Story: Andre Toulon’s lethally entertaining puppets are back, and now they have a new lease on life and a mission. No longer just waddling around killing everyone in their paths, the puppets now seek to exhume their creator’s corpse to stake claim to the formula that allows them to remain alive. In the process, they seek to assemble a large enough amount of brain matter so that the Puppet Master can reanimate himself, and return to be with the puppets. But in case you didn’t know, you can’t just walk into any old store and purchase brain matter, so the puppets have to do what they do best to get their hands on some. Of course, this means people are gonna be droppin’ like flies, usually in painful and horrid fashion. Whether it’s a drill through the forehead or being beaten to death by huge hands, it’s just not fun being killed by a supernatural puppet. So the puppets amass the needed brain matter and prepare for what’s to come. While the puppets think they’re doing the right thing, it might just be their own dooms they’re planning, when things get out of control.

Entertainment Value: There’s nothing quite like seeing a group of paranormal investigators being murdered and tortured by a team of supernatural puppets, is there? I mean, wouldn’t that make for a terrific episode of The X-Files, seeing Agent Scully’s head drilled in and Mulder being bled by a bunch of leeches? Ok so maybe that idea is stretching it, so this film is the next best thing. As if the first movie didn’t deliver enough puppet chills and thrills, this one packs a powerful punch of puppet mayhem. We even meet a new “puppet sensation” as the marketing called it, the fiery tempered Torch. When I say fiery I mean it, this little guy has a flame-thrower arm and is always itching to let it loose on someone. And the puppets, well they look even better in this follow up, and manage to be just as entertaining as well. Heck, there’s even romance that sparks between two of the humans while they’re being stalked by the little scalawags. This is pretty much more of the same as far as storyline and action, so if you liked the first movie, you should find yourself in puppet heaven with this one. I recommend this movie to b movie fans of all types, and anyone who gets a kick out of seeing puppets on the rampage.

The lone nakedness here is one scene of vivid man ass, as one of the characters is forced into self defense mode while totally in the buff. There is more bloodshed here than the original, with more focus on the puppets and the violence they unleash. This includes Tunneler performing amateur lobotomy procedures, a burning bed, a cool scene with some severe hand trauma, some facial trauma, a roasted redneck, and assorted other minor instances of the red stuff. I appreciated the increase in puppet attacks, as they are the true stars here, without question. The dialogue does what it needs to and a little more humor this time around, but still not a lot of quotable lines to speak of. There is some bumpkin lingo in a few scenes, which I think is always fun. Onto the general insanity, which earns a few points for moments like Toulon in his Invisible Man impersonation, a chandelier surprise attack, a rubber face nightmare, a full medical workup on a puppet, holistic medicine, a drunk that ruins dinner, and a wild finale that really caps off the movie in style.

This film was directed by David Allen, who was also behind the puppets and their creation. I guess after the first movie, where Allen served as a special effects supervisor for the puppets, Allen was ready to take charge of the whole shooting match. Given his inexperience as a director, Allen does a fine turn behind the camera here, and captures the same visual style of the first film. Allen would serve as supervisor for many of the Puppet Master films, and his work is certainly one of the major reasons this series has enjoyed such success over the years. Better known for his work in the special effects field, Allen has worked on such films as Robot Jox, Young Sherlock Holmes, Ghostbusters 2, and The Stuff, all impressive special effects films. Although the puppets steal the show again, the human actors manage to stand their ground at times. Collin Bernsen (Mr. Destiny, Future Shock) and Elizabeth MacLellan (Crash and Burn) seem to give the best performances, but the cast as a whole is decent at best. This film also features performances by Gregory Webb (Invader), Steve Welles (The Long Rope, The Addams Family), Nina Talbot (Serial, Night Shift), and Sage Allen (Armageddon, Ed).

Nudity: 1/10

Blood: 4/10

Dialogue: 1/10

Overall Insanity: 4/10

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