They did at least try something new here..
Retro Puppet Master (1999)
Directed By: David DeCoteau
Where to get it: NEWVIDEO
The Prologue
Retro Puppet Master is an odd film in the Puppet Master series. The puppets we know are only here in bumper fashion and the rest is our beloved Puppet Master who jumps from good to evil in series on a number of occasions telling them a story of the original puppets he use to have. Many of which look like blueprints for current puppets we all know. I also believe this was one of the last Full Moon films before they would go into Shadow Films, then Wizard Entertainment, then back to Full Moon. See there? I kinda know my history. Thank you Jesus for Wiki! Now if only the Wikipedia people would stop begging for money.
The Movie
It’s 1892 and Sutekh is hopping mad. It seems a 3,000 year old Egyptian sorcerer has stolen one of the God’s secrets of life – that of instilling the souls of the dying into inanimate things. Sutekh raises three mummified former high priests, led by the villainous “First Servant”, and charges them with recovering both the Sorceror and his secret. There is no lack of victims for the 3 high-faluting, stylish villains as they pursue their prey to 19th century Paris, and the very young puppeteer, Andre Toulon. Toulon runs a puppet theatre in the heart of Paris, and meets the sorcerer (the mysterious Afzel) when he is found by the lovely Swiss Ambassador’s daughter Ilsa, after being nearly killed. It is there and then that we find the seed of things to come, and the origin of the Puppet master series of tales.
This “retro” story works as another prequel to not just the first film but every film that had came before this one. One thing I must suggest is, it’s best to just try not to place this franchise in any sort of order at this point and to just accept each film for what it is. This one comes with a bit of a complicated story and is just so random in it’s whole inception that it’s very hard to really make sense of which order this would come in. I THINK before part three, but who’s to say. None the less, we got the Andre Toulon we know the most performed by Guy Rolfe. I always felt he was the best Toulon. And for the retro story, we have Greg Sestero as young Toulon. I don’t think he went on to set the acting world on fire.
As for the rest, we got a wizard, we got puppets, and we have some elder Gods who apparently have weaker powers now. This does open the door for some 90ish styled effects and flashy lights, that may have been corny then but comes across as a more nostalgic feel now to see. The new puppets (or should I say retro ones?) are cool looking, but I think they’d have best been suited to find a place to work them into a storyline with the current puppets than to have them be in the past tense that they are in. After all, they could have been good foil to the current puppets. Instead, they make the puppets we like take a backseat and I’m sure in 1999 that didn’t go over too well.
I guess one would have to say that this story does come across a bit flat and anti-climatic with the best part of the film being the puppets. And even those new puppets just can’t beat the older puppets. The movie even sets up for another retro story that we never have gotten and perhaps it’s best to leave that one alone and not go back to it. This film isn’t awful, but as you watch it it just makes you want another story with the original puppets. Even if the whole series had gotten really stale at this point, you just can’t top the real thing.
The Conclusion
It’s got some cool puppets but it isn’t anything you will want to write home to your Mom about. I think we would have all rather had the older puppets, if for nothing else nostalgic reasons. Full Moon would give us just that with their next Puppet Master movie, but that’s for another time and review. As far as Retro Puppet Master goes, it’s OK but nothing memorably.
The Rating (5/10)
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