Puppet Master 4 (1993)

A lot of fun.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

If there's one thing to be said for Charles Band's long-running horror- franchise "Puppet Master", it's that it is a franchise that has proved to have a high degree of staying power, lasting near three decades thus far and with no signs of slowing down. Even now, there's talk of not only another sequel to the original franchise, but even a full- fledged theatrical reboot to the sometimes beloved series.Of course, the series has needed to change with the times to remain culturally relevant, and in no place is that more apparent than in 1993's "Puppet Master 4." (Also known as "Puppet Master 4: The Demon.) It's an entry to symbolizes a lot of change for the overall story, both in subverting expectations and also finally taking the steps to update and modernize the overall franchise by injecting it with that grand old 90's cheese that so many now nostalgically look back on with a big grin.It's also the first entry in the series to toy with the idea of the killer puppets being full-blown "heroes" in their own film. Whereas they typically had been previously portrayed as villainous and murderous (or at best as anti-heroes out for revenge at the call of their master as was the case in the third film), here they are finally at the hands of a decent master with no dark or selfish motivations who is merely seeking to survive and uses the puppets for good. It's a nice, refreshing change of pace... especially as it fulfills the typical audience desire to see the "villains" win (at least a little bit) without making us directly route for them to do terrible things.We follow Rick Myers, a caretaker at the Bodega Bay Inn who also happens to be working in a research project to create artificial intelligence. (90's Alert! Techno babble and bad 90's computer programming scenes imminent!) However, as the project is getting dangerously close to discovering the secret to life that had previously been found by the Puppet Master Andre Toulon, the demon lord Sutekh sends a group of evil diminutive "totems" to kill all involved. Once Rick and his friends discover Toulon's puppets, they are forced to bring them to life to battle this new threat! And they will also finally have to animate Toulon's hidden incomplete masterpiece of a puppet "Decapitron" in order to survive...Part of the fun of this entry is the subversion in finally making the puppets the good-guys, thus allowing a sort-of full-on "war" between two miniature factions. It supplies for a lot of fun moments and creative sequences. Our cast of human characters are also reasonably good leads for a low-budget horror feature, and you care just enough about them to keep you invested in the human drama. (Even if there are some clichés that will make you groan, like the "hot chick in glasses" scientist. Ugh.) There's also a lot of fun to be had looking back on it in that nostalgic "time capsule" way. This is very much the product of its time, with cheesy 90's style, cheesy 90's dialog and cheesy 90's effects running rampant. It's quite charming as a result, especially for those who grew up in that decade.That being said, this is a very uneven film and it does suffer quite a bit for its faults. Many aspects of the story are dated to the point of going beyond the nostalgic charm. The pacing is all out of whack. Certain major elements seem out of left field. And it all does feel just a bit silly, even for a "Puppet Master" sequel.Still, there's plenty of fun to be had. The series was never anything more than trashy, goofy B-movies with some blood and boobs and creepy puppets... And you certainly get that here for the most part.So I'm giving it a middle-of-the-road 6 out of 10. If you're a series fan, a Charles Band fan, or just a B-movie fanatic like me, you'll get your money's worth.

The ancient demon God Sutek is finally angry enough that Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) stole his life-giving formula that it sends some demons (tiny, of course) to the "upperworld" to get those responsible. Somehow that means scientists from a Government company, despite them having nothing to do with it. Who is involved is kid genius Rick Myers (Gordon Currie), who has discovered the puppets while doing his experiments at the Bodega Bay Inn while acting as a caretaker. Running only 75 minutes, this mess of a film actually has 5 screenwriters credited with the nonsense plot. The main point seems to be about resurrecting new puppet Decapitron (a hold over idea from Band's Empire days) and Toulon telling Rick he is the new puppet master. About the only good thing in the film is the stop motion work by Dave Allen and his crew, but it seems to be less and less with each entry. This marks a turning point with the tiny terrors being full blown good guys now. This was also the first in the PM series to feature no nudity. PUPPET MASTER 4 came out in November 1993 and the fifth entry, despite being filmed back-to-back, came out almost a year later in September 1994. Felton Perry has two scenes as a murdered scientist.

