Puppet Master

Andre Toulon's living puppets are back, this time in the possession of Dr. Magrew (George Peck), who runs a house of marvels and is experimenting to create the perfect being, without all the inner conflict and torment of humans. To do so, he recruits a talented young woodcarver named Tank (Josh Green). But Magrew's plans get complicated when his daughter (appealingly played by Emily Harrison) falls for the young man. Fans of the Puppet Master series will probably enjoy this sixth installment. The three leads are well cast, the production design shows some imagination, and the script works--until the abrupt and nonsensical ending. It's as if the last reel were missing, which might explain its actual running time of 78 minutes (not the 90 minutes promised on the case). The puppets also seem less animated than in previous films; nevertheless, they still manage to get their whacks in. Trivia factoid: director "Victoria Sloane" is one of several stage names used by David DeCoteau, who also directed Puppet Masters III and 7. --Geof Miller