Following the release of Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge, Charles Band had something ambitious planned for the series. The next installment would be a theatrical release called Puppet Master: The Movie that served as a sequel/reboot. However, Band decided against this and instead divided the script in half to make two movies as opposed to one. In the director’s chair was Jeff Burr, who previously directed From a Whisper to a Scream and The Stepfather II. Burr previously knew Band from Empire Pictures as they were working on a film called The Vault that never happened. Charles offered Burr the job of directing both Puppet Master movies back-to-back, as well as working on other projects. Burr accepted the job, meaning he had to get both movies cast and shot back-to-back relatively quickly. In 1993, the first of these two films, Puppet Master 4, was released.
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Synopsis
At the Bodega Bay Hotel, supergenius Rick Myers (Gordon Currie) is working on developing robots with artificial intelligence. While there, he soon discovers the puppets of Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) and the serum that gives them life. Unfortunately, he’s made the target of Sutek (Jake McKinnon), an ancient demon whose life-giving powers were used for the serum. Sutek sends his totem minions to hunt down Rick and his colleagues, killing them and absorbing their life-force. Soon, Rick’s girlfriend Susie (Chandra West), his friend Cameron (Ash Adams), and his girlfriend Lauren (Teresa Hill) visit the hotel. They help him bring the puppets Blade, Pinhead, Tunneler, Six-Shooter, and Jester back to life to help fight the totems. Toulon tells Rick that the only way to destroy the totems is to revive his unfinished puppet Decapitron. Will they succeed, or will the forces of Sutek claim their next victims?
Review
Puppet Master 4 is a solidly entertaining film, even if it’s not as good as the previous installment. One nice thing about the film is how it further expands upon the lore, namely the introduction of Sutek. The character itself has a pretty cool design and has an imposing voice, though he mostly just stands around. While he has very limited screentime, Guy Rolfe once again does a good job as Andre Toulon. The rest of the acting, while fine, doesn’t really stand out and is pretty forgettable, though they’re not the focus. The focus is on the puppets, who are given plenty of time to shine and have some fun fight scenes. You get more of a feel for their personalities and how they interact and work with one another. Unfortunately, despite appearing on the cover, Torch does not appear in the movie at all.
Gordon Currie works as the lead, coming off as likable and charming, though he does come off a bit bland. Ash Adams fills the role of the snarky jerk you love to hate, and he gets a fairly satisfying death. Directing-wise, Jeff Burr does a solid job of establishing mood through the use of shadow and harsh lights. As with the other movies, the puppets are brought to life through rod puppetry and David Allen’s stop-motion. It still looks good, though there’s some blue screen work that sticks out pretty badly, along with some visible strings. Some fans might be disappointed that not all of the puppets are featured, but we still get the best puppets. Given that this is one whole movie split in two, it does still feel like a complete film in itself. Overall, Puppet Master 4 is another entertaining installment in the long-running franchise.
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