PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE (1991)
Label: Full Moon Features
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 81 Minutes 42 Seconds
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.78:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Director: David DeCoteau
Cast: Guy Rolfe, Ian Abercrombie, Sarah Douglas, Walter Gotel, Kristopher Logan, Matthew Faison, Aaron Eisenberg, Richard Lynch
The third installment of the Puppet Master franchise is a period-piece, directed by David DeCoteaua (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama), we get a prequel taking place three years after the start of Puppet Master ...huh? The year is 1941 in Berlin during WW2. Dr. Hess (Ian Abercrombie, Army of Darkness) is a Nazi scientist in the service of the Third Reich who's been tasked to create a serum that will create an army of undead zombie soldiers. He's had a modicum of success but the serum is too unstable, to set this up we get an early scene wherein see a corpse jump off the operating table Re-Animator style and wreak havoc before being put down. Hess is overseen my Major Kraus (Richard Lynch, Gold Told Me To) from the Gestapo. Kraus's driver Lt. Stein (Kristopher Logan, The Rocketeer) is an amateur puppeteer who attends a puppet show for children presented by Andre Toulon and his wife Elsa (Sarah Douglass, Superman 2). During the puppet show a marionette of Adolf Hitler is fired upon by a new puppet called Six Shooter, modeled after the American gunslingers. He's got six arms and six guns, it's a great character design and he has a great Jack Nicholson laugh that I just love. The Lt., who sounds a lot like Marvin the Martian, sneaks around after the show and witness the puppets being fed a glowing green serum by Toulon, realizing that the marionettes seem to be alive, unassisted by strings. When he reports the seditious puppet act to Krauss and Hess the next day Kraus immediately takes an SS squad to Toulon's residence to arrest the puppeteer. Hess convinces Kraus that he must speak with Toulon to gain his secrets of reanimation, Kraus agrees but then kills Toulon's wife Elsa after she spits in his face in defiance. As Toulon is being transported away the two soldiers guarding him are killed by puppets Tunneler and Pinhead, allowing him to escape and plot his revenge. It's a great shot when Tunneler drills his way through the back of the driver's seat and through his chest, quite bloody.
This film has a lot going for it. Setting it during WW2 in Berlin is a good choice and it's a great backdrop for the film with some excellent production value, locations and set dressings. The acting is superb from the key players. Richard Lynch (The Premonition) as the despicable Major Kraus is inspired, he's a wicked villain. Ian Abercrombie as the Nazi scientist Hess is also great casting. You get the feeling he's being forced into working for the Reich and he seems genuinely amazed by the work of Toulon, in fact, he redeems himself towards the end of the film to a degree. You may recall Abercrombie as Mr. Pitt, Elaine's boss from the TV 's Seinfeld. Then there is Guy Rolfe (Dolls, Mr. Sardonicus) as Andre Toulon, easily the best Toulon I've seen so far in the series, no disrespect to the venerable and beloved William Hickey from the first entry. Also noteworthy is the appearance of Walter Gotell as the Nazi General Mueller who played "General Gogol" in several 007 entries, his character loves frequenting Nazi whores and his scene in a tub being bathed by topless Nazi tramps is just wonderful.
There's very little I did not enjoy here. The setting, the acting, the special effects - all great stuff. Highlight for me include the origins of Blade and Ms. Leech, I especially liked the birth of Ms. Leech, with some cool stop-motion from the late David Allen. Let's not forget the awesome introduction of Six Shooter and that we find out why the Nazi's are pursuing Toulon at the start of the first film.
