A young scientist (Gordon Currie) and his friends, upon being attacked by demons, are protected by a gang of animated puppets.
On Super Bowl Sunday 1993, Charlie Band called director Jeff Burr and asked him to come in for a meeting. Burr had previously worked on Band's "The Vault", but the film never came out. At this meeting, Burr was offered parts 4 and 5 for "Puppet Master" and two parts of "Oblivion". At this time, Full Moon was largely backed financially by Paramount.
Someone concerned with the continuity points out: In "Toulon's Revenge", Andre Toulon escaped Berlin somewhere between 1942 and 1944. Toulon committed suicide on March 15, and the film mentioned the Eastern Front, whose conduct of operations didn't take place until summer of 1941. In this film, Toulon's diary recounts Major Krauss's death as being on April 7. Since in previously established timelines, Toulon made it to America almost one year after escaping, Toulon would have to had killed himself on March 15 either in 1943 up to 1945.
Who is this concerned? "Puppet Master" may be one of the worst horror franchises out there. Possibly not the very worst, because "Hellraiser" (for example) has really gone downhill to low, low depths. But really, this is Charles Band cheese, luckily saved by Jeff Burr, one of the best directors in the genre.
The film is not all bad. The casting is strange and the acting is poor, but the effects are decent. Not great, as they never are in the series, but the introduction of the demons is nice and they're way better than any of the puppets. Apparently Burr had only limited impact on the casting, as he wanted Judy Geeson for a role but Charlie Band overruled him and handpicked his own actress.
If you love movies, especially these lower budget movies, pick up this disc with Jeff Burr's audio commentary. Burr really needs to write an autobiography, as his memory is incredible and he is an excellent storyteller. He finds a way to fit 200 minutes worth of discussion into a less-than-90 minute film. His reflections on Albert Band and puppetry and everything else are priceless.
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