Dr. Magrew (George Peck) is a scientist with some unusual ideas about transforming people into other beings. He finds the case of living puppets and decides to turn a human into a puppet creation. He has to keep this a secret from his daughter Jane (Emily Harrison), as he searches for a test subject. He finally finds the perfect match when he takes in a gas station worker named Tank (Josh Green).

Curse of the Puppet Master (1998) was direct to video sequel to Puppet Master 5 (1994), which was originally announced as the final film in the series before a planned tv series. The show never happened but the franchise was still popular so Full Moon planned this standalone sequel. Returning from Puppet Master 3 (1991) is cult film director David DeCoteau, who suggested an Ssssss (1973) styled mad science story. This idea and the finished film have been dismissed by fans and critics alike. While the finished film is lacking in many places, its still a bonkers creature feature.

In his audio commentary, director DeCoteau mentioned the film had an 8-day shooting schedule and a ridiculously low budget. So most of the puppet shots were stock footage from the previous 5 films. The finished product is fun and moody. The smoke and candy color lighting cover up some of the cheapness. But still, the pacing of the film is lacking. The romantic elements between Jane and Tank never really work. The horror elements too are underdeveloped but are mostly saved by some gory death scenes.

This is also one of the earliest films in DeCoteau’s career where he could start to showcase more gay appeal to queer horror fans. With the release of his movies Tailsman (1998) and Voodoo Academy (2000), Decoteau’s films would become more gay-themed, with Tailsman having a homoerotic Suspiria vibe. Many of his trademarks are here, along with some of his campy dialogue and fun banter like his first films like Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988). We get the tightie whities, the closeups on chests and butts, and plenty of “suspenseful” work out scenes. 

While the pacing and story don’t hold up, the movie itself is a fast viewing and a lot of fun to watch. I’m really starting to appreciate Full Moon’s catalog of low budget genre fare. Hopefully, this Blu-ray will give this underappreciated movie some more love. 

Speaking of the Blu-ray, The movie comes with a decent but faulty transfer. Full Moon has released the movie with a new 2K scan of the movie’s original 35 mm film elements. But some chunks of the negative were lost, so the rest of the film is scanned from a video source. The 1080p HD picture looks amazing with the 35mm elements. I had a VHS sourced Budget version of the film that was nearly unwatchable. This is a huge improvement. Sadly the video sections are noticeable, with some visible shaking of the image. Some shots look like autofocus has gone out of synch. 

In the 35mm sections, the black levels are smooth. There are some minor grain and vivid colors. The digital sections are still a mess. But as of now, this is the best the movie is going to look. The 5.1 surround sound mix is well done. Some of the audio sounds like a direct transfer from the DVD. Some room tone is noticeable. The effects and FX sound lovely. No subtitles are included.

In terms of extras we get

• An Audio Commentary with director David Decoteau. Most of the focus of the track is about film labs and the issues of storage. He mentions some of the issues with balancing warehouses and apologies for some of the negative-going missing. The track is a great listen. 
• A gallery of Full Moon trailers
• Original Videozone with the making of The Curse of the Puppet Master.

It’s a shame that some of the film elements are missing because this is a mostly great blu-ray of a fun creature feature. Hopefully, the other elements are found. As is this is a toss-up, But I personally loved this entry in the series. I’m glad more of the director’s work is being released on Blu-ray. Recommended.

Director- David DeCoteau

Cast- George Peck, Josh Green, Emily Harrison

Country of Origin- US

Discs- 1

Distributor- Full Moon

Reviewer- Tyler Miller

You can find the disc here.