Puppet Master 2 (1991)

I recently dumped a lot of hard earned money into purchasing the rare out-of-print Puppet Master box set that contains the first 7 films. All the DVDs for the most part have decent picture quality considering what Full Moon Entertainment usually pumps out. Sadly the presentation of "Puppet Master II" is really disappointing. The picture is not good at all and is actually no better than the original VHS version. Some portions of the film turn digital for a short time. I might have forgiven the picture quality if the DVD weren't defective. Towards the end of the the picture gets all wavy. It's really annoying and makes the film hard to watch. I at first thought it was my DVD so I purchased another copy from a different seller. Some wavy picture. Every person I talk to says they have the same wavy effect on their DVD. I don't think this poor DVD transfer will be fixed anytime soon because the stock footage used from this film that was edited into Curse of the Puppet Master contanins the same annoying wavy effect. The box set would have been worth it if it weren't for the crappy presentation of Puppet Master II. If your willing to forgive the defective wavy picture, then by all means buy the box set. Otherwise...you've been warned.

Update 5/2/06: I did find it most almost humerous that I've been getting a lot of bad feedback on this review by sellers. They are just upset that I pointed out problems with the DVD to warn potential buyers because they want outragous prices for the film. My point is not to help sellers sell the DVD at high prices but to warn potential buyers so they aren't surprised and disappointed by the DVD like I was.

It was inevitable, wasn't it? You knew damn well while watching the first film that there would be more. It's a good thing though coz Puppet Master 2 is pretty good.

A group of paranormal investigators come to the abandoned Bodega Inn to research the wild claims made by the surviving psychic of the first film. Naturally the puppets are still hanging around. However, this time the puppets have managed to resurrect their master, Andre Toulon. We now find out that the secret elixir that gives life is a greenish muck made from human brains. The puppets need Toulon to create more of this mixture to bring life back to the ailing Jester doll, and they happily supply the brains needed for the brew. Toulon has other plans. The leader of the paranormal investigators, Carolyn, bears a striking resemblance to Toulon's deceased wife and he becomes smitten with her. He parades around the hotel in a bandaged Invisible Man getup waiting for his chance to get her.

By God, can Carolyn's new beau save her from being turned into a creepy looking mannequin??

While not as good as the first film, Puppet Master 2 is still a fun ride. At first it seems like a rehashing of the first movie, but ends up throwing some interesting plot points around. The investigators eventually get pushed to the back burner and the film focuses more on Toulon and his interaction with the puppets. The puppet FX are done once again by David Allen, who now also steps into the director's chair. A new puppet with a blowtorch arm is introduced, appropriately named Torch. Most screen time seems to be reserved for him and Blade, the rest of the puppets aren't shown as much as before. The film's a tad gorier than the first one as well.

What it really boils down to is if you liked the tone, mood, quirkiness and characters established in the first movie, there's really no reason why you wouldn't find this an entertaining movie.

Buy Puppet Master 2 (1991) Now

I saw this about 15 times and I love it.The Puppets are cool and evil and the wicked Puppet Master returns from the grave!

With hit music from the first movie and a hot cast this is a Puppet Master film that kicks butt!

Read Best Reviews of Puppet Master 2 (1991) Here

Not nearly as good, charming or fun as the original. But it's still worth it if you loved the part one and even more so if you are hoping for something silly and weird. Just lower your expectations...okay, lower them a lot...with beer.

SEQUEL SIDEBAR: This movie picks up right where Puppet Master (1989) leaves off.

A team of four paranormal investigators and older psychic Camille (Nita Talbot; Frightmare, Amityville 1992) venture to the very same hotel as in Puppet Master (1989) to learn just what Dr. Whitaker (part 1's survivor) saw that drove him mad. [There's a good way to reduce the budget of an already low budget horror: use the exact same set!]

Things get stupidly weird when the oddly wardrobed Eriquee Chanee, a thick accented man mummified in gauze, introduces himself as the hotel's owner. We quickly learn that he is actually Toulon, reanimated by his faithful puppets. Listening to his over-hammed up alchemical lectures to his puppets in that awful accent is truly painful. Puppet Master was a fun, playful romp that didn't take itself too seriously. This character turns the franchise in a farcical direction.

What's worse is that this part two's Toulon lacks the gentle, kind nature of part one's Toulon. They also gave him that ridiculous accent and basically made him into an evil, over-the-top villain with uber-weird motives that rely on freshly squeezed human brain juice serving as the necro-biofuel of eternal undeath. In part one, he was just a normal sounding nice old guy who made breathed life into his puppets by whispering some ancient Egyptian incantations; it was much more graceful and in better taste.

Generally, the acting is more wooden than the puppets, which come with their own amusing flavors. Pinhead has man hands (as in a stop-motion puppet with live-action human hands), Leech Woman magically regurgitates leeches, Tunneler has a drill on his head, Blade has a hook for one hand and a blade for the other but somehow seems the nicest, Jester strikes me as pure evil, and newcomer Torch has a flame thrower. Sadly, the puppet kills pale in comparison to part one.

This movie just gets weirder and weirder as it persists and this is largely the fault of this R-rated cartoonish Toulon character. The movie reaches its climactic ridiculousness when Toulon drinks some potion he makes from human brain juice, then slits his own throat above the open mouth of a dead victim he has fashioned into a man-sized female puppet so that the puppet-woman can drink it and assume the life of his wife who died by Nazi hands decades ago. There! Now did you really think I could say so many weird things in just one run-on sentence? I thought not!

Watch this for a beer, boobs and blood night with the guys. The movie will provide ample doses of the latter two, so you just need to bring a six pack.

Want Puppet Master 2 (1991) Discount?

My opinion of Puppet Master II is about the same as my opinion of the first Puppet Master. It's great when the puppets are on screen, killing and looking creepy. However, when the puppets aren't around, the movie isn't that great. It takes itself too seriously. I actually favor Demonic Toys over the Puppet Master series. That one at least had a nice sense of humor...and Tracy Scoggins.

Save 12% Off