31 NIGHTS OF HALLOWEEN : NIGHT 10 : PUPPET MASTER

You can't really talk about horror movies for long without the name Charles Band coming up, during my childhood his name was on just about every VHS cover at our local rental store. With titles like Demonic Toys, Subspecies, Trancers, Dollman, Head Of The Family all of which would have artwork that 90% of the time would be 10 times better than the films. However they were still a fun watch, and one of the names that became a fan favourite in this time was 'Puppet Master'.

The film follows a group of paranormal detectives who head up to an old hotel in search of strange activity and instead find themselves become the latest victims of the curse of the puppet master as each of them are picked off one by one by pint sized terrors that feature names like Blade, Tunneler, Leech Lady and Pinhead. We soon discover that the puppet master is indeed one of thier fold but the puppets also have an agenda of thier own and it appears no one is set to get out alive.

It's ropey in places, but hellishly effective. As a child I would spent years checking under my bed for the  puppet monsters before I got into bed and it had a profound effect on me as a filmmaker. The film has spawned 9 official sequels,as well as a SyFY channel version featuring the aformentioned Demonic Toys, all of which vary in quality and scares. The beauty of this series though, is in it's ability to just keep going with some semblance of continuity. Where most series have rebooted or reworked themselves in this day and age, Puppet Masters series stays true(ish) to its roots and it's all down to being overseen by series creator Charles Band, a true master if puppets.

See You Tomorrow.

MJ