6WH: Oct 6

By far, the DVDs that have sat unwatched in my collection for the longest time are the Puppet Master movies. I bought the box set of all 7 movies way back in 1999. In fact, they were among my very first DVD purchases ever after buying a PS2 (the Elm Street box set was the first). Back then, I was closer to high school -- when I enjoyed renting these from the video store on VHS -- than I am now to 1999. What will I think of these movies all this time later? Nine years is long enough. I've gotta watch 'em and see whether they can stay in the collection, or if they belong on ebay.

Puppet Master (1989) directed by David Schmoeller
The ship that launched a thousand killer doll flicks from Full Moon. Actually, that honor arguably belongs to Dolls. Living toy stories are endlessly fascinating. They plug directly into dreams and/or nightmares from childhood. This one ain't bad. The puppets are unquely designed and the special F/X animating them are pretty good. The psychic couple who get off on the pschyo-sexual leftovers in elevators, hotel beds, etc. are fun to watch. Richard Band's score is nearly as good as his one for Re-Animator.

I love how the beefy, psychic, Yale professor protagonist Alex is utterly useless throughout the movie. He has dreams that predict everyone dying, but does nothing to prevent the deaths. He establishes himself as the widow Megan's protector, but the resurrected husband Neil handily beats the hell out of him. It takes the puppets to defeat the bad guy while Alex bleeds from his wounds. Ostensibly the main character, you could cut him completely out of the film and it would be essentially the same movie. That's gotta be rare in cinema history. (6/10)