'Curse of The Puppet Master' (1998) - David DeCoteau.

 

The sixth instalment in the hugely successful 'Puppet Master' franchise while somewhat uneven, is not without interest to more forgiving fans of the miniature, string-less slayers shenanigans, but the MAJOR downside is the palpable lack of grisly Puppet action, 'Blade',' leech Woman', 'Pinhead', and 'Six-Shooter' suffering the ignominy of having been re-inserted into 'Curse of The Puppet Master' from previous films!!! These altogether clumsy 'inserts' are not only awkward, they greatly distract from what is a fairly engrossing story of a young, talented, socially withdrawn woodcarver Robert 'Tank' Winsley coming to work for Dr. Magrew (George Peck), owner of a museum of antique curiosities, and secret dabbler in the occult. The naive woodcarver falls in love with the good doctor's beautiful, sweet-natured daughter Jane (Emily Harrison), their budding romance rudely interrupted by a sinister sinister series of macabre events that suggest Dr. Magrew might just have had an entirely unsavoury motive for hiring the gifted sculptor Josh! With more original puppet footage, and a considerably less abrupt ending 'Curse of The Puppet Master' might not be cursed with such a dire reputation, the diminutive stars deserve far better than this! 'Sadly, this so-so, frequently uninspired effort from the usually reliable DeCoteau suffers from the curse of recycled footage!'