Puppet Master is one of those franchises that every horror fan knows, and has a peculiar fondness for despite the fact that it isn't very good at all. Here, in the fourth instalment we see a demonic creature out to destroy anything associated with the eponymous puppet master, Anton Toulon himself. The subjects of his wrath? The lethal and animate toys Toulon created, as well as an improbably young scientist working on a project to bring life to the inanimate and a clutch of his witless friends and associates. Sound dreadful? Well, it's not. Harking back to the glory days of American horror, this is retro stuff that feels as if it was made ten years before it actually was. And that's a good thing, kids. Trust me, if the only horror you have seen is 'Shrooms, Thir13en ghosts and other such nonsense that gets the green light in modern horror cinema, you really are missing out and would do well to check out pretty much anything pre 1989 as an educational experience. Whilst the production levels and acting are bordering on the inane, this has atmosphere by the bucket load. In truth, the Puppet Master movies feel like really dark kids films, as there is next to nothing in the way of gore or violence, though this one at least has an entertaining death scene near the start which is relatively tense. Special mention must go to the metal soundtrack, which was great, as well as the device used to end the demonic menace: The Decapitron, a puppet with the power of mimicry. Entertaining enough horror yarn.

Puppet Master 4 is set at the abandoned Bogeda Bay Inn where teenage boy genius Rick Meyers (Gordon Currie) is working on the Omega Project for the Biotech Institute which concerns the pursuit of artificial intelligence, Rick's girlfriend Susie (Chandra West) & a couple of her friends including psychic Lauren (Teresa Hill) & the obnoxious Cameron (Ash Adams) turn up to stay for the weekend with him. Susie notices a strange puppet & Rick say's it's been there since he moved in, then Lauren feels something evil about it & leads the friends to a large chest in a forgotten storage room & several other strange puppets inside it as well as the diary of German toymaker & puppeteer Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) which describes a green serum which can animate the puppets & give them life which by an odd coincidence is just the thing that Rick is working on. Meanwhile Sutek the ancient Eygptian God whom Toulon stole the reanimation secret from in the first place wants it back & sends various little monsters out to get it & kill anyone who has learned about it starting with Rick, his chums & Toulon's puppets...Originally having the working title Puppet Master 4: The Demon this was directed by sequel specialist Jeff Burr whose other credits include Stepfather II (1989), Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), Pumpinhead II: Blood Wings (1994) as well as the following Puppet Master sequel Puppet Master 5 (1994) which was actually made at the same time as Puppet Master 4 & continues the story with pretty much the same cast of actor's & character's (here in the UK ironically Puppet Master 5 was the only one never to be released on video or DVD so that means the only Puppet Master to follow on directly from the previous one storyline wise was never released!). I must admit that I am a huge fan of the first three Puppet Master flicks which I consider to be Full Moon's best films with some strong storytelling, neat special effects & gore & some memorable killer puppets each with their own distinct personality & implement's for killing but this is the point where that stops & the Puppet Master series starts to turn into a cheap horror franchise aimed at making money & selling replica dolls to the fans. Amazingly Puppet Master 4 has five credited on screen writers which I find astonishing, I mean it took five people to write this? While there are elements of the screenplay & plot that I like I have to say some of this sucks big time & some of the plot elements that are newly introduced like the Egyptian God Sutek, the laser fights & the scientific artificial intelligence angle are poor. Event at only 75 minutes long not much actually happens, out of the four main teenage cast members only one is killed & I didn't like the fact that the Toulon puppets don't get to do anything & aren't used as the main threat which ends up falling to Sutek's little monsters which are forgettable & don't have any particular stand out features.A lot of the previous Puppet Master films continuity is forgotten about or ignored here as well, I mean where's Torch from Puppet Master II (1991) which this follows? Although having said that Torch does appear in Puppet Master 5. The character of Andre Toulon has been completely rewritten & changed which doesn't help & the puppets which were once so cool & so deadly are turned into the hero's here & actually protect Rick & his mates from Sutek. The majority of the special effects are surprisingly good with simple yet very effective stop-motion animation & animatronic puppet effects used throughout, I just wish the puppets were meaner & had been given more to do. The only really terrible effect is the awful rubber monster suit that is supposed to pass as Sutek the Demon God. The gore levels are low, someone has their finger cut off & there's some mild blood splatter but this feels like it was made for a PG rating & if there hadn't been some 'F' word swearing it would surely have gotten that PG rating.Production wise Puppet Master 4 is pretty good, the wonderful location used for the Bodega Bay Inn scenes really help as I'm sure the production team would have struggled to build sets that were half as good & anywhere near as atmospheric. The cinematography is quite nice on occasion with some moody lighting & a power cut coupled with a good thunder storm going on outside with sporadic lightning flashes always helps the feel. The acting is alright by a fairly young & attractive cast (especially the two leading girls who are hot!) most of whom return for the next one Puppet Master 5.Puppet Master 4 has a few good points like the return of the puppets & some nice special effects & one or two good moments but it's nowhere near as good as the first three & you can tell the producers are milking the franchise & see it as a money making exercise rather than anything else, or maybe I'm just being too cynical? Splitting what would have sat happily as one long film into two 70 odd minute ones along with turning the once killer puppets into the good guy's & reducing the gore & nudity to virtually zero probably say's it all really.