Rating: 2.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2016 | 10/52 | Full Moon / Empire Pictures
Honey, even the dead have their ways
Bodega Bay Inn, 1939
Andre, an elderly puppeteer, paints a marionette. His room is full of them. One looks over at him from the window, then back outside. After finishing painting his most recent puppet, he imbues it with life. The puppet’s head spins around.
Two men in black trench coats enter the hotel, speaking German. Andre grabs a gun and kills himself as the trenchcoat men burst in.
Present Day (1989)
A group of psychics each receive startling visions, each involving a man named Neil Gallagher. They believe Neil has found the old puppet master’s hiding place.
Alex, Dana, Frank, and Carissa convene at The Bodega Bay Inn. Meghan, Neil’s wife, meets them. Neil is dead — suicide.
Something isn’t adding up. Why did Neil die? How did they not know about it? These psychics are going to channel their abilities to figure it out.
The first act was difficult to follow — introducing five characters before saying why is rough. Even after, the first half of the movie is pretty slow. But once it got going, I got into it.
I like the puppet designs. Some are conventional, but a couple are pretty out there. I wish we got more of them!
While not my favorite killer toy movie — that’s still Dolls (1987) — I’ll check at least one of the twelve (12!) sequels.
** Thoughts / Spoilers **
- I didn’t know going in that Charles Band co-wrote this.
- This movie has the signature Charles Band score — cloying
- Frank and Carissa channel sexual energy. When she sits on her hotel bed, she experiences sex that happened between Clark Gable and Carol Lombard on that bed.
- Robin Frates bears a striking resemblance to Cristin Milioti
- When the doll vomited up leeches, I got on board
- Dana’s stuffed dog, Leroy, is so disconcerting.
- I don’t get why the puppets kill people.
- Egyptian rites, huh?
- Oh, I guess they serve a master? But then they change their mind because he said something negative about them?
- “Open that door, you fucking little cretin.”
- Hehehe Leroy