Movies & TV / Reviews
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich Review
Loading...Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich Review
Thomas Lennon– Edgar
Jenny Pellicer– Ashley
Nelson Franklin– Markowitz
Barbara Crampton– Carol Doreski
Charlyne Yi– Nerissa
Michael Pare– Detective Brown
Mathias Hues– Strommelson
Skeeta Jenkins– Cuddly Bear
Udo Kier– Andre Toulon
Directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund
Screenplay by S. Craig Zahler, based on characters created by Charles Band
Distributed by RLJE Films
Not Rated
Runtime– 90 minutes
Buy it here or via various Video On Demand outlets
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is an insane, gloriously gory, and proudly offensive Puppet Master franchise sort of reboot that takes Charles Band’s classic little killers in a very new direction. I’m not entirely sure if it will ultimately appeal to mega fans of the original franchise, but The Littlest Reich should appeal to horror movie fans that like to laugh, cringe, and bellow “What the hell was that?” at the screen. It really isn’t like any of the movies in the original franchise.
Directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, with a screenplay by S. Craig Zahler, The Littlest Reich stars Thomas Lennon as Edgar, a recently divorced, down on his luck comic book artist who goes back home to sort his life out. While staying in his dead brother’s old room and enduring the assholish stares of his, well, asshole father, Edgar gets a job at a comic shop owned and operated by his old friend Markowitz (Nelson Franklin) and starts romancing a woman named Ashley (the ridiculously hot Jenny Pellicer). It would seem that, suddenly, Edgar’s life is on the upswing. He decides to take Ashley and Markowitz to a local convention celebrating/acknowledging the infamous Toulon murders that happened thirty years ago. While there, Edgar hopes to learn a little more about the Toulon murders (the subject is an interest of his) and, maybe, sell one of his brother’s old toys, a puppet that looks like one of Toulon’s puppets from back when Toulon was alive. Plenty of other people with similar interests and puppets will be there, too. Sounds like a terrific goddamn weekend trip, doesn’t it?
You bet your ass it does. And, initially, that’s what it is. A terrific weekend trip. Edgar has sex with Ashley as soon as they get into their hotel room. They don’t even wait five minutes to get settled. They just start in as soon as the goddamn door closes. That act alone would make the weekend a top five life moment. But then, after that and a tour of the property by retired cop Carol Doreski (Barbara Crampton), bad shit starts to happen. Really, really bad shit. The puppets everyone brought to the convention start coming alive. And when the puppets come alive, no one is safe. No one.
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is easily the most violent Puppet Master movie to date. And I feel confident in saying that without actually having seen all of them. I don’t think I’ve seen this many decapitations, bloody arm removals, and serious beatings via diminutive demons in any recent movie. Some of the violence will upset some people, especially the scene involving the pregnant woman. While it’s all so very nasty, it’s all done with a sense of fun that makes it all seem less serious than it looks. That plan works well most of the time. The ending is undermined a bit by that strategy (a movie that’s as fun as The Littlest Reich should end in a fun way, not in a slightly depressing way. The movie does acknowledge that its ending is “unsatisfactory,” but that doesn’t “fix” things).
The special effects appear to be of the practical variety throughout most of the movie’s running time, which is both a good and bad thing. It’s good because, when it comes to blood and gore, practical effects are always better than CGI. It’s a bad thing when some of the puppets try to move and their motion is a bit too jumpy. I would have preferred to have the puppets just appear and kill people and not move as much. They’re scarier that way.
I recognized a few of the puppet types. Blade is in the movie, as are Pinhead and Torch. I didn’t recognize any of the others. Again, since I haven’t seen all of the Puppet Master movies I’m a bit behind on my “killer puppet” knowledge. I’m not sure how many of the puppets are new or reworked versions of previous puppets. I will say that they all look good, even Pinhead, who looks like he’s been burned in the past. It could be the lighting.
The cast is terrific. Thomas Lennon does a great job as Edgar. He’s been through a lot, but he also seems to be bouncing back from all of it, which is just awesome. Lennon has an understated way of delivering most his dialogue that’s just hilarious, even when he isn’t trying to be. He’s a good straight man for Nelson Franklin’s Markowitz, who is a loveable douchebag (Franklin is a pro at that. He does it quite well on Blackish and he was super great at it on that sitcom Traffic Light). Lennon’s final scene sets up the eventually sequel quite nicely.
Jenny Pellicer is awesome as Ashley, the resourceful hot babe girlfriend Ashley. She would seem to be totally out of Edgar’s league, but then she’s the one pursuing him, so he’d be a fool not to go along with her. She’s a real ally when the shit hits the fan later on in the movie and shows that she can wield a gun with the best of them. It will be interesting to see if she shows up in the sequel and in what form. I can see the sequel going one way, but then I could be wrong about it.
Nelson Franklin is funny as the douchebag comic shop owner Markowitz. He’s an expert on various forms of heavy metal music, he has major opinions on comic books (which makes sense since he’s a comic shop owner), and he has a vulnerable, sensitive side that’s endearing. His interactions with Charlyne Yi’s Nerissa are just adorable.
