Puppet Master IX: Axis of Evil

source: Puppet Master: Axis of Evil

Puppet master axis of evil 😈 watched last night. I found it to be a very good film and quite enjoyed the action. The puppets work well in the film i have all the puppet master films in my collection. I have another one to watch tonight should be interesting.

The Puppet Master series was tolerable... until this movie. Even Curse of the Puppet Master, bad as it was, was sort of entertaining to watch. But this movie... no. The storyline, acting, appearence of the puppets themselves, etc, were truly awful. There is nothing I can think of positive to say about this movie. I realize the Nazi Germany story is part of the Puppet Master series, but still. The plot here was atrocious. This is definitely a Puppet Master film I never want to see again. Retro Puppet Master was the last decent Puppet Master film. Everything after Retro Puppet Master isn't worth watching at all. I would say it's worth it to watch the first 7 Puppet Master movies, but stop there. Just don't watch anything after Retro. Retro and Curse are GREAT compared to this.

David DeCoteau is a talented microbudget horror director and he's directed some of the better, more artful Puppet Master films. Parts 3, 6 and 7 are some of the most competently directed, serious and beautifully shot Full Moon films. "Axis of Evil" fits in with them, but its the weakest of his efforts through no fault of his own. The problem with Pt 9 (since Charles Band disgustingly counts a "Best of" tape as Pt 8) is that its a much, much cheaper rehash of 7 which was a rehash of 3. The plot follows a young man fighting the Nazis in a dark urban setting, losing his loved ones and then getting revenge. Pt 3 is a good film but remaking it twice is twice too many. Worst of all is that the puppets have less to do with the story and they look shabbier in each film. Lets face it: the puppets are the stars. Its gorgeously shot, directed as well as a fast and cheap horror film can be and you have to admire the craftsmanship of a movie filmed for peanuts, but its not entertaining or original enough. This is the 1st of a trilogy and so you don't receive any closure but you do feel a rage at the cynical money-grubbing quality of Full Moon's lesser films. What a waste of DeCoteau and a modest Puppet Master premise.

Let me start off by saying that I find the Puppet Master mythology to be one of the more intriguing of the horror genre. The idea behind it, the concept and the "lore" supporting it, is far more interesting to me than the concepts of other, better-known horror films, such as Halloween or especially Friday the 13th. There is a mysticism, an aura of magic, around watching the puppets do what they do,that keeps me interested in them, even while other elements of the films sink into the abyss of Z-rated schlock. Sadly, the charm of these puppets is not enough to support their films, especially with the absence of the late David Allen's stellar special effects. Primarily, it seems like the weakest element to these films is the writing, which generally seems rote or amateur. If it's not the writing, then it's the acting, or the production values. In one way or another, something seems off. Axis of Evil is no exception. A direct sequel to the prologue of the 1989 Puppet Master, Axis of Evil branches off into a sort of "side story" about a young man's discovery of the puppets of Andre Toulon,a German puppeteer who killed himself to protect his reanimation serum from the clutches of the Nazis. It then tells the story of his struggle against two Nazi assassins, named Max and Klaus, who are trying to secure the serum and the puppets for Hitler. Also involved is a Japanese saboteur named Ozu, who has her own plans for the elixir, which rhyme with "give serum to the emperor! Much reward! Yay!". The story, while fairly mundane, does have a bit of weight behind it. However, while the story had the potential to make Axis of Evil more than what it is, the execution floored this possibility. The puppet effects, created by Gage Munster, aren't anywhere near as strong or graceful as they ought to be, considering the focus of the film is on the puppets. I understand that these aren't supposed to be Jurassic Park-quality special effects; they're living puppets, after all. But there's still something wrong about their inorganic clumsiness. It veers out of context and into being cheap. Out of special effects, the production design is actually fairly strong, with visible effort put into the sets and costumes. The human element of the film, the acting, isn't terribly shabby in itself; the trouble in this respect comes from the casting. All of the characters who feel off in the film aren't acted out poorly, they're just acted out by people who are too young for the roles. The best example of this can be found in the antagonists. The actors who play the Nazis cannot be far beyond their 20s, while they should be in their late-30s or 40s for the roles of Max and Klaus. Their youth makes them both hard to take very seriously. Also, Jenna Gallaher's character seems to demand "dame", while she gives it "valley girl". On another note, the revised score by Richard Band is refreshing. I really wish I could say better of Axis of Evil, I really do. I want to like the new Puppet Master films like I liked the first wave. But ever since Full Moon Features left Paramount, the studio has been stuck in a rut that is still evident in Axis of Evil. So is not to say that the film is bad; it is improved over the past few installments. I just wish it was better. Axis of Evil does end with a cliffhanger, a setup for the inevitable and imminent sequel, Axis Rising. Here's hoping it's an improvement over this film. Here's hoping it's the 21st-century sequel that the puppets, the fans, and the license deserve.

