
Not from Full Moon but still fun
Review created: 05/04/09(updated 05/06/09)

Some background first...Charles Band had been trying to make this movie for years so that he could join his two best known action figure-based series together into one epic battle, but he could never get the money together,so finally he ended up selling the rights to the Sci-Fi Channel who turned it into a semi-family friendly TV movie directed by Full Moon veteran Ted "Subspecies" Nicolaou.
So what is a "Puppet Master" movie like without the Master? Well, a bit short on gore & no nudity at all, but still quite fun.
Silly yes but I am in to silly, & while not the laugh out loud comedy that star Corey Feldman seems to think it is, it is a enjoyable little fantasy adventure flick.
As for his acting...well, it's probably the exact same performance I would have given if I had played the part of an eccentric toymaker turned alchemist (although admittedly I'm the rankest of amateurs...), so who am I to criticize?
Same for Vanessa Angel in her role of a spoiled rotten evil toy company heiress who makes a deal with the devil to kill all children on Christmas morning so that she can keep all the toys for herself & who has a hi-tech Iron Maiden in the dungeon beneath her factory to sacrifice secretaries when the need arises. Hey, at least they didn't get Paris Hilton for the part!
Compared to these two well-cooked hams, sweet & charming young Danielle Keaton comes off quite well as Feldman's teenage daughter & partner in puppetry, if maybe a bit Disney Channel.
Judging by the other names on the cast list, most of the rest of the cast seem to be Bulgarian, & wow, they can do great American accents. I mean, Canadian actors get ribbed unmercifully if their pronunciation is just a bit off, & we live right next door, but most of these ESL actors were dead perfect!
I must admit, though, I missed the rest of the Puppets (not to mention the laser-shooting robot Mr. Static from the "Demonic Toys" series, although he was probably excluded so he wouldn't confuse the audience over the cyber-upgrades of the good guys), & I think some of the redesigns were a little lame, specifically Pinhead's flabby arms & the evil jack-in-the-box's too cute face (not to mention that you can see the strings more than once...).
And a "Puppet Master" movie isn't a "Puppet Master" movie without Richard Band's signature 'melancholy merry-go-round music' theme, no matter how good a new score they manage to come up with.
Also missing because it is not from Full Moon is one of those cool VideoZone 'making-of' documentaries that are always so enjoyable (hey, Charles Band was doing DVD extras long before there were DVDs!). Just a trio of trailers from other Sci-Fi Channel productions.
Still, it is quite enjoyable, & more than suitable to show younger horror fans (just be prepared to hear them ask what a 'virgin' is...), so I say give it a try.
Review ID: 10000000011861990

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