'Puppet Master' (1989) - David Schmoeller.

At the time, perhaps, even more so today, independent filmmaking icon Charles Band’s rapidly cult-forming ‘Puppet Master’ (1989) was a unique cinematic property. Being born rather incongruously during the heady VHS renting boom of salaciously blood-drenched psycho slashers, toxic zombie carnage and derivative, garishly garbed post-apocalyptic death riders. No doubt greatly buoyed by the financial and wholly deserved critical success of ‘Trancers’ (1984), those terrifically talented Full Moon filmmakers imaginatively concocted one of their most sublimely signature works of deliriously diabolical diminutive deviltry, that spawned a fantastically popular franchise of phantasmagorical pint sized perfidy! 

Not long after the esteemed master of stringed puppetry, the flamboyant, world renowned puppeteer Andre Toulon (William Hickey), had fatefully discovered some potent Egyptian alchemy, he miraculously married this ancient magic with his own patent biomechanical refinements. Thereby allowing him to create uniquely autonomous automatons, all powered by entirely eldritch means! These exquisitely murderous marionettes would always abide their master’s bidding; Toulon’s diminutive assassins more than capable of wreaking monstrous havoc upon any so foolhardy as to vex them!

With this necromantic alchemy apparently long buried with the estimable Toulon, four psychically endowed, profoundly eccentric characters are formally summoned to the magisterially Gothic environs of the Bodega Bay Inn to confront their errant partner. Gallagher's despicable desire for sole ownership of this awesome occult power led him to commit myriad acts of murderous madness! The original ‘Puppet Master’ couldn’t be blessed with more refined genre filmmaking credentials. Joseph G. Collodi's terrifically spirited text, stylized photography by frequent Lucio Fulci collaborator Sergio Salvati, and the dazzling astonishing Special SPFX by ‘Puppet Maestro’ David Allen. Composer Richard Band's iconic score, adding additional lustre to director David Schmoeller’s surrealistic vision about the occult origins of these minuscule, mass-murdering misfits!  

While the beloved Puppet Master series would become increasingly more outrageous as it continued slicing n' dicing into the noughties, I have a great fondness for the audacious first instalment. No doubt the novelty of seeing such an idiosyncratic horror film produced within a stiflingly uniform miasma of monotonously masked serial slashers, and shambling brain-dead Zombie-fests increased the frisson of witnessing horror's kinkiest new splatter sprites!