This a very scary movie. It a very good prequel. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also has great special effects. It is very scary. It not 4.4. This is a 9. It a great horror film. It is very scary. It is better. A Nightmare on elm street. And that is not easy to do. This is better then The Shinning. It very scary. If it does not scary you know movie will. See this movie. It so scary. I got 4.4 from people who do not know a good horror movie. See this movie. It is one of the scariest movies of all time. See it. It will scary you. If you like good horror stories you will like this movie.

I was thoroughly disappointed with Full Moon's new addition to the Puppet Master collection. The movie is set in the WWII era (once again), in which the protagonist who assumes the role of the new Puppet Master must foil a plot to destroy a local factory that is supplying goods for the war. The plot is hatched by an unwitting duo of Japanese and German soldiers (who some how came into the U.S. unnoticed). The actors in the movie are horrible, its almost comedic how cheesy they are when reading their lines, the lack of emotion and more importantly TALENT is quite apparent. But I digress, the main issue I took up with this movie is the lack of feeling/ambiance that the original's created. The killings in the movie are way less violent and gory, and not to mention far and few between. It's almost as if they attempted to downgrade the genre to a PG-13 type of film. The plot holes were so big you could drive a freight train through them, and there was not enough attention put on the dolls themselves. Lastly, the worst part is they left the ending pointing directly to a sequel to Axis of Evil. All I know is Full Moon better get this one right, because I'm beginning to lose faith! Hope this review helps! Regards, CM

Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE Puppet Master fan. I like every movie, some I love. And when I watched this, I was very satisfied. The puppets were awesome for the screen time they were given and did what they do best. The acting was average, the gore was good, and the storyline was pretty good. The only errors (which I hate to point out) are the dialogue, amount of gore, and not as much screen time for the puppets as in other films, which was fine due to the budget. However, I only recommend this movie to Puppet Master fans or fans of Charles Band and Full Moon. If you are just a horror film watcher, you will be too judgmental of this film. Go Blade!

Sadly, this new puppetmaster offering sux, fit only for real Charles Band fanatics, once again, Charles Band has shown he has lost his touch, and is in it for the money only, half of this film is old s**t, prolly culled from the cutting room floor. The characters are cheesy enough, BUT, the plot is thinner than even Charles Band can do, the acting stilted and forced, the only bright spot is the new puppet, and he is not given a proper intro and little to no investment for the viewer to either like or dislike the character the last 4 or 5 movies have shown me that Charles Band has lost it, and shoulda retired the franchise before Retro Puppetmaster long live Blade! (my fave puppet) and yes, i am a puppetmaster fan. this latest attempt just fails as miserably as the last 4 or 5

Set in 1939 after the events of the first Puppet Master just as Toulon commits suicide, the owners nephew of the Bodega Bay Hotel, a cripple Danny 'befriends' Toulon's living deadly Puppets.   He takes them to Chinatown but soon gets caught up in a Nazi/Japanese WW2 bomb plot and it is up to Danny and the Puppets to stop this sabotage. Firstly, despite the intention of a theatrical run of the first film, all have been direct to video releases, this is a pity because there is a real following for these movies and the puppet characters, possibly with a larger budget it may have had more success. Sadly, Axis of Evil again suffers from that DTV feel and sits above Retro and is on par with the third instalment. There appears to be an effort made with the set production, acting and script (racist comments and historical inaccuracies aside). The introduction of yet another new puppet despite being story hook is unnecessary and considering it is unrated there is a distinct lack of blood. David DeCoteau's direction at times is stilted and as stiff as the puppets (who look slightly different from the original designs) giving it a TV soap opera feel. Adding smoke, darkly painted walls and combining it with back lighting doesn't guarantee atmosphere. Nevertheless, creator/producer Charles Band's brother composer Richard Band crafts another great score, however, the mix is intrusive at times. Actors Fiehler, Erica Shaffer and Levi Fiehler are notable and it nice to see William Hickey (1927-1997) even if it is reused footage. As a longtime fan of Puppet Master, it's great to see Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Tunneller, Leech Woman and gang but it's execution at times leaves it void of tension and horror. Overall, it's good fun but a missed opportunity that leaves the viewer short changed, which is a crying shame given the potential and cult following.