This is a very scary movie. It has a great story line. I do not know why it got a 4.2. It is not a 4.2 it is a 9. I do not know why people do not like this movie. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also has great special effects. It is one of the scariest movies from 1999. This movie is scarier then The Shinning and that is not easy to do. This is scarier then A Nightmare on elm street. And that is not easy do. I think people do not like this movie because it is a prequel. This is scarier then Friday the 13th V a new beginning. And that is not easy to do.

Retro Puppet Master (1999) * (out of 4) The seventh film in the series is actually a prequel to PUPPET MASTER III if anyone actually cares. The film starts off in 1944 just after the end of part three as Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe; in his final time playing the part) begins to tell how he gained the power of the puppets. We then flashback to 1902 when the young Andre (Greg Sestero) is working Paris and gets a visit from someone with a 3,000 year old Egyptian secret. This is the perfect example where one really doesn't know if they should praise a production for trying to be something special or bash it for being dumb enough to think it could be something special. The film takes the series into a new direction in many ways but the biggest difference is that the film takes place in the early 1900s and we pretty much get a costume drama with just a few horror elements thrown in. The drama aspect of the story deals with not only how Andre got his powers but there's a love story thrown in and countless other subplots. Now, you could admire the film for trying to do this but who on Earth was Full Moon trying to fool? Not for a single frame can the low-budget film make one feel as if we're watching some high production or watching a film that is trying to tell a decent story. For the life of me I can't figure out what they were trying to do with this film. I think I'm being fair when I say that the previous films were no classics but they at least delivers some good horror elements. That's not the case here because not only do we get "drama" but the horror elements are so watered down that the film managed to get a PG-13 rating. Okay, so the studio thinks fans wanted a drama AND watered down violence? Again, I'm simply confused at what they were trying to do here unless they thought they could just overlook the fans and try to deliver this into some sort of art-house crowd. If they thought that then they're really crazy! Rolfe is pretty good in his scenes but sadly he's not used very much. Sestero is pretty bland in his part and never brings any life or energy to the film. The rest of the supporting players aren't all that memorable but I'm sure they could argue that the screenplay just didn't give them anything to do. The biggest problem with this movie is how deadly dull it is. I mean, it's not an exaggeration to say that there's not a single bit of energy to be found in any of the scenes and there's really no point in watching it.

David DeCoteau directed 'Curse of the Puppet Master' (the sixth Puppet Master movie) as Victoria Sloan and here directs the seventh as Joseph Tennent. Not sure why a director of some of the most ridiculous movies ever made would replace their name on their more credible work but there we go. This seventh instalment is well made and excellently acted with the last actual performance of Guy Rolfe, not just as Andre Toulon, but ever. Rolfe is without doubt one of the world's greatest actors and as Andre Toulon the most fantastical performer of Full Moon Productions' entire catalogue. This film travels back to early 20th century Paris to find the origins of the Puppets, there are a few extra puppets here that - as yet unexplained - do not appear in other films. Our favourites here, such as Pinhead; Torch and Tunneler are more traditional wooden puppets, not yet fully developed and very low on personality and colour - their oak finish makes them seem far more sinister though. For the first time Richard Band's amazing Puppet theme does not appear and is ultimately the only major error of judgement in a fun and fantastically produced addition to the series. Watch the dead homeless man on the steps though (who first gives his 'life' to the puppets) - though dead and looking almost like a puppet himself he can't help blinking in full camera shot. The film is old fashioned and almost Sunday afternoon family fun (like an old detective drama or something). Surprising.

Retro puppet master This tale precedes the events of Puppet Master III, and explores the origins of the puppets themselves. Sadly, as grand a concept as this has- a story starting in Egypt in the late 1800's where the secrets of a God's power are stolen and then moving to a young Toulon running a puppet show in Paris in the early 1900s, the whole affair is a little too drawn out to fulfil it's potential.It's a shame because director Decoteau has previously directed two of the stronger Puppet Master entries- part 3 (perhaps my favourite) and 6- a fun return to form after a couple of really bad sequels.This is not to say it's a film without merit- any fan of the Puppet Master series will enjoy finding out about how it all began, the cronies of the god are fairly sinister in an Agent Smith/ Matrix kind of way, and there are a couple of new puppets to keep you entertained.The film could be described as ambitious too, considering budgetary constraints. Creating a period piece obviously creates complications in filming, so this, as with Puppet Master III, is admirable- the simplest route was not selected.On the downside, the puppets themselves move especially badly in this entry- it's a far cry from the beautiful stop-motion animation of earlier films- we really are talking about movement like a 4 year old's Barbie. Also considering these are meant to be early versions of the puppets we know and love, some of these wooden versions really miss the mark. Blade especially. When looking at the cover I actually assumed Dr Death's skeletal appearance was an early, and quite impressive, early version of Blade, when in fact he's this bizarre troll-faced puppet, with only the hair and costume in common. Quite sad really, as the puppets are after all the stars. And the male lead, Greg Sestero as a young Andre Toulon, is perhaps more wooden than the puppets.Still, it's worth renting perhaps rather than buying, (I'm not sure how much replay value it has) for those who have to know how it all began. Just don't expect anything super special.