Still enthusiast after the unexpectedly pleasant surprise that was "Puppet Master", I quickly watched the first sequel but found it slightly less imaginative than the original, yet still entertaining and recommendable enough. What I liked about part 2 is that certain plot enigmas of the first film are clarified and finally start making sense, like for example how André Toulon managed to bring his puppet creations to life, and that the stop-motion effects and make-up art are truly sublime. The latter is undoubtedly linked to the fact that special effects wizard David Allen exceptionally took place in the director's seat. Disappointing, on the other hand, is the complete lack of identifiable/likable lead characters and the weak depiction of André Toulon by Steve Welles. William Hickey's role as Toulon in the first film was brief but legendary, and I'm very curious to see what Guy Rolfe will do with the role in "Puppet Master III", but Welles (most of the running time dressed up like "The Invisible Man") doesn't add the raw and grim edge the Toulon character desperately needs. The opening sequences are terrifically grim and take place in an eerie graveyard at night, where the notorious puppets (Blade, Tunneler, etc...) exhume the remnants of their master and take it back to the Bodega Bay hotel. Fortunately, there's a new shipment of psychic investigators at the hotel, because the murder-dolls need to extract brain fluids from random victims to revive Toulon. There's also a new and bad-ass puppet in town! Its name is Torch, with a flamethrower arm, bullets for teeth and little patience for countryside problem children. The obvious thing to love about "Puppet Master II" is the gory killings, and personally I also very much liked the totally demented climax with life-size mannequin dolls.
Review of Puppet Master II