Audio/Video: Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge makes it worldwide 4K Ultra HD debut from Full Moon Features in 2160p UHD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. The source is in good shape, white speckling in kept to a minimum, occasionally there are faint small scratches and nicks visible, but overall this looks to be in terrific shape. Film grain is fine and nicely resolved, a few spots looks like some DNR might have been applied, but only judiciously an not overdone. The 1.78:1 framing is slightly different than the previous 2011 Blu-ray, occasionally showing more information on some sides, losing a sliver in others. Primaries, aided by the wider color gamut of HDR, looks quite nice, they're more saturated and natural looking throughout without the yellowing evident in previous editions. There were a few color-grading differences that raised my eyebrow, like the red tinting of the sky (see screenshot #2) in the opening scene and a blue filter applied in various spots (see screenshot #16), while I am not sure which is truer to the original presentation it's definitely different, but not unwelcome. Skin tones are noticeably much warmer this time around, and depth and clarity are also much improved making this a truly appreciable upgrade. Blacks are deeper and more layered and contrast looks terrific. The 4K presentation is more stable and consistent, the increased resolution pulls some solid detail from the source, superior to past editions by a large margin. Shots of the stop-motion animation looks fantastic, though the 4K resolution does expose some trickery and strings that I'd not noticed previously. It's not 4K perfection, some compression does creep into the darker scenes, but overall I thought this was a wonderful upgrade that advances in all areas, for what I consider to be one of Full Moon's best catalog titles. Thankfully the accompanying Blu-ray is not a recycle of the past release, this is the new scan minus the benefit of HDR, but it looks fantastic and is worth the upgrade. Check out the screenshots at the bottom of the review comparing the 2011 Blu-ray to the new restoration.
Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 with optional English subtitles. After years of Full Moon failing to upgrade to uncompressed audio on their Blu-rays it is pleasing to finally get a DTS-HD MA track, dialogue and sound effects are well-balanced, but the biggest benefactor here is Richard Band score, it sounds terrific.
There are no new extras accompanying the film's UHD debut, but we do get a decent selection of vintage extras. There's a 12-min Behind-the-Scenes of Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge, the 25-min Original Puppet Master 3 Videozone, and a 2-min Vintage Puppet Master Action Figure Commercial. The best extra is the Audio Commentary with director David Decoteau and writer C. Courtney Joyner in which these happily recollect their time on the Universal back lot and the classic films that were also brought to life there, it makes for some good listening. A lot of the commentary is scene specific and follows what's transpiring onscreen but they also veer off with fun production anecdotes, DeCoteau talks a bit about arguing with Charlie Band over the opening scene being a bit too graphic, recalling that Band is actually a bit squeamish, at least back in the day. The two also offer fond remembrances of Lynch, Abercrombie, Rolf, and Gotel all of whom have since shuffled off this mortal coil. They also discuss Lynch not being the first choice of actor to portray Kraus, originally the part was intended for Ralph Bates (Taste the Blood of Dracula) but he died before production. They also discuss Lynch disfigurement which occurred during a 'Nam protest in Central Park during a "controlled" burn with rubbing alcohol but it got out of hand, dismissing the much rumored gossip that the incident had stemmed from a drug-induced state which is what I had always been told. It's a good commentary and really adds to the enjoyment of the film, good stuff. The disc is buttoned up with a selection of Puppet Master Trailers totaling about 19-minutes in total.
The 2-disc UHD/BD release arrives in a black keepcase Viva Elite keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original key artwork for the film. Inside the 2-discs each have unique artwork, and the same key art as the slip is featured on the slipcover.
Special Features:
- Behind-the-Scenes of Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge (12 min)
- Original Puppet Master 3 Videozone (25 min)
- Vintage Puppet Master Action Figure Commercial (2 min)
- Brand new 2012 Audio Commentary by writer C. Courtney Joyner director David DeCoteau
- Puppet Master Trailers: Puppet Master 1 (2 min), Puppet Master 2 (2 min), Puppet Master 3 (2 min), Puppet Master 4 (2 min), Puppet Master 5 (2 min), Puppet Master The Legacy (1 min), Puppet Master Axis Termination (2 min), Puppet Master X (2 min), Curse of the Puppet Master (2 min),
Puppet Master Axis of Evil (2 min), Retro Puppet Master (2 min)
Of the the first three installments of the Puppet Master series Toulon's Revenge inches out the Puppet Master as my favorite in the franchise. Guy Rolf's portrayal of Toulon is the best of the bunch, I cannot imagine anyone else capturing the essence of Andre Toulon the way he did here, sorry William Hickey (Puppet Master). Despite the films modest budget the WW2 era sets are well rendered and shooting on Universal's back lot didn't hurt either, the film definitely has a sense of time and place that works. The stop-motion effects are really good though I think they may have been a bit better in Puppet Master II which I would attribute to special effects wizard David Allen directing that film. This new 4K Ultra HD from Full Moon looks terrific and has me excited for other catalog titles coming to 4K.
Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Full Moon Blu-ray (2011)
Bottom:L Full Moon Blu-ray (2023)
More Screenshots from the 2023 Blu-ray:
