Puppetmaster (1989)

Psychics find themselves plotted against by a former colleague, who committed suicide after discovering animated, murderous puppets.

Director:

David Schmoeller

Writers:

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

Stars:

Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Carissa 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)

Storyline

Neil Gallagher found the secret to Toulon's puppets who come to life and then killed himself. Alex and his psychic friends come to investigate and are stalked by Toulon's puppets who have a variety of strange traits including a drill for a head and the ability to spit up leeches.

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Plot Keywords:

puppet | evil doll | trenchcoat | female nudity | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Evil comes in all sizes!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic horror/fantasy violence, a strong sex scene with nudity and strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Full Movie on Hulu

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1990 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Puppet Master

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Full Moon Entertainment, Empire Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 75 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Bodega Bay hotel was a miniature; which was built about the size of a refrigerator. When the filmmakers found a perfect location, they hung the model in the air and used combinations of force perspective in the way to make the hotel appear as if it was actually there.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Dana Hadley: Your husband was a despicable greedy bastard.

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Alternate Versions

The 1989 UK video version was cut by 3 secs by the BBFC to remove brief shots of a woman's breasts during the fantasy assault scene in the elevator. The shots were also missing from the Film 2000 DVD which featured the R-rated print.

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Connections

Edited into Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (2010)

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Soundtracks

La Chorrito
by Pechula Chuppa

User Reviews

Fun, cheesy movie

Bad acting, awful hair, horrible plot, cheesy action, hokey characters.

Still reading? Good. My brother picked this movie up for me on DVD, because he knows of my love of horror movies. My first thoughts as I inserted the disc was that it'd be a cheesy, laughable pile of 80's horror rubbish. So I was in for a pleasant surprise. If you can get past the initial presentation of the movie (it feels every bit as low-budget as it is), you'll find it to be creepy, intriguing, and above all, great fun. The puppets themselves could have been a whole lot worse. The effects are hardly Lord Of The Rings, but through a strange combination of live-action and extremely well-animated stop-motion, the puppets don't make you cringe every time they show up on screen. They're probably better actors than some of the live actors even, it's difficult to tell who's more wooden. But it's hardly a character-driven story. It's an unusual story nontheless, and it definitely interested me enough to watch it right through - and then pick up the first sequel!

If you ever saw the movie Child's Play, with which comparisons are inevitable, you'll know already whether you can suspend your disbelief enough to enjoy a movie about killer puppets. If you can, and don't mind horrific 80's haircuts, I'd strongly suggest giving this one a rental, you could do a lot worse.