Puppet Master 4 (1993)

And back again - well not in the Nazi Reich anymore that is. Which was the previous entry. Don't be dissapointed or excited yet - we'll get back there, if you hang and watch on that is. Because there are a couple of those movies still to come. It's interesting that someone wrote in one of the series reviews that most of them are not connected.I mean you can watch them without any prior knowledge (though you do have the one that kind of has the first 10 minutes retelling the previous one, and I think it's number 5 in the series that does that).. I don't find that to be entirely true. You get kind of the same puppets (at least until number 7) with a few additions here and there. Here you also have evil puppets from beyond ... whatever that means to you. They have some sort of plan, but I couldn't spoil it to you, even if I wanted to.

From the mind from Charles Robert Band, writer & founder of Full Moon Features; a company known for its direct-to-video B-List horror & sci-fi movies, comes 'Puppet Master 4' AKA "Puppet Master: the Demon", a film so out-there stupid, that it makes the previous three film, seem tame in comparison. Directed by Jeff Burr, the film tells the story of Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe)'s animated puppets, once again, serving as protagonists as they fight against demons avatar minions called 'totems', sent from hell, looking for the secret life formula. Without spoiling the directed to video, movie, too much, much like the previous entry, 1991's prequel, 'Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge', the timeline for this film is also mess up, and doesn't really follow any of the continuous, set for it, after the events of 1990's 'Puppet Master II: His Unholy Creations'. One, such example is the serum McGuffin. In the last movie, they were running out of it, and had to make more, or the puppets would cease to exist. In 'Puppet Master 4", the many writers, just avoid that conflict, in order to make a more confusing one. Instead of running out of vials, the formula is now, suddenly available unexplained, in order for out of place, robotic scientists who happen to be caretaker for murder houses, such as Rick Myers (Gordon Currie) to use it, to create artificial intelligence life; despite the previous movies saying the puppets are human souls trapped in puppet form, not inanimate objects given life. Also, why in the hell, would they need a lightning rod to reanimate one of the newer puppets, when they have the serum!? It's seems to me, that the writers don't know, the hell, they're talking about. Since they're writing for Rick. It makes young scientist seems like a total idiot for not knowing the different between spiritualism & basic science. To make it worst, the writers chose to have an odd whimsical moment of him, playing laser tag with the puppets; knowing full well, after reading Toulon's diary that these marionettes had killed people in the past. Rick would have to be, a major moron to give a gun to a murderer, and ask it to shot at him to prove artificial intelligence & then later, use a fake gun to try to combat a real threat! Are you sure, writers, that Rick is a scientist!? You wrote him, so stupidly. It doesn't help that the actor that plays him, is not that good of a performer. He never once seem like he belong in the same group of scientists at Bio-Tech, who has least, gave a fighting chance against the creatures. For the most part, he's pretty useless against fighting off the demons; making the puppets have to do, his dirty work, even if he's six feet taller than the totems. Also, the movie doesn't really explain, why the demons would send, little avatars versions of themselves over in the first place. Wouldn't it make sense, to send themselves since they're taller and more powerful than the humans!? Also, why did they kill, Rick's buddies at Bio-Tech in the opening of the film!? It's not like he open the trunk, containing the puppets, yet. I guess, the demons doesn't like, other people trying to create life. Also, another plot hole, the movie doesn't really explain, that good, is how in the hell, was the trunk in which, Rick pull the puppets out, looks like it hasn't been touched in 50 years, despite evidence that shows this film to take place sometime after 'Puppet Master I & II'. Also, what happen to one of the parapsychologist, Camille Kenney (Nita Talbot) that got her soul transfer into a woman-sized mannequin (Julianne Mazziotti), from the last movie? Better yet, how did the puppets get back to the hotel!? She drove off, with them, in the last movie. None of these things are really explained. Besides that, the other faults of the film, are the lousy visuals effects. The costumes for the demons, are really low budget and not well made. They really come off, as very fake-looking. Not only that, but the ventriloquism is really awful for them. The demons, don't really move right. Although, the demons are not great. The puppeteering for the totems & the puppets were a little better. However, the stop motion sequences kinda hit a down grade. You can really tell, that this movie had a budget cut, because the filmmakers reused previous small clips of stop motion footage from the other 3 films, a little too much. Even the gore effects have die down, since the last movie. Lots of off-screen kills & barely any blood use. I guess, Full Moon Studios tame the horror down to get a PG-13 rated, in order to get parents to buy the movie for their kids, but the plan backfired. Not only, did it, not bring that much, new viewers for this film and its sequel, 'Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter'; which were both shot back to back, but it also kinda irritation the original fans in how tame, the violence has gotten. Sadly, Full Moon retired the franchise after this, in order to try a spin-off trilogy 'Puppet Master Vs Demonic Toys', but it never got off the ground until 2004. It wasn't until the sixth entry, 1998's 'Curse of the Puppet Master' that the main franchise got revived. Nevertheless, this is the movie that almost killed the franchise. That's how disappointing, it was. Overall: 'The Puppet Masters' film series is always been one of my guilty pleasures. It is by no means a series of puppet masterpieces, but it did entertains me, as a kid of the 1990s. This movie is not one of my favorites. In the end, this is one movie, worth punching away with Judy. Not worth seeing.

After being locked up and forgotten the puppets are back when Rick Myers, the caretaker of Bodega Bay Inn, stumbles upon them and the secret elixir of life. Meanwhile Rick's coworkers are in trouble from Sutekh's evil forces that are at work. This is a leadup to a showdown between Sutekh's mini demons vs the puppets. It was a nice twist to see the puppets being portrayed as the good guys in this film who seem to be having a good old fun time. The puppets mean spirited characteristics are now gone as Andre Toulon is speaking to them from the beyond the grave to do some good. I'm a fan of the Rick Myers character and not so much of his counterpart Cameron who was so unlikeable that movie was off putting at times because of him. Otherwise I enjoyed the film and it kept my interest but that being said the 4 rating is based on the film having all around poor performances and writing.

"Puppet Master 4" shows the great potential this straight-to-video horror franchise has in terms of the variety of stories that can be explored. In this third sequel, the human characters and the infamous puppets are forced to battle the forces of darkness in the shape of a towering demonic baddie, Zutek, and the evil Totems (think gremlins but with less personality).It's a feel-good horror movie but with a few genuine scares thrown in early on (a first for the "Puppet Master" series). The film is ably directed by Jeff Burr ("Leatherface") and moves at a cracking pace.The cast do a decent job and there's even the introduction of a new puppet for the film's finale.All in all, a great popcorn horror film that leaves the viewer hungry for the next (but not final) instalment.