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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 15, 2018 15:55:45 GMT
"I'm the master, and you're the puppet!"Having experienced some rather unpleasant dreams that of lately, psychic Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Met) one day finds an open invitation from an old friend, who wants him along with a small group of former colleagues, to stay at the Bodega Bay Inn. However, the old hotel seems to be already booked full which unfortunately is very bad news for the newly arrived guests, as they will soon meet up with a weird bunch of small and rather vengeful creatures, that will make sure that their stay is a permanent one.A couple of weeks ago I ended up ordering the british 88 Films remastered box set which came with the first three Puppet Master titles, along with bonus material and a very nice and interesting booklet. I first saw Puppet Master (1989) back in winter of 2006 on late night cable (how I miss those days when 80s sleaze like Basket Case and these ones went almost on a daily basis) and I really liked the tone or atmosphere of the film and I was very impressed by the dolls and their movements. Also there was a bit of a story going on, not a great one but enough to keep me up and interested throughout the runtime. I also saw the second one, not that long after. Not all that good but enjoyable, or so I remembered. I already own the first two on DVD, very poor pictures quality and also no bonus material added. So when I found a cheap copy of the trilogy box set released by 88 films (I know, it is also out on Blu-ray, but I really do not care all that much, mostly I rarerly notice the huge difference anyhow, or just do not bother) I decided to give it a go. I enjoyed re-watching the first two films, as I said not great ones but enjoyable little b-movies with a certain charm and lots of sleaze to them, specially the first one which would probably give me some serious traumas as a kid, if I had seen it back then. However, I was very impressed at how much of a solid job 88 films had done with the first film, as the sound and picture quality was great, or at least compared to my older copies. Beside the sleazy parts, (some mild nudity, a ridiculous sex scene and so on) the film do contain some impressive visual stuff, scenes that almost look like they could belong in a 80s italian giallo feature. Very dreamlike and haunting, which of course have much to do with the locations and the chilling music by Richard Band. The murder parts are also memorable, and absolutely nasty and brutally done, especially if compared to other killer dolls titles of that time. The cast is pretty good, and I went through the first three films and I really enjoyed watching William Hickey as André Toulon, (not that he had all that much time to spend) but for about 3-4 minutes of screentime, I thought he was the best and most likeable version of the original puppeteer, while the ones in the second and third was, well not that good and I wished Hickey would either have returned or had a bigger part in the first one. Paul Le Mat is also doing a fine job here, not great but he comes off as one of the few likeable characters in this story, and again I wished he would have returned for another film. The main stars of the show are of course the talented David Allen's puppets, which have all their own unique style and personality, along with some very lethal talents too. All in all, I enjoyed re-watching the first film and while the second one was ok, the third one I will probably never bother with again, that one was very poor and not even Michelle Bauer and her two great "talents" could save it.
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Post by outrider127 on Jan 16, 2018 3:25:15 GMT
I enjoyed them all, for what they were
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 16, 2018 10:18:28 GMT
I enjoyed them all, for what they wereCan't disagree with that. Almost forgot to mention that the always fine looking Barbara Crampton has a tiny but fun part right at the beginning, kind of wished she would appear in a bigger one when learnign that she was in the movie too, but still the first one is my personal favorite. Never knew they made so many sequels/spin-offs and not sure but is 10, 11 or 12 films in total? That is a lot. Gotta give credit to Charles Band and Full Moon Features as I think this one from 1989 was at first meant to be getting a theatrical release but instead was dropped and later on became one of the most popular VHS rental franchise during the early 90s.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Jan 22, 2018 20:06:27 GMT
The first five or so were quality productions, then continuity went to Hell and so did the scripts and the acting, not to mention the budgets. Some of the later entries have their moments though.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Jan 25, 2018 11:42:57 GMT
The original was better than I thought it was gonna be. Don't have much interest in the sequels, except the one with Mark from The Room.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Jan 25, 2018 19:09:00 GMT
Same here. I remember thinking the first one was actually fairly enjoyable, while I know I've seen some of thebsewuels but don't remember anything about them.
But I am curious to see Retro Puppet Master just to see Greg 'Oh hai Mark' Sestero.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 24, 2018 0:23:10 GMT
The original was better than I thought it was gonna be. Don't have much interest in the sequels, except the one with Mark from The Room. Retro Puppet Master, quite possibly the worst of the series!
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Post by Marv on May 24, 2018 0:52:14 GMT
I like them once the puppets are ‘good’. It’s hard to hate some of those guys.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on May 24, 2018 1:38:19 GMT
I haven't watched Charles Band films in ages (though I watched Robojox again recently--great idea but middling execution).
I remember Dolls though..the guy turning into the Punch doll was pretty creepy.
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Post by Anonymous Andy on May 24, 2018 2:56:58 GMT
I haven't watched Charles Band films in ages (though I watched Robojox again recently--great idea but middling execution). I remember Dolls though..the guy turning into the Punch doll was pretty creepy. Dolls is on a whole other level. So well done, so much fun.
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Post by petrolino on May 27, 2018 17:13:43 GMT
Great movie. I really enjoy the series, especially the first few films.
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Post by James on Jan 2, 2019 2:51:08 GMT
Pretty good stuff. I liked the puppets and the creativity put into them. It’s cheesy as all hell but I think that’s the charm of it.
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Post by novastar6 on Apr 28, 2021 4:29:44 GMT
My brother actually surprised me, he's never said this about any movie series, he told me 'the first one's not that great, the second one's better'. Second, third, fourth and fifth actually. I've been kind of purging through my collection of DVDs I've had for years and never got around to seeing, got rid of 12 already, working on another pile, I have the 9 pack of these movies, I got halfway through it last week and decided to keep it.
