Review: "Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich"

It’s been a while since I had the chance to write a review with all the stuff happening on this site. Why not start off my return to writing reviews with what I have to say one of the year’s most controversial horror films of the year, “Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich” which is being co-produced by Fangoria.

The film is about a comic book creator (Thomas Lennon) who returns home to his parent’s house after being divorced and dealing with the death of his brother. When he goes to his brother’s room, he finds a puppet stored in a box made by the infamous Andre Toulon. He realizes that he can sell it at the 25th anniversary convention celebrating the infamous Toulon murders at a hotel. So he brings his best friend and new love interest along. Soon, the puppets come to life and unleashes a wave or carnage that hasn’t been seen in any Puppet Master” film. Now, he must find out what makes the puppets come back to life and stop it before they kill everyone in the hotel. The film also co-stars Michael Pare, Charlyne Yi, Barabra Crampton and Udo Kier.

If you’re going into this Puppet Master thinking that it would be like the original Full Moon series, then you will be very disappoint as the magic of those films are replaced with shock and awe. Still, this “Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich” is a very good film as this the most horrific killer toy film that I ever seen.

The film directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund goes a very good job providing bloody action and shocking moments. One of the things that made this good was the fact that both directors made sure to keep the action moving. Whether it was the way that they directed the death scenes to how they handle the action especially with the puppet movements, everything is done in a way that it gives you a shocking and gory feel that quite frankly I’m not used to seeing in a Puppet Master film. It made this film entertaining and serious as there were some of the scenes that had a horrific and Troma like feel to it. The other thing that makes Laguna and Wiklund’s direction was the fact that performances were very good. They make sure that the performances had a serious tone while maintain the cast chemistry. It made the characters interesting and help moved the shocking tone along which made it feel different compared to other Puppet Master films. This film also has a very good lead performance from Thomas Lennon which also help made this very good.

But if there is one thing that made this film great, it was the film’s haunting score by Italian Composer Fabio Frizzi. Yes, the same one behind the scores of Fulci’s “Zombi 2” and “The Beyond”. He does a great job making sure the score had a very dark and creepy feel to it. It helped drive the film’s sinister tone which made the film darker than Richard Band’s original score. I would put up with there with some of his Fulci scores as his best work.

The one thing that I worried about this film was the fact that the screenplay was written S. Craig Zahler. Given his track record and the fact that I read reviews making me thing that this film was going into Troma territory and that it wouldn’t work considering I’m a major fan of the Puppet Master series. While it has material that might be considered offensive to some, for me it worked enough that I had a good time with this film even though the material felt overkill especially in the first half of the film.

What I liked about the screenplay was the fact that it does a very good job with the way that it builds up it’s lead character. I liked how Zahler does a very good job making sure that Thomas Lennon’s character is likeable. Whether it’s the way that he develops the character or making sure he is the focal point, it made the character interesting enough that I was interested in the character. The other thing that made the screenplay really good was the fact that this had a comic book like feel to it. Whether it was the over the top violence, or the film’s opening credits or the way this film ends, it gave a feel that you were in a comic book at times which made it different from the original films.

“Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich” is definitely not a film for everyone. With over the top gore, intense action and a great score, this is a film will shock you and leave you wanting more.

Review Rating: Four Stars

"Death House" Release Pushed Back to March 2nd.

Hanover House recently released information about the change to the release of the anticipated "Death House". The film star Adrienne Barbeau, Barbara Crampton, Courtney Palm, Death House, Dee Wallice, Entertainment Factory, Kane Hodder, Lloyd Kaufman, Reviews, Sid Haig and Tony Todd.

"Death House" will hit theaters in limited release starting on March 2nd and expands on March 9th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: https://deathhouse.us .

Press Release:

The record-breaking success of Disney / Marvel’s “BLACK PANTHER” this past weekend has spiked the box office and auditoriums of multiplexes across the nation. But the demand for hold-over screens for the next few weeks has put a crunch on smaller, specialty releases.

“DEATH HOUSE,” the highly anticipated thriller described as “the Expendables of Horror Films” by many horror-industry publications, is one of the releases left scrambling in the wake of last weekend’s box office success. The horror release from Hannover House, Inc. (OTC: HHSE), was slated for a key market launch this Friday, but has now rescheduled its plans for a roll-out over three weeks starting March 2.

“Obviously, we are very disappointed to find such pressure from the exhibitors to holdp-over multiple screens for ‘Black Panther,” said Eric Pakrinson, C.E.O. of Hannover House. “But we are happy for the success that this film is providing to theatre owners, and we know that the slight delay we are implementing for ‘Death House’ will ultimately pay big dividends for the film,” he concluded.

“DEATH HOUSE” will now launch on Friday, March 2nd with a special media event and public opening at the Regency Plant 16 in Van Nuys, California. The Friday night showing will feature nearly twenty cast members, along with principal crew and horror-industry media. Producer Rick Finkelstein will speak briefly before the first screening, and will dedicate the film’s launch to the memory of writer / actor Gunnar Hansen (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) who passed away in November, 2015 shortly after completing the first draft screenplay for “DEATH HOUSE.” The film will also open on March 2nd at the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, PA, which will feature a Sunday evening special event and presentation by director B. Harrison Smith.

