Puppet Master II (1990)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This film follows directly on the first film, with a group of paranormal investigators setting up in the hotel. This installment has more atmosphere than the original and the action starts a lot sooner. It started off more interesting than the original film, but then quickly turned ridiculous. Andre Toulon is an annoying character, all bandaged and looking like a cross between Darkman and Michael Jackson. The film turns utterly weird towards the end as the characters are being killed off.

Arriving at a rural estate, a team of researchers studying the psychic connection of the facility learn that the series of strange deaths surrounding them are the responsibility of a group of malicious puppets working for their master and must stop his deadly plans.This one proved to be a rather enjoyable sequel. One of the better elements here for this one is the fact that there's quite a lot of material here with the puppets being featured which is what really sells this one heavily. Once again, there's a multitude of screen- time shared here with many of the puppets being given equal time throughout the film so that not everything is centered around one or two. Some show up more frequently but there's enough on display here that it manages to let nearly everyone have a moment to shine quite brightly so that in the end it really lets the group as a whole show off their wares into being formidable and imposing. This is played out over the course of several rather enjoyable action scenes here where they get into several rather fun moments, from the first abduction in the bedroom to the encounter with the psychics in their own quarters which gives away their presence to the others when they capture it after the brutal kill involved, though the film's greatest set-piece is the encounter in the couple's shack which is a great deal of fun with the shock kill being committed before the whole thing gets started, the chillingly suspenseful stalking scenes against the first puppet before bringing in the newest creation which gives this a strong action- packed moment. Even the finale, from the race to get to the girlfriend held captive by the doctor and going against the different puppets to make his way to the room where it has the great confrontation with the puppets coming into play for a nice twist ending that serves this one nicely while providing all the fine gore in the kills that's required to give this some enjoyable moments. There is a few flaws to be found with this one, which mainly stems from the fact that there's a rather sizeable portion of the film that doesn't really get anything of much interest going for it as this here is filled with the couple's romance that isn't in the slightest bit interesting or enjoyable as they go about their brief and rather flat escapades that take up time away from the killer puppets. With the concurrent investigation into the mysterious figure who just shows up out of nowhere which really drags the film down at this point, there's a sense that the film isn't really building to the big finale. It just drops the puppets in after going on another thread entirely and makes this part feel pretty drawn-out and overall uninteresting. Likewise, the film running through the same motions for the ending doesn't really make a whole lot of sense as there's no real need to be that way at this point since it's the exact same twist and takes a lot of the shock out of what happens. Still, there's enough to like that it does hold up enough to be enjoyable.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and sexual situations.

This direct to video movie is by no means, a puppet masterpiece. It's mindless fun from the mind from Charles Robert Band, the Founder of Full Moon Features, a company known for its direct-to-video B-List horror & sci-fi movies. Coming off, their first success, 1989's Puppetmaster, Full Moon quickly capitalize on a sequel to that film. It's just sad, that Puppet Master II: His Unholy Creations doesn't bring anything really new to the concept, and felt like a remake of the first film. Instead, of a film about a group of psychics coming to a hotel to investigate a recent murder; this movie has a group of parapsychologists, coming back to the abandoned hotel to investigate, the recent mysterious murders, a year prior. Without giving away too much of the movie, I have to say, it was somewhat disappointing to see that none of the previous human surviving characters from the first movie, return for this film. Megan Gallagher (Robin Frates) & Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat) are only given, toss away mention lines and never really explore, beyond that, but I kinda also glad, they didn't. I felt that the first movie was trying too hard to be a 1980's Shining, rip-off with its psychics and the film didn't need any more of that mess. This film feels a bit more focus on the anthropomorphic puppets being the killers than super naturals. However, I really don't get why the new batch of characters lead by final girl, Carolyn Bramwell (Elizabeth Maclellan) had to be ghost-hunters. They rarely seem like they were good at their job. They were more focus on, having making jokes and doing stupid stuff, than trying to solve the case. They get more irrational as the movie goes on, when members of their crew, started disappearing. Instead of; I don't know, seeking the police's help with the crime, they would rather partake in having sex with each other. Who does this!? This movie is so clichés. The age-old movie formula of people wandering off alone and getting killed one by one, stupid scenes of nudity, and toilet humor makes them, some of the worst caricatures of people, ever. Ever, when the evidences start to pile up, that the puppets are killing their members, they still think, it's has to be ghosts. I have to say, these are some of the dumbest ghost hunters, I have, ever witness. None of them, were really that, likable. The puppets in the other hand, were. They were the best thing, about this film. It's a bad sign, when the villains are more fascinating than your heroes. Each of them having an interesting way of killing people. Blade looks like a small version of the Fisherman from 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer with a hook. Pinhead is a Conehead lookalike muscle man mixed with Addams Family Uncle Fester who punch and strangles people. Tunneler has a drill on his head that drills into people. Ms. Leech who is a Leech-puking doll that sadly was quickly killed off, in the film, due to producers finding the character way too disturbing and disgusting. In my opinion, she was one of the best puppets, out-there. Why couldn't they just killed, Jester instead. He's pretty much, useless for most of the series. Anyways, she was replace, by a new puppet, call Torch. By far, one of the coolest puppets to ever come into the series. The action scenes with them are quite enjoyable, but I never bought the struggle between man Vs puppets. I just can't see, how people in these film, can't overpower them. Anyways, their stop motion movement was always fantastic and creepy. It also helps that, the director of this film, is Dave Allen. Considered among the finest stop motion model animators of all time. One thing, I didn't like, about this film is how the puppets are now control, by a new owner called Eriquee Chanee (Steve Welles), whom in no surprised to anybody, turn out to be the reanimation body of Andre Toulon; looking for a new body to take over. First off, it's a bit jarring to see that body of Toulon was able to reanimation, due to the fact, that the character somewhat blew his brains out in the first movie. Isn't brain tissue, the secret ingredient that makes that reanimation formula to work in these films? Also, Toulon's death doesn't match up, with the first movie's timeline, in which he killed himself on 1939, not 1941. Anyways, like the first movie, what was Toulon's plan on betrayal his puppets. It seem very odd to do. Yes, a recent comic book adaption somewhat gives a motive, but it's never truly answer on film. Like the first movie, this film got a cult-following, to the point, that puppets were turn the good guys in most of the subsequent films, fighting various enemies including Nazis, Demonic Spirits and inter-dimensional aliens. Overall: The movie is watchable, however, the somewhat downer ending to this film is a bit hard to watch. In my opinion, the subsequent films, such as 1991's Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge are truly, the ones worth-watching, but if you find yourself, watching this film. At least, you might find it, somewhat entertaining.

While the creepy atmosphere still remains from the previous film there was an extreme drop off from the first Puppet Master. This sequel just didn't live up to what it could have possibly been. Nearly all the characters besides the main lead, Elizabeth Maclellan who was decent, all fell terribly flat and were uninteresting. The puppets didn't seem involved either in the movie as much as they should be. The new puppet Torch is a weak addition in my opinion too, he's basically unfair to deal with. The storyline was accurately tied into its predecessors and successors and Blade had a couple good scenes but that is pretty much it had going for it. Charles Band dropped the ball on his second sequel and I would advise not to watch this movie as a casual horror fan. Stick to the first and third movie those being the hands down best of the franchise.