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

Blu-Ray Review: "Mark of the Devil"

“Mark of the Devil” marks the first release from Arrow Video that I was able to watch. I was very curious about this label over the years after hearing how they give their British releases the Criterion treatment. This was the first released that I was interested in because of I’m into those types of films about exploitation films of British cinema and witches in general.

The film is about a witchfinder’s apprentice (Udo Kier) who comes to a small Austrian village where he falls in love with a girl. When his master (Herbert Lom) arrives in town, his faith in him is tested when his master deems the girl to be a witch. If matters isn’t worse for him, the town witchmaster general (Reggie Nalder) is a sadistic person that rushes to judgement and want to burn her at the stake. Now caught in the middle, can he find a way to help her escape a violent death before she ends up dead?

“Mark of the Devil” is surprisingly a good film given its subject matter. Director Michael Armstrong does a very good job making the material of the film interesting and shocking. Whether it was the way that the scenes were filmed to how he makes the images feel and look so horrifying, it kept me on edge. The other thing that Armstrong does well, he makes sure that the acting fits the film’s demented tone. He does a very good making sure that most of the main characters performances are villainous. It helped gave me the reaction that I wanted towards them as most of the characters in the film are sick and repulsive. Armstrong also makes sure that his cast had great chemistry with each other. The scenes between Herbery Lom and Udo Keir were great here. Both of the actors had great chemistry with each other. It helped made me more interested in this film especially towards the end.

The screenplay written by Sergio Sasstner and Perry Parker does a very good job making sure that this was horrifying. One of the things that makes this good was the way they made sure the story was very dark from the start. All the horror scene had a certain level of shock to them. Whether it was the execution scenes to the interrogations scenes, everything generated a reaction. It helped made all the horror aspects of the film work well, as those scenes left me horrified and made me turn away from the screen. The other thing that I liked about the screenplay was the way it develops its main characters. I liked the how the writers do a good job focusing on Lom and Keir’s characters and the beliefs that each of those characters have during the course of the film. Even though they weren’t good, at least one of the characters changes during the course of the film. It makes for some very good exchanges and tension between Keir and Lom’s characters.

The special features start out with the audio commentary track with director Michael Armstrong moderated by Calum Waddell. This was a very good track. I liked how both Armstrong and Waddell cover a lot of things from the production of the film to some of the film’s subject matter to the film’s release and other films of this nature. It made for a very good and interesting track.

The next feature is “Hallmark of the Devil”: an interview with Fangoria editor Michael Gingold. The feature talks about the original release of the film and the gimmicks and retitles that Hallmark Films used on other exploitation releases that made those films successful. It was an interesting interview on the history of those films and how it became successful. It’s worth checking out if you’re into those exploitation films of that era.

After that, is “Mark of the Devil: Then and Now”. This featurette showcases the locations used in the film and how it looks now. Not a bad featurette as it was nice to revisit the film’s locations from the time the film was filmed to now.

The next featurette on the disc is “Mark of the Time”. This featurette was about the new wave of British horror in the sixties and seventies. It’s an interesting documentary on the British films that were released during that period of British horror cinema. The interviews were interesting enough to keep my interest.

After that the disc wraps with interviews from most of the cast, outtakes, trailer and a photo gallery.

“Mark of the Devil” is one of those films that does a great job frightening you with its shock value. It also worth watching for the direction of Michael Armstrong and performances of Hebert Lom and Udo Keir.

Review Rating: Four Stars.

Extras: Four Stars