Puppet Master III (1992)

After an average opener and one needless sequel in PUPPET MASTER II, PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE is something of a surprise. The producers are still trying to find out a way to continue the franchise after the actor who played Toulon in the original died, so they opt here for a prequel format set in Nazi Germany, no less.The biggest twist this time around is that Toulon and his puppets are presented as the good guys - I guess those Nazis trump everybody in terms of 'evilness', even homicidal mass murderers. Yeah, it's best to forget about the first two films when watching this. In TOULON'S REVENGE, the puppet master has his wife murdered by the corrupt regime, so he sends his dolls on a rampage of revenge against the Nazis.Most of the film consists of various Nazis being murdered by the dolls in creative ways. The special effects are shoddy but mildly charming, and there seems to be a little more originality here than in other B-movies; this is a huge step up from the previous movie, for example. The cast is studded with the expected likes of Richard Lynch and Michelle Bauer, although the most surprising scene comes when Bond's Walter Gotell shares a bath with a bevy of topless beauties. There's something else you weren't expecting...

Set in Berlin during WWII, the Nazi regime is attempting to develop a drug that will animate the dead, in order to use in the war effort. Toulon arouses suspicion as a Nazi dissident, and his secret is discovered.Can you believe David DeCouteau made a good movie? And he did it under the Full Moon banner? Strange as that may seem today (2012), in the not too distant past, this actually happened. In fact, part three is arguably the best film in the "Puppet Master" series -- which is saying a lot when you have eleven films (and growing). In fact, the only real complaint I have with it is the continuity, but that is a running theme with Puppet Master (we pretty much never have the same actor playing Toulon twice, for example).I love the exposition here, the development of the origins of the dolls. I am unclear how Toulon went from being the good guy here to the bad guy we saw in earlier films... but, hey, it happens (Darth Vader, anyone?). This production is slick, the story is solid, the effects are good... I was a little bit surprised. I thought Aron Eisenberg did a terrible job pretending to be a naive child (as much as I loved him on "Deep Space 9"), but that can be excused.

1941. Berlin, Germany. The Nazis go after benign puppeteer Andre Toulon (the excellent Guy Rolfe) so they can learn the secret of how he makes his puppets come to life. Toulon retaliates by unleashing his deadly little pals on the Gestapo brutes. Director David De Couteau, working from a clever and inventive script by C. Courtney Joyner, relates the hugely entertaining story at a snappy pace, maintains a generally serious tone throughout, offers a flavorsome evocation of the period setting, and delivers a handy helping of splashy gore along with a decent sprinkling of yummy gratuitous female nudity. The fine acting from a sterling cast rates as a real significant asset: Ian Abercrombie as the zealous and obsessive Dr. Hess, Sarah Douglas as Toulon's loyal and loving wife Elsa, Walter Gotell as the slimy and lecherous General Mueller, Kristopher Logan as the slippery and meddlesome Lt. Eric Stein, Aron Eisenberg as spunky young fugitive Peter Hertz, and Matthew Faison as Peter's concerned father. Veteran bad guy thespian Richard Lynch almost steals the whole show with his wonderfully wicked portrayal of the ruthless and ferocious Major Krauss. The ever-luscious Michelle Bauer has a memorably sexy minor part as foxy prostitute Lili. Moreover, it's a total treat to see the grotesque, yet still oddly personable puppets bump off detestable Nazi scumbags in assorted grisly ways (Major Krauss's terrifically ghastly fate in particular is a complete doozy). Both Adolfo Bartoli's sharp cinematography and Richard Band's supremely eerie score are up to speed. One of the strongest and most impressive installments in this franchise.

For a movie made by Full Moon studios and whose prior two sequels were kind of fluffy in terms of plot and such this one was very well done. I would say this movie is sort of a prequel to the previous two puppet master movies, however, the character of Toulon is done so differently here that he seems like a entirely different character than he was portrayed in the other two movies. The story has him as a puppeteer during the Nazi regime. Many of his friends have been killed, and he has indeed placed their souls so to speak in his special puppets. Certain Nazi agents are aware of this and want the secret, tragedy ensues and Toulon begins his quest for revenge. Once again, the plot is totally different from the other puppet master movies, and it works great for a Full Moon film, they should have made more movies like this and they might still be around today. Of course, I do not know if they are gone or not, but I have not seen a movie by them in a long time now. By movies like this, they do not have to have super scripts or anything, just a horror movie that did not feel the need to have lots of laughs in it. I like comedy horrors when done right, but you have to do them right. This one is not a horror comedy, but it has good pacing and rather good acting for a low budget movie. The highlight of the puppet master series.