Hannover House plans to expand the release of “DEATH HOUSE” to approximately 20 additional markets on March 9 and March 16, with further playdates to be based on audience response and box office performance. The home video and digital release are anticipated for July.

March 2nd Markets

Los Angeles / Van Nuys, CA and Stroudsburg, PA (hometown of the film’s director, Harrison Smith).

March 9th Markets

New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, GA; Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL; Sacramento, CA; Charlotte, NC; Kansas City, KS / MO; Oklahoma City, OK; Jacksonville, FL; Memphis, TN; and N.W. Arkansas.

Albert Band's "Robot Wars" Makes Blu-Ray Debut

Full Moon Features recently released information for their upcoming Blu-Ray release of Albert Band's "Robot Wars". The film stars Don Michael Paul and Barbara Crampton.

Special features on the blu-ray includes The Wizard of Wars: Remembering David Allen (NEW feature), Vintage 1997 Full Moon Promo and Original Videozone program.

"Robot Wars" hits Full Moon Direct on December 12th.

Press Release:

It's Robot Vs. Robot in a Metal-Crunching Dystopian Future!

From director Albert Band (I BURY THE LIVING, DOCTOR MORDRID) comes ROBOT WARS, Full Moon's sister film follow-up to 1989's cult hit ROBOT JOX. In a gas-ravaged future Hell, the United States is divided into two opposing blocs, the North Hemi and the Eastern Alliance and targeting them both are roving bands of pirates known as the Centros. While "mega robots" were once employed for war, peace between the blocs has dictated that the mechanized monsters are no more, save for the lone remaining functioning specimen the MRAS-2, now utilized as a tourist attraction and piloted by the rough and tumble Drake (Don Michael Paul). But when a war-mongering dignitary steals the MRAS-2 and threatens to wage a new apocalyptic battle, Drake revives another dormant "mega robot", the MEGA-1, and drags it out into the desert to take down the deadly, scorpion-like MRAS-2 with the fate of what's left of the world hanging in the balance! Full Moon is pleased to bring back this retro-robot gem for its high definition Blu-ray debut, digitally remastered in HD from its original 35mm camera negative. ROBOT WARS is a fun, action-packed tale of political intrigue and sci-fi action that also co-stars the great Barbara Crampton (CASTLE FREAK, RE-ANIMATOR) and features stunning stop-motion special effects by the late, great David Allen.

Review: "Death House"

Just this past weekend, yours truly headed out to Scare-a-Con New England for their second year running in Springfield, MA. That's where I managed to get the first look to one of most anticipated horror films of the year “Death House”. The film’s story was created by Gunner Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) who passed away in 2015. This film is also his last credited film.

The film is about two federal agents (Courtney Palm, Cody Longo) who visit an experimental prison that houses the world’s most dangerous criminals. When the lights go out, the agents are trapped in the prison as the prisoners are out of their cells. The only way out is going to the deepest of all places to find the supernatural beings who may be the only ones that can help them from what awaits inside the prison.

With a cast that includes Kane Hodder, Tony Tood, Sid Haig, Dee Wallace, Barbara Crampton, Bill Mosley, Michael Berryman, Felissa Rose, Lloyd Kaufman, Sean Whalen and a host of others, I was not going to miss this film for anything. My first reaction after seeing this film was that it reminded me of Adam Green’s Hatchet as I was wowed by that film when it first theaters for its action. “Death House” gave me that same feel as I like this a lot. The action has this level of kick ass intensity from start to finish as “Hatchet” did.

What makes this film very good was B. Harrison Smith direction. He does a very good job with the way he handles everything. From the action to how he directs this, everything is done in a way that it’s a love letter to the hardcore horror fan. It has a mixture of old school gore imagery and action packed sequences drives the film’s intensity to the point that it doesn’t stop until its conclusion. The other thing I liked about this was it didn’t feel like your random horror film with cameos. There were plenty here but you almost forget about them because Smith does a very good job directing his main cast. He makes sure that his main cast including Courtney Palm, Cody Longo and Kane Hodder make their performances entertaining to help make the focus of the film be about the story and not all of these cameos. It made me interested in their characters and the action that takes place.

The other thing that I liked about this was the screenplay. Harrison Smith does a very job making sure the screenplay had an old school horror feel to it while also making feel action packed. One of the things that he does very well is to develop everything. I liked how he takes his time by developing the backstory of the death house and what its main purpose is. By doing that, its makes the location feel like another character which is needed here because the film’s title is Death House. I also liked how there are several things in the screenplay that pay homage to other notable horror films. It’s done in a way that it doesn’t take away from the story as these homage fit into the film’s dark and twisted world. It made this film fun as I was into everything from start to finish.

This is definitely one horror film you should be checking when released into theaters as this one of the most fun times I’ve had watching a horror film in a while. “Death House” is an action packed adrenalized thrill ride that that doesn’t stop. Review Rating: Five Stars