Puppet Master III

The Nazis, in 1941 Berlin, take a particular interest in the animation fluid that brings Toulon's marionettes to life, but when they are responsible for the death of the master puppeteer's wife, there'll be hell to pay.
***½

It is a rarity in a series when the third film could very well be the best. Nightmare on Elm Street might be one of few in this conversation. I think Puppet Master III might very well be another. Because those behind its plot decided to go back in the past--as the Third Reich was rising in power in Europe, and Hitler wanted undead, reanimated soldiers on the front lines protecting his live men during combat--those involved in the Puppet Master series had plenty of opportunity to build a backstory for Andre Toulon, last seen in the previous film dying thanks to his puppet creations. As experiments in bringing their soldiers back from the dead are failing to deliver as Hitler and his top men so desire, the Nazi regime sees an opportunity to accomplish their master plan upon the discovery that Andre Toulon has magical powers to give life to marionettes. Because Toulon finds Hitler contemptible (as seen when using a Hitler doll in plays, portrayed as a clown destroyed by his six-shooter marionette during a shoot-out, much to the delight of children who don’t quite understand the underlying political statement), his marionette plays might be considered dangerous to his health. His beloved Elsa (Sarah Douglas, well cast in a supporting role) tries to convince him to stop with the buffoonery of Hitler. The setting is Berlin in 1941, with Major Krauss (Richard Lynch, in perhaps his best role for Full Moon, quite expertly cast as a sadistic Nazi who will stoop to the lowest level to succeed for his Herr Hitler) insisting that scientist, Dr. Hess (Ian Abercrombie, another well cast part) come up with a way for reanimating dead soldiers, considering he’s been well equipped and funded by the Nazis with a lab and the tools supposedly needed to come up with the solution they are expecting.

The film cast a familiar face to “killer dolls” fans associated with Charles Band in Guy Rolfe who starred in Stuart Gordon’s Dolls for Empire back in the 80s. He would now become Andre Toulon after two other actors had portrayed the puppetmaster in the series; I imagine Rolfe is the actor most identify with in regards to Andre Toulon. Before the end to Puppet Master II, I think most consider Toulon a character with integrity, a love for children, and a willing heart to entertain through his gift. Having to contend with the Nazis, he would have to use his supplied gift and put it to use in order to successfully escape the threat of the Third Reich.

While the first film never really went in depth on why the puppets were able to function as if alive, the sequel did. A “magical elixir”, whose properties were provided to Toulon by an Egyptian magician, partially came from brains, preferably human brains, which allowed the puppets to reanimate him. In this third film, we see Toulon injecting his puppet creations with a hypodermic containing the elixir colored green. Nazi puppeteer, Eric Stein (Kristopher Logan), catches one of Toulon’s shows, inspired by how well the marionettes are crafted he talks with him. What he later sees while peeping on him through a window in the alley of Toulon’s show is the master puppeteer injecting live puppets with the elixir. This will propel Toulon into an eventual feud with Krauss after Stein returns with some amazing news certain to please his Nazi cohorts.

We knew already in the previous film Elsa’s fate so it isn’t a surprise when the Nazis storm Toulon’s marionette shop, eventually shooting her. In Berlin as the Nazis are in power, Toulon critically lampooning Hitler in his shows, it was a given that eventually the regime would cause his world to fall apart. It adds extra incentive for Toulon to sic his puppets on those sadistic, evil , menacing Nazis. And does Lynch get it real good!

Lynch shooting Elsa after she spit at him put the icing on the cake. He can perform heavies with a cold-blooded nasty streak with ease. It adds weight to the way the puppets make mincemeat out of him in the finale. It is a fitting end to such an evil bastard. Lynch as a Nazi is certainly not a stretch. He’s certainly more than capable eliciting the kind of lump-in-the-throat response Nazis produce when arriving at your doorstep.

There’s this great scene that pretty much signifies why the puppets kill as they do. Rolfe has that great anguished vow to avenge his wife’s murder and tells his puppets to have no mercy. He will kill those damned Nazis and get his sweet revenge. And he does, in spades. Lynch is hooked and pulled off the ground, showing the human suffering in all its glory, with an ax stuck to the floor, placed in the right spot just for him.

The cast is really solid besides Rolfe (the dramatic anchor and heart of the film) and Lynch, with Walter Gotell (James Bond fans will know him as Gogol) as General Mueller, playing hanky panky with Michelle Bauer (with no dialogue, showing her nice tits again). Director David DeCoteau is reined in by Full Moon and tells a rather tight, controlled story, without the typical goofiness, bad or dull acting, and young men in tidy whities. In fact, this could be his best film. A lot of people might laugh at that—a Puppetmaster sequel, is that something to be proud of?—but I think this is a really decent low budget Full Moon product that isn’t too maligned by the small production values. The film is small scale but I thought Full Moon are able to do just enough to dress up WWII Berlin and build the presence of the Nazi regime, allowing the actors to add their talents, with the typical Nazi set decoration and costumes to evoke the memory of the Third Reich in power. Furthermore, the puppets are given further backstory with Toulon explaining that a few of them were modeled after friends of his murdered by the Nazis. Plus, seeing the puppets brutalizing the Nazis should be extra reason to embrace this little movie.

 

I think the appeal of this third film is that the setting is a refreshing change of pace and the puppets are “turned face” (a term used in pro wrestling when a heel wrestler is turned into a babyface hero), going from killers of the innocent to pulverizing villains. It was easy considering their adversaries were the Nazis, and Lynch certainly was heelish enough to warrant celebration upon his ghoulish demise. This third film explained the making of two puppets and introduced my favorite of the puppets, Six-shooter (a six-armed gunslinger with a particularly evil smile and sadistic laugh). If you were curious of the inspiration of Blade (the marionette with a hook and blade for hands, hat and coat, with white face and an ear-to-ear grin that leaves a cold child (and no eyes)), then a particularly ironic scene at the end when it stares face to face with Lynch’s Major Krauss will definitely be of interest. To be sliced and stabbed by the doll made after you is dark irony indeed. More tragic is how a female doll crafted in favor of Elsa, presented to her not long before Krauss shoots her, is soon transformed into Leech Woman. The series could have ended here and I think it would have been a bit more treated with respect by horror fans, I imagine. It would continue and the results would diminish in quality from here on after. Several sequels continue and there may not be an end in sight. As long as the dolls exist, I guess there are stories to tell. We shall see.