Puppet Master III (1991)

Coming off of the pretty awesome Puppet Master II, I had high hopes for Puppet Master III, and man, it definitely impressed.  Puppet Master III took the series to new heights and levels of quality.  The movie definitely got on my nerves a little, which I will explain later, but has taken Puppet Master II's place as my favorite in the series.  Puppet Master III at its simplest is a revenge story and a prequel set-up in outlining the origins of Andre Toulon and his animated puppets in the backdrop of a war-torn Berlin through the Nazis uprise in WW2. This literally has to be the most expensive movie Full Moon has ever made.  Everything looks polished, costumes are detailed, acting is above par, it all just looks more professional.  Guy Rolfe, the guy that takes over the part of Andre Toulon is amazing in his portrayal and I actually really dug him. He brought a lot of "soul" to the role and really made it his own.  Richard Lynch as Major Kraus also was a perfect casting choice, as he came across as a complete asshole and I really wanted the puppets to do a number on him. Probably the best part of this movie is that we get to see the origins of Blade and the Leech Woman which are both pretty awesome and makes me like the original 2 a lot more.  Plus the new puppet, Six Shooter, is pretty sick. Now, unfortunately on the the things that irked me as I mentioned earlier.  First off, Torch, my favorite puppet from Puppet Master 2 isn't in this one, which makes no sense because I assumed he was a nazi, and he would fit perfectly in this movie. Second, if Six Shooter was around in this movie, which takes place in 1941, then where is he in Puppet Master 1 & II which takes place in present day? Also, when Blade kills Major Kraus toward the end, you can clearly see the puppeteers hand moving Blade lol. Now, the NUMBER ONE thing that bothered me the most, all through the movie and even now, is the fact that in the original Puppet Master it shows Andre Toulon committing suicide in 1939! Yet, this movie shows his origin and it takes place 2 years later in 1941. The continuity is way off and it never explains why.  Other than these things, which I kind of expect in a Full Moon flick, I still really enjoyed Puppet Master III and definitely see why so many fans consider this the best of the series. 

Puppet Master (1989)

Puppet Master, many, if not all of you have seen it sometime in your life. I know I have seen it, but not in a looooong time, probably 15 years.  So I decided, I'm going to watch the entire Puppet Master series. I have seen several, but not the whole bunch.  I first watched and reviewed Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys (REVIEW) and absolutely hated it. So, I was more than wary about beginning to watch the series.  Anyways, I popped in the original Puppet Master, and was pleasantly surprised.  Its not a fantastic movie, but definitely a cult classic and leagues better than the aforementioned Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys.  The plot goes something like this, a team of psychics gather together at a remote old house to investigate the legacy of legendary puppetmaster Andre Toulon (a brief, but memorably quirky appearance by William Hickey). Said team falls prey to Toulon's five killer puppets. Thats pretty much it.  You see some memorable 80s style acting, which I personally love and puppets killing people in various ways, which I also love.  Some of the plot toward the ending got a little out of hand, but that didn't really bother me that much.  I wouldn't consider the movie scary, unless you have a fear of dolls, then it might bother you.  Otherwise, it does come off really comedic, a trait that I didn't remember it having when I watched it as a kid. The dolls actually looked pretty cool regardless and sparked my interest back up in watching this series in its entirety.  I would definitely recommend watching it if you haven't and if you haven't watched it recently, I would definitely recommend re-watching it. Next up on the list to watch is Puppet Master II!