the spectacle. That is why films like the Star Wars saga really aren't Sci-Fi, but action/adventure first (and in the case of Star Wars, fantasy) and science fiction second at best. This film does delve into the biology and culture of the aliens, but just barely. Mostly it focuses on hokey special effects and a few watered-down action scenes to fill up screen time. The aliens themselves are quite realistic and original, a plus for the film. The chemistry between Donald Sutherland as the leader of a secret government agency and his son, played by Eric Thal (an unknown at the time) is actually quite good. In addition, Julie Warner actually does well as the scientist working for Sutherland and of course plays the romantic interest for Sutherland's son. While not a superior actress, she performs adequately, although her talents are more suited to television, as it appears this movie was. While most will think, as I did, while reading the plot synopsis of the film that it is a rip-off of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Sutherland starred in the remake of this film in 1978), the actual book was published in 1951, prior to the original film as well as the novel written by Jack Finney. Bottom line: not a bad movie to watch when you know you will be distracted as it requires very little of your attention and there are enough action scenes to move the pace along, but science fiction and Heinlein fans will be disappointed.