‘Puppet Master: Doktor Death’ Review

Stars: Jenny Boswell, Emily Sue Bengtson, Melissa Moore, Madeleine Dee, Laura Dennis, Rick Montgomery Jr., Erin Eva Butcher, Ashton Wolf, Jesse Guilmette, Zach Zebrowski, Chad Patterson | Directed by Dave Parker

I have been a Puppet Master fan since the dawn of my VHS renting days, in fact the original Puppet Master film was – along with various incarnations of the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises – one of the first horror films I ever rented… All under the watchful eye of my mother of course (it wasn’t until a few years later when the local video shop just let me, as someone under the age of 16, rent out 18-rated horror films all on my own)! My Puppet Master fandom has lived with me since then, as I’ve gone down various routes of watching and owning the series – from the early days of ex-rental and sell-thru VHS, to numerous DVD iterations (including the huge Puppet Master boxset Full Moon put our years ago) and even multiple copies of the films on Blu-ray – and own numerous pieces of merchandise, from 90s action figures, to lifestyle replicas, to comics, to the most recent NECA figures… What I’m trying to say is that I absolutely LOVE the Puppet Master franchise. So much so that I do wonder if I could ever write a non-biased review of this, the latest film in the series, Puppet Master: Doktor Death, even more so given that it also comes from director Dave Parker – whose signature adorns my poster of The Hills Run Red, a slasher favourite of mine and an item I’ve cherished ever since the films Frightfest debut some 14 years ago!

Puppet Master: Doktor Death is the second “solo” puppet film from Full Moon following 2020s Blade: The Iron Cross and is spun off from 1999s Retro Puppet Master, a film that revealed that the killer puppets we knew and loved up to that point weren’t the first puppets that the titular Puppet Master, Andre Toulon, created. No, among that original puppet line-up was Doktor Death – who takes the lead here in what is a long-awaited sequel to that 1999 film; though you don’t need to have seen or even remember that film to enjoy this one as the premise of Puppet Master: Doktor Death is pretty straightforward.

After being freed from a chained-up trunk by nurses at Shady Oaks Senior Living retirement home following the death of its “owner” Doktor Death runs loose in the home killing the elderly tenants and the staff that look after them. It feels like a return to the series’ roots – puppets versus people. In fact, the first thing that strikes you about Puppet Master: Doktor Death is how much it truly captures the feel of the original Puppet Master films, those first two movies which laid the groundwork for the long-running series. From the music cues to the location (apparently a house owned by Charles Band), everything about Puppet Master: Doktor Death feels “right” – like old-school Puppet Master, much more than many of the latter Puppet Master movies if I’m honest.

In a real surprise one of the retirement home’s residents is Gladys, played by scream queen Melissa Moore (I’ll never forget Moore’s role in Sorority House Massacre 2, that’s been etched in my brain since I saw it on holiday in L.A. in 1993!) Also, if you’re an All Elite Wrestling fan you’ll know that The Bunny and her husband The Blade appear in the film and whilst its a literal quick cameo appearance for both, it is nice to see that The Bunny, a huge Puppet Master fan herself, gets to live out the dreams of any fan and appear in a Puppet Master movie… what I would give to be able to do that!

The biggest surprise about Puppet Master: Doktor Death though is the titular puppet’s powers. Whilst a lot of the time the killer puppet runs down offing numerous characters, it’s revealed that he can actually BE a puppet master himself, talking over the bodies of his victims (by sitting inside them and pulling tendons and nerves like strings – think something along the lines of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3‘s grotesque puppet scene – including an instantly iconic skinned corpse of one of the home’s employees! It’s an interesting twist on the mythology, as is the fact Doktor Death is not under the control of anyone, he’s seemingly killing people all on his own like a typical slasher-movie psychopath, whereas the original puppets only killed innocents under the control of a master!

Whilst I enjoyed my time with Puppet Master: Doktor Death I really did wish the film would’ve had a little more meat on its bones. The film runs a mere 59 minutes, which keeps things moving at a swift pace but didn’t leave much time for world-building or deep characterisation – two things that, I think, could’ve pushed this particular franchise entry to the next level and given us something akin to the original trilogy. What DOES however, give Puppet Master: Doktor Death a real kudos (and edge above the later Puppet Master films) is the movie’s epilogue, one that ties things back to Retro Puppet Master brilliantly and sets up another Retro Puppet Master/Doktor Death sequel perfectly.

****½  4.5/5

My idea of filmic heaven, Puppet Master: Doktor Death is available to stream now on Full Moon Features and Tubi and buy on DVD and Blu-ray from Full Moon Direct.