Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
6/10 - Let down by the ending - too much time in the hotel, then didn't use the house/museum again and suddenly we're done. The last kill seemed unnecessary. Making the entire story into issue #1 of an ongoing comic series would not be sensible.
Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
The dialogue was snappy and there were some fun performances but I was never a fan of the originals so getting me to like a reboot was always going to be a challenge. The little guys just aren't convincing and/scary
Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
Overall I liked this one - you pretty much got what you expected - but the ending was a bit of a let down.
Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
As a Puppet master film, it was shite, but as a film about killer puppets, it was alright.
It have no fucks as to who died and how with great humour, likable characters, puppet design and soundtrack. I know it was a re-imagining (possibly could be seen as a alternate reality of the original), so ill let it off.
However it completely shit over the established lore and puppets and their motivations. They turned from characters with their own morals, alliances and story to just mindless murderers, there to provide gore. The fact that the puppets were nazis meant nothing after the first few kills.
Other issues include:
- Once the 'big jew' is killed, there's no point in the Japanese love interest any more so they just kill her off
- Cuddly Bear is not needed
- The Messerschmitt puppet is overused
- Mechano, Pumpit and grasshopper puppet are unneeded and don't actually do anything
- The mohel puppet only had one kill scene, so was unneeded, despite how awesome it was
- The Amphibian puppet, listed as one of the new main puppets was seen in one scene and didn't do anything. It would have been better off being in Pumpit's place and used to lure Jews out of hiding by mimiking the jewish prayer.
- Howie served no purpose other than to point out that Markowicz was Jewish (again)
- Why Baby Fuhrer? It got laughs but seriously!
It also suffered from the problem of more is less. By having so many characters and so many different puppets, none of them got their chance to shine or develop their own story. Having 6 versions of Blade diminishes any character he could of had. A huge amount of gory deaths desensitisatise the audience so that they all lose meaning.
Less is more!
It have no fucks as to who died and how with great humour, likable characters, puppet design and soundtrack. I know it was a re-imagining (possibly could be seen as a alternate reality of the original), so ill let it off.
However it completely shit over the established lore and puppets and their motivations. They turned from characters with their own morals, alliances and story to just mindless murderers, there to provide gore. The fact that the puppets were nazis meant nothing after the first few kills.
Other issues include:
- Once the 'big jew' is killed, there's no point in the Japanese love interest any more so they just kill her off
- Cuddly Bear is not needed
- The Messerschmitt puppet is overused
- Mechano, Pumpit and grasshopper puppet are unneeded and don't actually do anything
- The mohel puppet only had one kill scene, so was unneeded, despite how awesome it was
- The Amphibian puppet, listed as one of the new main puppets was seen in one scene and didn't do anything. It would have been better off being in Pumpit's place and used to lure Jews out of hiding by mimiking the jewish prayer.
- Howie served no purpose other than to point out that Markowicz was Jewish (again)
- Why Baby Fuhrer? It got laughs but seriously!
It also suffered from the problem of more is less. By having so many characters and so many different puppets, none of them got their chance to shine or develop their own story. Having 6 versions of Blade diminishes any character he could of had. A huge amount of gory deaths desensitisatise the audience so that they all lose meaning.
Less is more!
Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
I thought this one was great fun. Really enjoyed it. Sure, it wasn't a mind blowing, instant classic, but it was really entertaining.
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Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
I never thought the original puppet master films were any good, so this reimagining had a low bar to clear. The script is much better than the direction and camerawork, but they at least do what they need to do; setting up the situations and allowing the special effects guys to deliver the gory murders and funny puppets that the film promises. Some of the gory murders are done really well, in particular a shocking scatalogical beheading. In contrast to a lot of slasher horror films, the characters are all well-drawn with unique personalities and S. Craig Zahler puts in a lot of witty dialogue that keeps the film moving and gives it a good pace. The ending is the weakest part as it settles for setting up a sequel rather than resolving the main plot - this really is a big negative in the context of the film because it leaves the viewer unsatisfied with the story.
Luckily, I did find there was a big positive that made up for that, but it's a positive that many people are going to see as a negative which is why this film is going to be divisive. In making the puppets agents of a Nazi ideology, the film explicitly sets itself up as a commentary both on the rise of far-right ideology in present-day America and on the ethics of taking pleasure in seeing death in a horror movie. Unlike many slashers where the characters to be murdered are unpleasant and/or personality-free, allowing the audiences to enjoy their deaths in good conscience, all these people are well-rounded characters and generally innocent of wrong-doing. Moreover, they're all from marginalised groups which immediately incites sympathy from the viewer. By marrying this serious commentary to a gory splatter-fest perpetrated in the most absurd way by cute puppets sets up a lot of cognitive dissonance. For me this was one of the things that made this film more interesting than most slashers, but it's designed to leave the viewer with a feeling of revulsion and a lot of people are going to find that unpalatable.
André Toulon denies antisemitism smears:
Luckily, I did find there was a big positive that made up for that, but it's a positive that many people are going to see as a negative which is why this film is going to be divisive. In making the puppets agents of a Nazi ideology, the film explicitly sets itself up as a commentary both on the rise of far-right ideology in present-day America and on the ethics of taking pleasure in seeing death in a horror movie. Unlike many slashers where the characters to be murdered are unpleasant and/or personality-free, allowing the audiences to enjoy their deaths in good conscience, all these people are well-rounded characters and generally innocent of wrong-doing. Moreover, they're all from marginalised groups which immediately incites sympathy from the viewer. By marrying this serious commentary to a gory splatter-fest perpetrated in the most absurd way by cute puppets sets up a lot of cognitive dissonance. For me this was one of the things that made this film more interesting than most slashers, but it's designed to leave the viewer with a feeling of revulsion and a lot of people are going to find that unpalatable.
André Toulon denies antisemitism smears:
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Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
^^^ Very good.
The editing and sound mixing of this film were all over the place. Needless deaths and no build up to anything that resulted in the deaths.
The effects were very good and very near the knuckle humour, especially the Blood libel reference, so as regards a proper schlocky horror romp it did well in that respect.
The editing and sound mixing of this film were all over the place. Needless deaths and no build up to anything that resulted in the deaths.
The effects were very good and very near the knuckle humour, especially the Blood libel reference, so as regards a proper schlocky horror romp it did well in that respect.
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Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
What is/was the blood libel reference?
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Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
The blood libel, as it stands within anti-Semitic propaganda says that Jews hunt, kidnap and murder gentile children to use their blood in food and drink.
Given the nature of the film and the context of the puppets, it appeared to me that the puppet that
Spoiler:
It would be interesting, given that the puppets had names, Baby Fuhrer being referred to, what the script writers had called, via the André Toulon of course, the name of this puppet.
Just to emphasise if it isn't clear, I'm not accusing the film of being anti-Semitic, if fact it is quite clear the film was the exact opposite.
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Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
Thanks for the clarification...
Re: Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
IDK. A mishmash of good and terrible performances. Never quite got to me. had its moments though.