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Directed by David DeCoteau. Starring Levi Fiehler, Jenna Gallaher and Taylor M. Graham. Horror, USA, 83 mins, Cert 15

Released on DVD in the UK on 3rd January from Revolver Entertainment, £12.99

“The First new PUPPET MASTER feature film in 10 years!” proclaims the press release for the latest instalment in this pint-sized franchise. But does anyone actually care? Well, clearly they do, otherwise they wouldn’t have made this (and if I’m being honest, I was at least a little bit excited about this).

So what’s different? Where have they taken the series this time? Space? The Hood? Underwater?? No, World War II. So, nothing’s different then - Nazi Germany had already been tackled in PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON’S REVENGE. Still, at least it’s an actual film this time, thankfully at odds with 2003’s flashback-laden ‘best-of’ abomination PUPPET MASTER: THE LEGACY.

This time around, we follow the young Danny Coogan, a carpenter who due to polio, is unable to serve in the army but luckily, is most definitely able to stumble upon Toulon’s magical puppet creations. As anybody would in his situation (would they?) he steals the puppets and begins working on them himself, in the process discovering the methods needed to reanimate them. Of course, this being WWII America, there’s a few naughty Nazis up to no good in Chinatown, and as any sensible vigilante could tell you, the only rational way to thwart their plans is with an army of wooden puppets.

So, eschewing the obvious forehead slap, Danny sets about forming his team of terrible tots to bring down the bad guys. He does this by using them to spy on, but also to stab the Nazis in the ankles, and in one ludicrous sequence, puke up a leech into one poor sap’s dinner. Of course, our henchman doesn’t notice the giant black slug on his plate and eats it, thereby causing his messy demise - I suppose he deserved it for being so greedy.

Talk of Leech Woman (that’s her official name) inevitably raises the question; which of your favourite puppets are present this time around? Well, you’ve got the sharp-fingered Blade, the cranially-challenged Pinhead, the multi-FACEted (sorry) Jester, the drill-headed Tunneler and the new kid on the block - Ninja. There are glimpses of other recognisable faces, but it’s the aforementioned gang that make the majority of the mayhem.

So it’s definitely a proper PUPPET MASTER movie, insofar as the most important part of the cast is present, but how does it measure up to the other entries in other aspects? Quite well, actually. It’s not a patch on the first one, or even the guilty-pleasure of number 2, but when compared with some of the later cash-ins, it holds its own. It’s clearly been made with a little bit more effort than most Full Moon features (even if there’s the odd money-saving animated sequence nabbed from previous movies), and its low budget isn’t too obvious.

This is mainly because they’ve somehow managed to hire relatively good actors. Levi Fiehler as Danny is a likeable enough lead, and although it’s hard to sympathise with someone who spends all day playing with dolls in their bedroom - he proves an engaging central lynchpin. His main foil - Tom Sandoval - is also a suitably menacing villain, even if he is slightly Eli-Roth-from-INGLORIOUS-BASTERDS-tinged. However, you can’t have the good without the bad to balance things out - namely Ada Chao, who is terrible as the lead villainess Ozu, an antagonist who’s about as menacing as a spider with no legs. It doesn’t help that she’s dubbed to within an inch of her life either. Proving her personality-free back- up, Danny’s girlfriend doesn’t exactly help matters much, with her stilted delivery nicely pulling you out of the film - you know, in case you needed a break.

But then again, it is a PUPPET MASTER film, so what did you expect? You’ve come for the puppets. Luckily, that’s what you’ll get. Lots of puppets running about stabbing people. They should use that on the poster.

Gary Ogden.

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