So a question I've had since I started watching this series, does everybody have a favorite puppet? Least favorite?
Least favorite, the Leech Woman, I don't care if it's Toulan's wife, I don't care for that one whatsoever.
Favorite, Blade, for a murderous little bastard, he's just so damn cute.
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Post by James on Apr 28, 2021 14:44:14 GMT
My brother actually surprised me, he's never said this about any movie series, he told me 'the first one's not that great, the second one's better'. Second, third, fourth and fifth actually. I've been kind of purging through my collection of DVDs I've had for years and never got around to seeing, got rid of 12 already, working on another pile, I have the 9 pack of these movies, I got halfway through it last week and decided to keep it. So a question I've had since I started watching this series, does everybody have a favorite puppet? Least favorite? Least favorite, the Leech Woman, I don't care if it's Toulan's wife, I don't care for that one whatsoever. Favorite, Blade, for a murderous little bastard, he's just so damn cute. Favourite puppet is Blade of course. I like the look of him the most and he's pretty much the mascot for this franchise. Torch and Six Shooter are also really cool. Least favourite would probably be Jester, who if I'm not mistaken didn't do a damn thing but spin that damn head.
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Post by TheOriginalPinky on May 3, 2021 20:46:44 GMT
That was one of the first horror films we rented after getting our brandy-new, fancy-schmancy with-all-the-bells-and-whistles VCR! I liked it a lot!
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 4, 2021 14:35:31 GMT
So a question I've had since I started watching this series, does everybody have a favorite puppet? Least favorite? I'm kinda partial to this guy...
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2021 7:26:23 GMT
I love the Puppet Master movies stefancrosscoe. We have all of them on DVD from the first one through to the latest spinoff movie, 'Blade the Iron Cross' which is the 14th 'Puppet Master' movie in the franchise and my two favourites are 'Puppet Master 4 and 5' with Rick and Susie and if you haven't seen those two but weren't too fond of the first movie I would suggest checking them out 'cause the big difference is the Puppets are the heroes and fight evil. The funny thing about the 'Puppet Master' franchise is a lot of the films are out of order and if you want to see them in order you have to watch them in a completely different order from how they came out starting with 'Retro Puppet Master' which is 'Puppet Master 7.' There is also a huge gap between the latest movie which took place in 1945 and the first which was set in 1989 but they will most likely fill in what happened in the missing decades 'cause Charles Band has said he is going to keep making them until he dies 'cause the fans want more.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2021 7:35:11 GMT
My brother actually surprised me, he's never said this about any movie series, he told me 'the first one's not that great, the second one's better'. Second, third, fourth and fifth actually. I've been kind of purging through my collection of DVDs I've had for years and never got around to seeing, got rid of 12 already, working on another pile, I have the 9 pack of these movies, I got halfway through it last week and decided to keep it. So a question I've had since I started watching this series, does everybody have a favorite puppet? Least favorite? Least favorite, the Leech Woman, I don't care if it's Toulan's wife, I don't care for that one whatsoever. Favorite, Blade, for a murderous little bastard, he's just so damn cute. Favourite puppet is Blade of course. I like the look of him the most and he's pretty much the mascot for this franchise. Torch and Six Shooter are also really cool. Least favourite would probably be Jester, who if I'm not mistaken didn't do a damn thing but spin that damn head. Bite your tongue!! I love Jester and he is my favourite out of all the puppets 'cause he is cute and I love all his different facial expressions like how he looks happy, mischievous, sad, angry, surprised and scared in different parts of the movies and I also like how he is the one puppet that doesn't kill unless he really has to which is why he wasn't in the alternate reality based 'The Littlest Reich' movie where the puppets and Toulon were evil. I recently read his look was actually based on one of the creators and here is a video of some of Jester's cutest moments.
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Post by James on May 16, 2021 10:05:25 GMT
Favourite puppet is Blade of course. I like the look of him the most and he's pretty much the mascot for this franchise. Torch and Six Shooter are also really cool. Least favourite would probably be Jester, who if I'm not mistaken didn't do a damn thing but spin that damn head. Bite your tongue!! I love Jester and he is my favourite out of all the puppets 'cause he is cute and I love all his different facial expressions like how he looks happy, mischievous, sad, angry, surprised and scared in different parts of the movies and I also like how he is the one puppet that doesn't kill unless he really has to which is why he wasn't in the alternate reality based 'The Littlest Reich' movie where the puppets and Toulon were evil. I recently read his look was actually based on one of the creators and here is a video of some of Jester's cutest moments.
Surely you jest. I guess he is kinda cute and has the ability to express himself more than the others, but I feel like for a character like him being called Jester, a name which is the potential to cause mayhem, he could’ve contributed more. Who is your least favourite Puppet Deb?
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Post by mgmarshall on May 16, 2021 12:37:17 GMT
I always liked this one okay. It's got some nice atmosphere, really strong effects work for the budget, and solid performances, especially from Irene Miracle and the all too briefly-used William Hickey. I must admit though, the premise has always felt somewhat small-scale and self-contained to me for something that spawned a franchise that's lasted more than thirty years. I mean, if you showed me this one just by itself in a vacuum, I'd be kind of amazed to hear it has 12 sequels. And having seen most of them, I can tell you the premise runs pretty damned thin real fast. Although, I do love Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge; I'd even say that one surpasses the original for me.
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