Retro Puppet Master

Director - David DeCoteau (House of Usher, The Raven)
Starring - Greg Sestero (The Room, The Disaster Artist), Brigitta Dau (Horror 101, Boy Meets World), and Stephen Blackheart (Guardians of the Galaxy, Troma's Edge TV)
Release Date - 1999
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The legacy begins"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     After taking a little break from the Puppet Master Toulon's Trunk set I am now excited once again to see where this Full Moon series takes me next.  Well, I was surprised to see that the next film in the set is actually one of two that I had already seen.  Many years ago I watched Curse of the Puppet Master and Retro Puppet Master on Sci-Fi Channel before it changed to SyFy.  Neither film was bad.  In fact, I rather enjoyed them but after watching the first films in the series I can safely say these are the bottom of the barrel.  They were entertaining when I first saw them but they don't hold up well and take too many liberties with the story presented before them.
     The film is set during Andre Toulon's younger years where he is a talented puppeteer drawing in heavy crowds including the daughter of a wealthy ambassador.  The two hit it off but the timing is all wrong.  Toulon is soon visited by a sorcerer that has stolen an ancient power from Sutekh who sends a group of mummies to kill him and get the secret back.  Before they do so he is able to pass that secret on to Toulon.  When his friends are murdered by the mummies he uses their souls to bring his puppets to life and beginning his life long struggle with keeping them and his secret safe.
   

     I like how dark the first five films in the series is.  Their look and tone really make the atmosphere for the film but that seemed to disappear with Curse and Retro.  Both films tried to step away from the formula already established in the series to give the fans something different which resulted in rather lackluster films.  The acting in this one is the weakest in the series for a number of reasons. The Room's Greg Sestero stars as a young Toulon and his performance had me cracking up.  This is a serious role but his "accent" and mannerisms just didn't work.  His character, even though he has a rich cinematic history, was completely flat and uninteresting due to Sestero's performance.  The same can be said about Brigitta Dau's performance.  Her character has no personality and falls quickly to wealthy stereotypes in films.  The story for this one had so much potential but fell apart before it even began.  An Andre Toulon prequel is something horror fans have been screaming about for years at this point but what they got was a mummy filled yarn that just tossed parts that has already been eluded to into a very boring tale.  Finally, this one isn't heavy on the practical effects but focuses heavily on the visual effects.  Some of the scenes were pretty cool but others just looked cheap as fuck.  Overall, Retro Puppet Master is the low point in the series.  The story falls apart and the acting is a struggle to watch.