There were key movies in my life that helped to make me who I am today. Movies that I have loved from the moment the opening credit rolled and still love now. This blog series is about those, My guilty pleasures, my favorites, my escapes. Some were very popular, others not so much. Some of these will have some real life take-aways, others are just for fun.
For this round of films we are talking about the classic direct to video franchise Puppet Master. Unlike most of the previous films, we are in unknown territory for me as I missed out on pretty much every one that was produced from 2003 onward. So, lets both explore Puppet Master The Legacy for the first time together!
Today’s Key Movie:
Puppet Master Legacy retells the story of the tiny terror’s origins while also attempting to fix the rather strange continuity errors surrounding Toulon’s death pre and post Nazi Germany. Starring Kate Orsini, Jacob Witkin, Gury Rolfe and more, this is Puppet Master The Legacy.
Why this movie?
As I have discussed in previous posts, the Puppet Master franchise has remained one of my all time favorite horror film series of all time. While I lost track of the franchise in my adulthood, which I am correcting in part with this review series, the original films were a key part of my childhood as they came in at a time when video tape was king and my family was all about video rentals.
After the alleged ending of the series with Puppet Master the Final Chapter, the franchise underwent a sort of a reboot, unfortunately that reboot, created some rather unfortunate changes in the established timeline (that was already rather messed up anyhow), so how better to officially wrap the series than with a film that fully recaps the story of The Puppet Master providing a definitive timeline for which the rest of the new films could follow? That is, essentially, what Puppet Master the Legacy is but…as we always ask,
Is it really a ‘good’ movie?
For fans of the franchise this film serves as nothing more than a clip show using old footage to essentially provide the history of the Puppet Master…errr…Legacy. There is nothing original or unique to it other than bring back a character from one of the previous films who somehow hasn’t ever shown up until now. If anything Puppet Master Legacy would make a much better DVD extra used as, the History of the Puppet Master instead of a stand alone film. For people new to the franchise, this film serves as a wonderful starting point giving all of the key plot points of the franchise and finally providing a true, definitive timeline to the madness that we have been exposed to so far.
Plot wise, well, there really isn’t much of a plot. An assassin is hired to find Toulon’s secret formula only to find Toulon’s old assistant, Peter Hertz (Aka Eric Weis), who happens to have a tape of Toulon and others telling his entire history in oral form. They listen as it flashes back to key moments from the films and she soon discovers the true secret involves Soul Transference, revealing that she was not there to steal the puppets but to end their suffering. In the end, we learn that Peter/Eric is the new Puppet Master and must live up to the legacy of the immortal souls trapped in the puppets bodies waiting to take their revenge.
Overall, this is a very skippable film if you have already watched the preceding films in the franchise, in fact I was initially shocked to find it not part of the Full Moon channel via Amazon but, having watched it, I understand why now, it really serves no purpose other than to retell the plots of literally everything that came before. So, unless you are a completist, like me, just move on to the next film which we will talk about next week!
OK, where do I get this movie?
This is one you will have to rent on Amazon or find a used copy somewhere. I can’t really recommend paying money for it especially if you have already seen the rest of the films. It’s not terrible, just doesn’t really serve any function outside of a simple recap.
Until Next week…
Late To The Game 9/30/2021
If you would like to read more reviews please check out the rest of the Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday.
For more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here. and, If you dig Music, I have a semi regular series called Stand Out Albums that covers some of my favorite records I have come across in life.
As always, please feel free to comment below and share your experiences with these episodes as well. If you just happened by, tell me what you think! Don’t Forget To Follow me if you like the blog!
The Puppet Master Logo is a trademark of Full Moon Video who holds all rights. LTTG blog claims no rights to this logo in any way form or fashion.
Late to the Game Blog 