The Puppet Masters

source: The Puppet Masters

Trailer—The Puppet Masters

The Puppet Masters

My problem with this movie is (1) Robert Heinlein is my favourite science fiction writer, bar none; (2) The book on which this movie is based is one of his more forgettable works; and (3) The film is a decent effort, but it's a low-budget project and pretty uninspired. I've waited a lifetime for Heinlein's better writing to make it to the screen, and unfortunately, it hasn't happened. There is nothing "wrong" with this movie, but almost any other Heinlein novel or story would have been better starting material. Better choices for source material might have included Stranger in a Strange Land (best known work, but not best novel), and any of the so-called Boy Scout series from the 50s: Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Farmer in the Sky, Between Planets, Red Planet, and many, many more.

This adaptation of a Robert A. Heinlein novel puts things right into gear when Eric Thal, Julie Warner and the ever-competent Donald Shutterland rush off to Ambrose, Iowa to investigate a registered UFO landing. However, collective-minded alien parasites have already begun to take over, turning humans into puppets to do their bidding. Writing trio Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio & David S. Goyer manage to tie things up fashionably, but also overworked themselves providing just about everything. Being a mixture of sci-fi, horror, thriller, action and drama, it's safe to say the wholesome feels a bit disjoint at places. The animatronic slug-like parasites by Roy Arbogast & Co. are a fine creation and get plenty of screen-time. Ambitious entertainment.

This was a decent film. The book was far better. If the book had been made into a three-hour film, it would have been excellent. They would have had time to do things right. As it is, they compact a wide-ranging tale set in the future into a dodgy action flick in the present day. Do yourself a favour - read the book. Donald Sutherland is too cool, though.

I remember watching this as a kid and thinking it was so scary. Now on rewatch I realize it is a campy sci-fi movie but with some good practical effects and John Carpenter vibes.

Slimy, disgusting aliens invade Earth. They attach themselves to peoples backs and control their minds. Sam Nivens (Eric Thal), father Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland) and Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) are all part of separate government agencies who join together to fight the invasion. Not a faithful adaptation of Heinlein's book but still a good film in its own right. The script is good; it has realistic, believable characters; the aliens are agreeably disgusting and the action scenes are good and violent. Also, with the sole exception of Sutherland (who appears to be sleepwalking) all the acting is good--especially Thal (tall, handsome and hunky) and Warner (beautiful, intelligent and strong). A very good sci-fi film. Also, I agree with some previous posters--one of the best scenes in the film is Thal's * shower scene. Woof!

This was a decent sci-fi flick. Good performances by Julie Warner and Eric Thal, and of course there's no role that Donald Sutherland can't pull off. Alien effects were revoltingly good. OK, it's not completely true to Heinlein's magnificent novel. Hollywood has a formula, (the happy ending, the obligatory love interest of one or more of the stars, etc.) and any deviation from it is exceedingly rare. That's why foreign films are good, because they are not bound by the formula. I've noticed that great sci-fi movies are almost always originally written for the screen, rather than adapted from books. Books are always better than movies, but science fiction seems to be particularly so.

Aliens have landed in the small town of Ambrose, Iowa. The locals have made an attraction of an alien landing. Government agents Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland) and son Sam (Eric Thal) arrive with Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) and Neil Jarvis (Richard Belzer) to investigate. They discover stingray-like creatures using humans as puppets. They escape back to base where agents Alex Holland (Keith David) and Dr. Graves (Will Patton) examine the parasite. The problem for this movie is that the solution seems so obvious. Everybody should walk around without their shirts. The soldier can have extra armor on their backs. The President should be warning the general public. The movie starts out great with Julie Warner and her * theory. However, the tension peters out after they escape from the town. The movie wants to have a big third act but it's never big enough.