...at the sheer awfulness of this presumably well-intentioned piece of cinematic junk. Make-work is the best one can summon to excuse it, and a handful of kevinbacons to keep from ignoring it completely. The script by faux-auteur, Mark "Leprechaun" Jones, is utterly inept, banal, and wretched, a case study in Sturgeon's Revelation. No one in their right mind could find anything in this mess to redeem it, not even the puerile attraction of bare boobies. To be honest, the only reason I'm blessing it with a comment is to take the final step toward my 300th review on this site, and that's a conceit of slimmest rationalization. I guarantee that, even if you get to see this one for free, you'll regret the time lost from your life. Take my word, pass this one up; you're not missing a thing.

Man, this "killer puppet movie" was warped... It's definitely not a film for all tastes. Can't really say it's a decent film either, but it's just so demented, going from plain dumb to hilarious. Paydin LoPachin gave it her best shot as deranged sister Angelina, but I find her performance admirable at best. I didn't really found her capable of completely carrying the film, sadly. Still, a crazy killer doll movie, with offbeat white trash slasher moments and a road-movie vibe reminiscent of NATURAL BORN KILLERS by the guy (Mark Jones) who previously brought us enjoyable nonsense like LEPRECHAUN and RUMPELSTILTSKIN... That alone is reason enough to watch TRILOQUIST and like it, regardless. One visual gag had me really laughing out loud: The dummy shoots the cop, and the shotgun kicks back and blows him wooosh out of the frame! That's funny stuff! Add some welcome female nudity. A little bit of gore & bloodshed. A lot of sick jokes. And this flick can't be all bad, can it?

From the writer/director of Leprechaun, we're brought another pint-sized horror. After Norbert, the son of a dead ventriloquist, is locked up in an asylum for attacking a young child, his sister, Angelina, and their Dummy break him out and hit the road towards Vegas to put Norbert and Dummy where they belong: onstage.Where to begin. . . well, I've certainly never seen a film like this. Oh, wait, yes I have, just split up among four (or more) other films. Triloquist plays like a lower-quality mix of Pin..., The Devil's Rejects, Child's Play, and Dead Silence. . . only less funny and a lot worse. It tried to be quirky and cute, but it failed. It tried to be shocking and scary, but it failed. I'm sure it also tried to be well made. Guess what? Failed there too. Other than nervous laughs from my "Oh, it really can't be this bad" thoughts, this film was not funny at all. The plot was erratic and stupid, never settling to get its bearings before moving on to another weak plot turn. The acting was dreadful, except by the mute who did a good job of, um, not talking and looking creepy. The puppet effects were ridiculously bad, and the dummy looked like it had been melted and stuck down a garbage disposal at some point. Dummy didn't have any of the charm, wit, or brutality of Mark Jones's other creation Leprechaun. . . instead, Dummy was just a nuisance. Ugh. There really isn't much good to say, except. . . well. . . it's only eighty minutes.Final verdict: 3/10.

Pretty much from the start it's clear where this movie is coming from and what you should expect from it. If you are looking for an even vaguely serious, linear movie that tells a story that all hangs together and makes sense then you better look elsewhere. This is straight up silly escapism and fun, and I enjoyed pretty much every minute. I thought all the parts were well cast, especially the brother who looks perfect with his sealed lip expression. The female lead does a good job, though unfortunately we don't get to see her sans clothes. There's a good smattering of silicone free nudity however, so the director clearly knows what people who watch this kind of stuff want. The script was decent, and most of the lines that were meant to pull a laugh worked for me. Some really funny set-pieces too, one in particular out the back of the strip club near the start was insanely funny, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. If you've seen the movie then you'll know the scene. You have to pretty much totally suspend disbelief to enjoy this film, as quite frankly it doesn't really make much sense or try to explain itself at all. It's just a trippy ride with some boobs and crude jokes, but hey, I can dig that. The plot, what of it there is, seems pretty much to be a vehicle to carry the crazy ideas of the writer, and he sure has plenty of crazy ideas. I liked this movie a lot, but it's only worth a 7, because it could have been better and there were a few times that it didn't quite hold it together. Still very good for those of you who like trash cheesy "horror" comedy. Would have been better with some gore as well. Forgot to mention, it's pretty minimal on that front.