Full Moon's classic movie, most likely their masterpiece, no pun intended is Puppet Master. The first shot of Blade running throughout the hotel to his creator Tulon was a great hook to the opening credits. The credits have the magnificent Puppet Master theme song that is one of my favorites in the horror genre. The music really sets the atmosphere for this type of fun corny movie but it still produces a creepy feel. What really makes the movie though is the characters being both the humans and the puppets themselves that have their own identity and uniqueness. Irene Miracle who plays Dana Hadley is still a Hollywood crush of mine and she played a fabulous eccentric role in the film. It's hard to nitpick on Puppet Master but if I have to say if there is a letdown it's probably the ending twist which could have had a bit more to it. I recommend Puppet Master to any horror fan around it's a great movie to the horror genre.

The Puppetmaster, the flagship picture for Full Moon Entertainment, was the start for a huge line of B-budget productions by Charles Band, some of them being cheap, Z-grade garbage, others being halfway-decent yet unmemorable quickie-films. Then there are the Full Moon films that stick with you despite their faults. The Puppetmaster belongs to the third group. To this day, this film has held a place for me where so many have fallen to the wayside. It's one of those few in its genre that has a lasting effect. The script is banal and FARRRRR from spectacular, and yet I can remember most every line of it even though I haven't seen it in six months. The special effects are indeed B-budget, but even so they capture my imagination in ways that some CGI movies today couldn't hope to; the puppets involve me rather than detach me. The theme, performed by Band's brother Richard, cannot be repelled from my mind, while many Big-budget show-tunes escape me only days after I hear them. There's something about this low-budget film that really grabs you. So is not to say that this film is without any flaws. In fact, it's rife with them. On the surface, there are many technical goofs in the film (the scene in the elevator, with Tunneler's arm rods being vaguely visible, is an example.)More internally, the script is weak in one major respect: its characters. None of the film's characters feel very real; each feels more like a caricature, made to cater to a certain stereotype or mold. For example,we don't learn much about the character of Dana Hadley, played by Irene Miracle,other than that she's an alcoholic witch. The same can be said about the characters of Frank Forrester and Carissa Stamford; we are led to believe that they are both brilliant minds and lovers, yet all we see are a couple of sex-crazed numb-skulls. The protagonist, Alex Whitaker, played by Paul Le Mat, is one of only two characters that doesn't quite ply into a stereotype. Instead, he's sort of an uninvolved character, who doesn't say much to reveal anything about his personality.And thus, he's sort of a weak protagonist. This is Puppetmaster's biggest problem: while the film has the air of mystery and spookiness, the scares aren't as strong because we don't care too much about the characters. The motives of these characters are fairly well-clarified, they're just missing something: emotion. I don't recall a single human emotion, other than fear or distaste, being shown to me. And the characters lack that third dimension because of it. If the movie had characters that you could like and feel for on top of its other elements, it would be better twofold because the scares would be more potent. The flaws in character don't mean that Puppetmaster is a bad film. In fact, I very much enjoy this film as well as the series as a whole, and I would recommend at least giving it a try, especially if you're a horror fan. After all, it's only 83 minutes long, and moves quickly. As for me, I'm actually in the process of finalizing my own script for a remake of The Puppetmaster, if only for my own satisfaction in doing so. A remake where you enjoy the puppet master atmosphere, that mystery it has about it, but also feel for the characters, scaring you even more when they are offed. I think that's what any knowledgeable fan would want.

Before I start the official review, I'd like to congratulate Charles Band. Over the past thirty years or so, he has made a name for himself and his film companies by making some of the most memorable cult flicks. And his work ranges from horror and sci-fi to fantasy and even children's movies. Amazingly enough, he must have inherited those marvelous traits from his father Albert Band, who made the wonderfully creepy I BURY THE LIVING. Even his brother, Richard, has inherited some of those traits. In particular, he's provided nifty music for many of Charle's films. Anyway, when talking about Charles Band, you'd have to include the PUPPETMASTER series, the DEMONIC TOYS series, the PREHYSERIA series, as well as the incredible adult BEAUTY AND THE BEAST retelling called MERIDIAN. And that's just to name a few. At this moment on IMDb, under PRODUCER credits, he has a total of 244 films under his belt. If that's not a monumental achievement, I don't know what is! Now the review. Back in the 1940s in a hotel, a brilliant puppet master named Toulon learned how to bring his creations to life. However, when Nazis come to seize his discoveries, Toulon kills himself. Flash forward about fifty years and now a team of psychics come to the old hotel. What they discover is grisly as one by one, the aforementioned puppets come back to life and start claiming lives. The stop-motion puppet effects are seamless and lifelike. Each individual puppet is so unique. Some sport hooks and one even has a drill on the top of its head. Though I find the plot meandering, it holds your attention. From this modest little production would spawn ten movies to date, including PUPPET MASTER VS DEMONIC TOYS. Clearly Mr. Band is taking a cue from Universal Studios, having two successful movie monsters battle it out. Not to mention the numerous Godzilla and Gamera movies. Acting is pretty good, though a couple performances are a little wooden. No matter, the real stars are the puppets and special effects. So I advise you to sit back and enjoy, with or without popcorn and/or beer!

i love this movie! puppet master has great stop motion effects and a sense of fun. this is one of the best entries in the puppet master series. it start out with a man named Andre Toulon putting the finishing touches on a puppet named Jester(One of my favorites)a puppet who spins his head a lot to decide which expression he wants. then Blade(the most popular puppet)tries to escape two Nazi men and heads to Toulon's door. Toulon picks him up in time to commit suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a gun.a group of scientists goes to the hotel where Toulon killed himself. they meet a woman named Megan Gallagher who's husband shoot himself as well.then havoc starts to unwind when the puppets come to the hotel. the scientist are kill off one by one, leaving only Megan Gallagher and Alex Whitaker(one of the scientists)then they meet Mr.s Gallagher's husband who killed himself to learn about Toulon's secret for making life after death. then he abuses one of the puppets (Jester) this angers them and they start to betray him with Tunneler drilling a hole in his jaw, Pinhead holding his head for Leech woman to vomit a leech in his mouth, and blade cutting his fingers off with green blood coming out. one part that really make me wonder is how that dog came alive. all and all it's a good movie of the 80's. and a fun movie to watch. 8/10