Puppet Master 5

Director - Jeff Burr (Stepfather II, Eddie Presley)
Starring - Gordon Currie (21 Jump Street, Blood & Donuts), Chandra West (Castle, Monk), and Ian Ogilvy (Wuthering Heights, Death Becomes Her)
Release Date - 1994
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The final chapter"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    Over the course of my life I had seen so many films that were sequels filmed back to back.  This cuts cost and keeps both films fairly connected in terms of story and looks.  Films like Kill Bill and Return to Nuke 'Em High are two great examples of this.  In 1993/1994 Full Moon was still hot and heavy into their Full Moon franchise 11 years after it started.  They set out to make a pair of film, Puppet Master 4 and 5, which would be filmed back to back resulting in a smooth transition from film to film.  Puppet Master 4 was a solid film but nowhere near my favorite in the series so far.  I was looking forward to viewing part 5.
   
     The film begins where the fourth film left off.  Rick has been arrested for the murders the totems did in the inn that he was housesitting for.  The police confiscate Blade and soon his superior at the science lab arrives where he learns about the endless power source stored inside the puppets.  He hires a group of crooks to break into the inn to steal the remaining puppets but they don't expect an ancient evil to be waiting on them with plans on destroying the puppets and their secrets along with them.
   



     Puppet Master 4 was a solid entry into the now famous Puppet Master franchise.  The fifth installment is just as good which isn't surprising considering both films were filmed at the same time.  The acting in this one is more of what you get in the fourth film.  The cast delivers fun performances but the characters are not that well written.  Like most of Full Moon, the characters are flat and clichéd.  Their true purpose is to die on screen at the hands of the monsters that the film caters too.  The story for this one continues where the first left off.  We now have a new villain in the film in the form of a science crazes scientist who wants the puppets.  We get more of the ancient demon and his totems as they kill people as they try to capture the puppets.  I enjoyed the story for what it is but I see no reason it should have been split into two films.  It is a waste of the viewer's time to make this story two films.  Finally, the film has several kills that follow the themes of the puppets.  Each puppet has its own skill set and the kills follow that.  Sadly, they are forgettable.  Like the other Puppet Master films, the puppets and their interactions are the high point of the film.  They look great and so is the effects.  Overall, Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter is a worthy installment in the series.  It is far from my favorite but it has heart.  Check it out.