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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Halloween Movie Madness '13: Puppet Master

It's October!  The doorway to not only the start of the greatest food season (early October to Christmas), but also to sexy nurses, zombies, and grown men dressing up like ponies.  That also means it is time once again for Halloween Movie Madness!  This year, I'll be taking a look back at the movies of my youth.  Every movie this year was released before I turned eighteen.  These are the Halloween movies that shaped me into the man I am today.  Some of them are scary.  Some are funny.  Some are fantastical.  Some are just weird.  And not all of them are good.  But to me, they are all Halloween movies.  Now, stand back, for your own safety! 

Puppet Master
1989


Making the list for this year's HMM proved to be more difficult than I anticipated.  The fact that I was looking for movies that I remember from growing up didn't help, because I kept thinking about more movies that I could add to the list.  Some of them were very easy choices for my list, and Puppet Master is one of them.

This year, I'm going to talk about what I remember from the movies, and then when I watch them, discuss whether or not I remembered things correctly, and if I still have the same fondness for the movies.

Anyway...

I don't exactly remember when I watched Puppet Master for the first time, but I do know it was after Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge was out, because after my best friend and I watched the first one, we rode our bikes right back to the video store and rented the second and third movies.  In fact, we had made a sort of habit out of watching the three movies almost every weekend.  We loved 'em.  Used to show them to our girlfriends.  They never seemed to appreciate them like we did.

I remember I always had a fondness for Blade and Tunneler (the dude with the drill on his head).  I kinda liked Jester and Pinhead, but I was indifferent when it came to Leech Woman.  I also remember that our Hero of the Movie (HotM) was a dumpy guy with a bad haircut.

On to the movie!

I have to mention this, because I just noticed it, but the puppet face in the background reminds me of Madame.


Could you imagine what Solid Gold would have turned into?

Things start off interestingly enough, with Andre Toulon just chilling out, painting a puppet and then bringing it to life.  Then some Nazis show up(it's always Nazis, isn't it?).  Andre hides the puppets, and shoots himself in the face.  I must say, I forgot about that detail.

We are then brought into the present day of the late 80's, and into Yale University, where we are introduced to Alex, our psychic lump of a HotM.


Yep.  There he is, fast asleep.

Some more psychics arrive, and talk about how someone they know found Toulon's hiding place.  They all go to the place we saw in the opening of the movie, and that is where the fun begins.

Since I try to avoid as many spoilers as I can, I'll just share with you some of my favorite scenes.


I'm still not sure where all of the blood was supposed to be coming from.


For the full effect of this scene, imagine the sound of a dentist's drill.  That's what it sounds like.


I remembered this moment as one that always made me laugh.  And you know what?  It still does.

I can safely say that this movie is almost exactly how I remember it.  It's cheesy, a little bloody, a whole lot of fun, and makes me wish the majority of the sequels were on the same level.

See you tomorrow for Q: The Winged Serpent!