Directors: David Schmoeller, David W. Allen, David DeCoteau
Number of discs: 3
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Full Moon Features
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Run Time: 264 minutes
Series: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Puppet Master: The Blu-ray Collection – Volume 1” includes the following films “Puppet Master”, “Puppet Master II” and “Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge”. When you think of Full Moon Features, you thing of “Puppet Master”. They are the face for this company and in fact, they are the most successful independent direct-to-video horror franchise of all time! There has been a dozen films in this series and they may not all be perfect but they are certainly fun. This series has also seen some great talent come through including Paul Le Mat (“American Graffiti”, William Hickey (“The Nightmare Before Christmas), Irene Miracle (“Midnight Express” and Jimmie F. Skaggs (“Lethal Weapon”. A must own for any Full Moon fan. I just have one question since this came out in late 2012…where is Volume 2?
Series Official Premise: The secret of life has been discovered by master puppeteer Andre Toulon. But we quickly discover Toulon’s secret of death in the form of five killer puppets-each one uniquely qualified for murder and mayhem. Tunneler has a nasty habit of boring holes in people with his drill bit head. Ms. Leech regurgitates killer leeches that suck her victims dry. Pinhead strangles his enemies with his powerful vice-like hands. Blade has a gleaming hook for one hand and a razor-sharp knife for the other. And Jester, the ruthless brains of the bunch, is absolutely merciless. Together, they’re an army of skilled assassins, diabolically programmed to guard the deadly secrets of the Puppet Master throughout the decades.
The first 3 films, “Puppet Master”, “Puppet Master II” and “Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge”, have been fully remastered in HD and presented in 16:9. Each of them come stock with a 5.1 Surround Sound track as well. “Puppet Master” was surprisingly the worst of the bunch. But when you watch the comparison video below you realize how much work they actually did. Concerning “Puppet Master II” and “Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge”, they were both a vast improvement and looked pretty darn sharp in their high-def transfers. Full Moon actually went to work and deliver it’s fans some decent special features as well for these films. There are brand new introductions by Puppet Master creator Charles Band. There are also never-before-heard audio commentaries by Charles Band, writer C. Courtney Joyner (“Puppet Master III”), and director David DeCoteau (“Puppet Master III”). There are a few behind-the-scenes VideoZones episodes. There is a montage of “Puppet Master” kills. Lastly there is a rare “Puppet Master” promo and various Full Moon trailers included.
Check out below to see how the film was restored and a nice comparison: