Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Ted Nicolaou

Writers:

David S. Goyer (characters)
C. Courtney Joyner (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Comedy | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Playtime is over. Now the REAL fun begins.

Plot:

A group of toymakers seek to use Andre Toulon's formula, now in the hands of Toulon's great-nephew Robert, to give life to a line of killer toys that they plan to unleash on Christmas Eve.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Evil Toy | Evil Doll

Cast

Corey Feldman	...	Robert Toulon
Vanessa Angel	...	Erica Sharpe
Danielle Keaton	...	Alexandra Toulon
Silvia Suvadova	...	Sergeant Jessica Russell
Nikolai Sotirov	...	Julian
Velizar Binev	...	The Mayor
Anton Falk	...	Bael
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dessi Morales	...	Mother
Jodi Nelson	...	News Reporter
Paul Rawson	...	Josh

Also Known As:

Demonic Toys 3 (USA)
Puppet Master 9 (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:88 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

ApolloProScreen Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Originally going to be made in 1993 (a separate plot for Puppet Master 4) but was scrapped after the new storylines. The plans have since passed over year-by-year until now.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The part being examined under microscope by Robert Toulon and Alexandra Toulon is simply an electronic capacitor, not a camera.

Quotes:

Robert Toulon: You see this bruise? This is reality! Baby Oopsy kicked my butt!

Movie Connections:

Follows Demonic Toys (1992) (V)

I don't know, I kinda liked it

For starters let me say this: the acting was (very) bad, the special effects laughable, and the story made me want to hurt the writers.

But you know what? I enjoyed it anyway!

Compared to "CURSE OF THE PM", "RETRO PM" and "PM: THE LEGACY" this was a step up...okay, a half a step, but still. Sure the Puppet's movements were really herky-jerky, but it's nice to see someone actually cared to make them MOVE, instead of looking like someone was playing with their PM action figures and over-relying on stock footage. And Baby Oopsie movements were pretty good actually. Ditto that freaky jack in the box. (The less said about that useless Teddy Bear, the better).

The acting is undeniably bad, but bad in a "so-bad-it's-funny" way, which is a little better than the boredom I felt watching the three films mentioned above. Shot, Coery Feldman wasn't even their first choice but their original lead man backed out over a budgeting dispute, which is really, really unfair considering the money the Sci-Fi Channel people spend on all those Sci-Fi original mini-series and Friday night shows and marketing the heck out of them.

Making the Puppets into cyborgs was an annoying move, but a somewhat necessary one. Let's face it, short things killing people was scary back in the eighties and early nineties, but a doll/puppet with a knife doesn't remotely scare anyone anymore (look at what's happened to the CHILD'S PLAY series). In fact, I almost like the Puppet's *ahem* upgrades. Blade gets a bigger knife with teeth on edge, a better looking hook and is still a little bad ass, Pinhead's new hands look bad but make him a lot stronger, and giving Six-Shooter lasers ain't a bad idea (where in the world could he find a steady supply of tiny bullets?) Jester...his new look and abilities aren't good at all, but then again all he ever had going for him was his rotating head. Much less forgivable is the decision to give the Toys *ahem* "super powers". The jack in the box's laugh now doubles as a sonar scream and Baby Oopsie has the ability to leap long distances by...farting?! What were they thinking is anyone's guess.

The plot these tiny terrors are in...it's real bad isn't it? In fact, the whole "kill millions of kids on a holiday" thing was done before--and better--in HALLOWEN 3. And once again the writers gladly overlook and ignore continuity to make a new story and some new plot points, never mind long time fans and how they feel (Wait, you mean there was another Toulon centuries ago that sold his soul to a demon, then hid it in an oak tree and that same tree is what Andre used to make those puppets from "RETRO PM"?...HUH?!?!).

Let's be honest, they haven't made a good (or even decent) PUPPET MASTER movie since part 5, and probably never will. But at least here they gave it a little effort.