They
are vicious, homicidal National Socialist puppets, but at least they are not as
annoying as the moralizing sock-puppets from Avenue Q. The killer puppets of Charles Band’s bread and butter
franchise haven’t gone anywhere. In fact, they are now terrorizing full-size
people in two separate cinematic worlds: Band’s continuing Puppet Master universe and the new licensed reboot (highly likely
to generate sequels of its own). Everyone starts with a clean slate, but the
little monsters and their nasty creator are just as evil as they ever were,
maybe even more so, in Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund’s Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (trailer here), which screens
during this year’s FrightFest in the UK.
In
1989, there was a notorious incident at the mansion of former Hitler confidant
Andre Toulon, a master of mad science and the occult. Since then, his
hand-crafted mail order puppets have become morbid collector’s items. Indie
comic book artist Edgar Easton is considering auctioning off the puppet that
once belonged to his brother—his late brother, who died under mysterious circumstances.
He
had been deeply depressed by his recent divorce, especially since he was forced
to move back in with his parents. However, his sudden romance with Ashley
Summers, the little sister of a former classmate has drastically improved his
outlook. She is such a good sport, she is oddly game to accompany him to the
convention marking the 30th anniversary of the Toulon Murders. Rather
awkwardly, Easton’s obnoxious comic shop boss Markowitz invites himself along
too, but he will be surprisingly handy to have around when things get crazy. In
retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to collect so many Toulon puppets in one
place.
At
times, Littlest Reich is deliriously gory,
seriously challenging the gleeful levels of mayhem in Band’s own films. Yet, S.
Craig (Brawl in Cellblock 99) Zahler’s
screenplay is surprisingly strong when it comes to characterization. Easton,
Summers, and Markowitz are all quite sharp and funny. We actually root for them
to live. Thomas Lennon and Jenny Pellicer have terrific bantering chemistry as
Easton and Summers, while Nelson Franklin scores big laughs as Markowitz,
before commandingly assuming the film’s heroic mantle.
Barbara
Crampton also shows her under-appreciated comedic chops as Officer Carol
Doreski, one of the original responding cops, who now gives lurid tours at the
old Toulon house. Of course, Udo Kier does his thing as Toulon. Matthias Hues
adds further cult weirdness playing a himbo hook-up, whose body is commandeered
by the Toulon puppets.
As
you probably figured out, Littlest Reich is
not the subtlest film to come along. For instance, it literally ends with “To
Be Continued” blazoned across the screen in big block letters (but there is
also a short but amusing stinger at the very end). After the first rebooting,
we’re already eager for more Puppet Mastery
from Laguna, Wiklund, and Zahler. It is a fun film to watch on your own,
but it should be an absolute blast at a festival setting. Highly recommended
for fans of horror-comedies, Puppet
Master: The Littlest Reich screens twice tomorrow (8/24) as part of this
year’s FrightFest UK—and finishes its New York run tonight (8/23) at the
Village East.
