Puppetmaster

Psychics congregate at the hotel where a former colleague (and now enemy) is staying with a new wife, hoping to address him on matters involving alchemy and his possible nefarious use of an old magic. What they do encounter is a dead former colleague and killer marionettes.
***½

I recall a memory from when I was a kid that has stayed with me because of how it fostered the horror fan I am currently today. It was the year and month of Vincent Price’s death, October of 1993, and sci-fi channel had a massive horror marathon that introduced me to a number of films that remain favorites I continue to return to when I feel the need to drudge up some good ole nostalgia. The Evil Dead and Phantasm were among the films shown; as was The Puppetmaster & Puppetmaster II. Puppetmaster was kind of an extension of Stuart Gordon’s Dolls, for Band’s then-production company, Empire. Later Band would return to the “killer dolls” concept over and over and over and over… I think Dolls, to be honest, towers over the latter day brethren, soon to arise from such a concept as dolls, given life, and killing folks. A toy maker, with a particular magic, can provide dolls, crafted by his hands, life. Malicious dolls, in the case of Puppetmaster, devious marionettes that do the bidding of their creator, can be rather creepy/scary if the director behind them does a decent enough job of getting them over as a terror worthy of such reactions from viewers watching at home. While these two films didn't quite attain the same affection as The Evil Dead or Phantasm, I had periodically watched them during the 90s. I remember seeing the big VHS box of Puppetmaster anytime I went to the video rental store. While the sci-fi channel version was a bit cut, I would later rent it to see it in rather unedited form as I would the others in the line-up.

There’s a paranormal belief that inanimate objects have a history that attaches to them. A bed has a history and someone with a certain, specific gift can tell you who slept on it and the passions (or lack thereof) that were felt by them. Andre Toulon had a gift to give inanimate objects life, and in the film, a particularly devious bastard, named Neil Gallagher (Jimmie F Skaggs; while limited primarily, performance-wise, to the end of the film, he’s a nasty piece of work who leaves quite an impression) wanted to gain access to his alchemy. He would use a fortune-teller named, Dana Hadley (Irene Miracle; I loved her in this film for she’s bluntly honest, especially after *hitting the sauce*, and has an acerbic wit laced with acid; she feigns a Southern accent and includes, “Sugar” in dialogue to add to her character) to find out the location of Toulon. Yale Professor of Anthropology, Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat; I guess he might be considered a rather stiff performer; his style has always been a bit expressive-less, and more laid back) has “dreams that see into the future”, and he had worked with Neil sometime in the past. Neil also conversed with psychics, Frank Forrester (Matt Roe) and his partner, Carissa (Kathryn O’Reilly), who actually operate their own department dedicated to reading feelings and the past. Carissa has that peculiar “sight” where she can “reconstruct the emotional history of an inanimate object through touch or feel”, like sitting in a car and tell you who owns it, even predating its history. Frank is more of a researcher, and he’s also Carissa’s lover.

Of course, I think what will probably appeal (or probably appealed) to horror fans (and did to me) is the idea that you have this large hotel located on a massive hill overlooking a coast with a limited group of psychics, the use of alchemy as a means behind the magic used in the plot, and killer dolls scurrying about (looking to cause a human bloodbath), with plenty of room to roam and hide. 

Without good effects (thankfully David Allen is an absolute master and godsend to Band’s productions), and some memorable marionette creations, I can’t figure Puppetmaster (or its franchise, for that matter) could have survived to develop such a cult following. But the stop motion enhances the puppets during moments where we see their full-body movement, and it gives us a reason not to lament the devoted use of point-of-view perspective so heavily depended upon to show them walking about. We see through their eyes, oh, woe is me that we can’t see them moving completely more. Well, thanks to David, you can sometimes. But without a good villain, I think any film in the franchise would be hurting because the killer dolls on their own only have their look and functions as personalities. With Skaggs’ Neil, both in how the characters describe his hideous behavior and actions as a human being and his later despicable antics shown for us to see, and in future films (like Andre Toulon himself returning in the sequel and Richard Lynch as an unpleasant Nazi in the third film) with others, you have heels as “back up” to the killer dolls. Depending on special effects alone to carry a film can be detrimental if nothing else about said film has value. A fun cast can help matters. A good villain can, too. Skaggs definitely seemed up to the task. It certainly doesn't hurt that Richard Band provided such a memorably catchy dark fairy tale score that summons Grimm.

I'm one of those that thinks the point-of-view perspective can be cleverly and inventively used in cases like Puppetmaster; I certainly feel that the director and his camera operator do a credible job mimicking the movement of the dolls, having to stay low to the ground and show them walking forwards and sliding quickly behind objects and furniture. It is easier to mimic humans from our perspective than characters (dolls or creatures) low to the ground. I commend them on a job I thought was well done. It isn't that easy to "bring dolls to life" with such limited funds. Ingenuity and hard work prove here you can. Band, to his credit, had the talents of Richard Band and David Allen to help him make films like Puppetmaster. Full Moon stayed in the market at this time because of such talent. Throw in some nudity and a little sex sometimes, it adds a little spice to the horror/sci-fi.

Neil having accomplished to survive after death only to later die is a bit of an unusual plot development, but it does muddy how we’re supposed to look at the killer puppets. The goal to attain immortality is often a grand desire many a villain will kill for in the horror genre, and Neil is no different. He commits suicide (well, technically, this is debatable…) just to prove a point! Sheesh. His evil intentions are made manifest when the puppets, made by Toulon not for violent purposes (although, in the second film this changes), are used to dispatch those he considers a threat to him. That, or he’s just jonesing on the magic at his disposal, using the puppets to kill for his own amusement. When he gets all lost in his bravado regarding having discovered the Egyptian magic and being immortal, and he takes to pushing a doll (Jester with his spinning "three part" face expressing concern) around, Neil's jig is up.

Bodega Bay overlooking the California coast in the movie.

The Bodega Bay from the front.

 

Toulon's workshop

The great William Hickey as Andre Toulon.

His latest creation.

Nazi agents after Toulon, because his magic is desired.

Toulon's "lookout"

Toulon is unwilling to let the Nazis learn his magic.

After a curious dream about Neil in his Yale office.

A point of view shot from a puppet's perspective.

The Lord's Supper on the casket really stuck out to me.

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Barbara Crampton has a fun cameo as a gullible patron who accepts from Dana a couple obviously false "fortunes" about her lousy beau beside her.

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Dana's sizing up a character.

The reason Alex is at the hotel.

Caretaker prior to the fireplace poker to the noggin.

"Undead" Neil gives the gang a nice jolt.

 The film leaves quite the open ending. The dolls are live and well after getting rid of (doing what they do best)--or maybe "after dumping" is more apt--the new master temporarily controlling them, with Alex and Mrs. Gallagher bidding adieu to each other as he returns to Yale. Mrs. Gallagher, in an interesting twist, "awakens" Dana's "pet dog", telling us maybe she wasn't so oblivious to what her husband was doing after all. While we are left believing this might not be the last we see of Mrs. Gallagher, she is a character that will not return to the series.