Michael Pare shows up as a cop (Detective Brown) who, at first, is at the convention to investigate thefts and ends up investigating several murders and then has to come up with a plan to save everyone from the puppets. I love how he’s just a hardass from the second he shows up until the very end. Pare excels at that kind of thing.
The immortal Mathias Hues appears in a way you don’t expect him to (that’s all I can say about his part. If you’re a fan of his it will floor you), and Barbara Crampton is a champ as Carol Doreski (she’s a Glock master). Skeeta Jenkins is quite good as the charismatic bartender Cuddly Bear (he will have quite the horror convention career ahead of him as a result of this part).
And then there’s Udo Kier as Toulon. Kier only appears at the beginning of the movie and is decked out in some nasty burn make up, but he does his typical Udo Kier thing and he’s a hoot to watch. It’s a shame he didn’t appear more often throughout the movie. The world could always use more Udo Kier. I would like to know what the heck is going on with Kier’s Toulon carrying around his own lemon. Isn’t that a little, well, weird, even for an Udo Kier?
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is a gleefully disgusting horror romp that will no doubt satisfy the general horror movie audience. I don’t know if fans of the original Puppet Master franchise will embrace it, but I do think that if they give it a shot they might like it. It doesn’t really ruin anything, since The Littlest Reich is its own thing. I say give it a shot, and let’s see what the heck the eventual sequel brings us.
See Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich. See it, see it, see it.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: At least 30.
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: Yes, and it is wonderful.
Doobage: A personal lemon, bar hooey, serious facial scarring, sudden decapitation, potential mind control, small footprints in the dirt, an of screen police shootout, a cool looking opening titles sequence, an asshole father, a box full of old toys, internets hooey, wrist cutting, an awkward family dinner, potential mild anti-Semitism, immediate sex, more potential mild ant-Semitism, a very dramatic retelling of the Toulon murders, outdoor sex, indoor sex, potential theft, serious face and body burning, serious anti-Semitism, boobs on the glass rough sex, Achilles heel slicing, chest stabbing, throat slitting, decapitation, attempted bar flirting that goes nowhere, potential alcoholism, disemboweling, more throat slitting, bloody eye destruction, a very dead woman in a bathtub, on screen abortion, back stabbing, a giant human puppet, even more throat slitting, megaphone hooey, a mini riot in the parking lot, gut slicing, back of the head destruction, head smashing, of screen bloody hand removal, bloody arm removal, puppet shooting, box thrown through a glass window, face smashing, a minor gun massacre, puppet death via oven, a hallway full of dead bodies, neck stabbing, puppet face smashing, some really bad dumpster diving, truck stealing, side of the neck stabbing, unsafe operation of a motor vehicle, truck into the side of a building, some sort of zombie bullshit, metal rod to the side of the head, off screen bullet to the head, and an ending that announces there will be a sequel.
Kim Richards?: Big time.
Gratuitous: Texas, Udo Kier, Udo Kier going to a bar, Udo Kier announcing that he carries around his own lemon, people complaining about people wearing hats inside, lesbians, Thomas Lennon, a hot babe that walks her cat, an attack on hipster douchebags, talk of how Superman flying is ridiculous, Nelson Franklin, an open attack on death metal and its many awful off shots, a desk clerk named Howie, Barbara Crampton, swastikas and Nazi memorabilia, a German lady who says “swastika” in German, pro wrestling in TV, shit in the toilet, Michael Pare, on screen abortion, two guys smoking pot in their car, the immortal Mathias Hues, power failure, speaking Hebrew, people jumping out a window into a dumpster filled with garbage bags, and a depressing ending that announces a sequel.
Best lines: “It’s that old guy again,” “Have anything smaller than that? All my bills are that size,” “Make one more insinuation and I’ll have you thrown out,” “Arrow! Come take a look at this!,” “You letting yourself go? What? That stain on your face,” “Feeling sorry for yourself?,” “You’re a jerkoff,” “Do you want to go to the auction?,” “Fuck. Shit,” “Don’t stab or hook anything,” “I just get this really weird cough when I don’t get invited to things,” “Hey, no nicknames for blondie, okay?,” “Hi. Welcome to the Brass Buckle,” “You must be Markowitz. Why? Because I look like a Jew?,” “It appears the war did not end in Germany for Andre Toulon,” “It sounds like Toulon deserved more than he got,” “Jason! Our Kaiser is gone!,” “Lots of Jewish people collect Nazi memorabilia,” “I bet you didn’t have any tan lines,” “What do you want from the Cuddly Bear?,” “This incident is starting to turn into a happening,” “What are you looking so nervous about?,” “No one is leaving this building until the police department completes its investigation!,” “Stay behind the colored man,” “Biscuits!,” “Why would anyone create a Nazi puppet?,” “You got a menorah in storage?,” “Kill that fucking baby!,” “Shalom, amigo,” and “Are you going to do some more? Um, yeah, probably. Don’t feel like things are fully resolved.”
