Demon God, Corporate Greed, and Puppets

 I'm the first to admit that by the fifth film, all watched on Sunday, I was a bit wiped out. If Puppet Master 5 (1994) had been better, I might not feel so spent. Marathoning any kind of content could lead to fatigue, though. But I think because this fifth film was supposed to be part of the forth film, but the ambitious script was too big for such, Jeff Burr's directed sequels off of Band and Co's story could be seen as the Demon Double Feature. The demon god, Sutek, wants the ancient magic secret back, sending a smaller demon creature (pretty much the same as the demon minion puppets of the previous film, except this one is designed with more colors and glammed up, still with a stealth jet head) containing his "essence" and power to Bodega Bay to destroy the puppets, including the Decapitron puppet with the blob head that transforms into Guy Rolfe's head when lightning and Rick Myers' tech work in concert together to give him life similar to Frankenstein. Rick is supposed to be the new Puppet Master, so he's also in danger. Ian Ogilvy is yet another surprisingly quality piece of casting from Charles Band as the new head over Rick's Omega company, looking to snatch up a puppet of Toulon's so he can study it for their AI research, with extra incentive provided by the Pentagon, very interested in results that would benefit the robotics company financially...Clu Gulager is one of those Pentagon business suits, toking a cig and looking very sternly. Along with Rick is Susie, his girlfriend from the previous film, lending him help to assist the puppets against the demon. Although stuck in a bed and often practically comatose, psychic Lauren, returns to this fifth film, using her unique ESP to send messages to Rick's computer, trying to give him instructions on what he needs to do...kill the beast. 

I think what makes the fifth film disappointing is that you have three hired minions (Nicholas Guest (in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform shirt), Willard Pugh (encountering the demon board with the bright pyramid in the center that Lauren and Cam stirred up in the previous film), and Duana Whitaker (notorious for the rape scene in "Pulp Fiction" that same year)) each dying the same way...they trip, try to crawl back up, and get clawed by the demon sent by Sutek to this "upworld". At least Whitaker is cracked in the crotch by Jester with a meat tenderizer (ouch!) when he tries to retaliate against PinHead for socking him in the chops. While the fourth film wasn't all that gory, really, this fifth film just feels too repetitive and cheap. I didn't even think Burr directed these scenes well, going for a frenetic approach, probably because there was just no money available to really get us some seriously effective gore. Even with Torch returning, when he tries to burn the demon puppet or Ogilvy, the budget wasn't there for a real collapsing body set aflame. So basically bringing back Torch was as a cameo puppet appearance. Six Shooter, though not in the first or second film, returns, but no Leech Woman. I didn't notice the same gripes from the Letterboxd community over Leech Woman's absence, probably because they made their unhappiness known in the previous film's reviews.

The Big Rick Energy is still here, I will say. And Chandra remains so adorable to me, though, her Susie seems ready to get her boyfriend to commit to a decent go in the bedroom...their sex scene is interrupted by Rick's sleepy time. I will admit that while Part 4 never was really that significant to me, even at the time when I rented it on VHS upon release, this Sunday evening's viewing was better than any other time in the past. I have a 1.5/5 review for the fourth film that isn't flattering. But it has some real energy and ambition to it...too bad Burr and Band just didn't have the funds to go along with it.

Oh, I don't want to fail to mention this rather oddly fascinating (and strangely erotic to me) nightmare sequence involving Susie in a bloody bathtub of water with Tunneler drilling in her head as she wears black make-up, calling out to Rick.