Scott LeBrun
Above average entry in this series is a prequel, set in WWII Berlin as puppet master Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) is sought out by the Nazis. They're trying in vain to reanimate dead soldiers, and are intrigued by his ability to create puppets that move without strings. The sinister Major Kraus (Richard Lynch) murders Andres' wife Elsa (Sarah Douglas), and Andre escapes Nazi captivity to hide out and plan his revenge. Carrying out Andres' dirty work will be his family of puppets: Tunneller, Pinhead, and new creations such as Six Shooter (a six armed cowboy), Ms. Leech, and Blade."Toulon's Revenge" benefits from better than usual production values; it looks like a reasonable chunk of money was spent on this prequel. At the core is an entertaining, involving, if familiar story, with Andre the kind of guy for whom you do feel sorry. David DeCoteaus' direction actually isn't bad, and he gets good performances out of this well chosen cast. David Allens' effects are still very impressive, and the puppet characters are quite memorable, especially Six Shooter. (You don't see much of Blade in this entry.)Lynch is at his villainous best - you can't WAIT for this guy to get what he deserves. Ian Abercrombie is fine as the basically well meaning Dr. Hess, as is Walter Gotell as a top Nazi official. Matthew Faison and Aron Eisenberg are a fugitive father and son, and Michelle Bauer has a small role. Rolfe of "Mr. Sardonicus" fame is wonderful as Andre.A good, fun outing from the folks at Full Moon.Seven out of 10.
Leofwine_draca
After an average opener and one needless sequel in PUPPET MASTER II, PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE is something of a surprise. The producers are still trying to find out a way to continue the franchise after the actor who played Toulon in the original died, so they opt here for a prequel format set in Nazi Germany, no less.The biggest twist this time around is that Toulon and his puppets are presented as the good guys - I guess those Nazis trump everybody in terms of 'evilness', even homicidal mass murderers. Yeah, it's best to forget about the first two films when watching this. In TOULON'S REVENGE, the puppet master has his wife murdered by the corrupt regime, so he sends his dolls on a rampage of revenge against the Nazis.Most of the film consists of various Nazis being murdered by the dolls in creative ways. The special effects are shoddy but mildly charming, and there seems to be a little more originality here than in other B-movies; this is a huge step up from the previous movie, for example. The cast is studded with the expected likes of Richard Lynch and Michelle Bauer, although the most surprising scene comes when Bond's Walter Gotell shares a bath with a bevy of topless beauties. There's something else you weren't expecting...
amesmonde
PuppetMaster 3′s glaring narrative, production faults aside (for which there are countless pages on the net) and budget restrictions, this prequel gives an intriguing insight how those little killer puppets came to be. Set in Berlin 1941, evil Nazi's want Toulon's secret formula which animates his puppets to re-animate the Führer's soldiers and make an unstoppable army for the Aryan race.The puppets get a run for their money in the acting department this time around. Gestapo officer, Major Krauss played excellently by Richard Lynch steals the show along with James Bond recurring actor Walter Gotell as General Mueller. Both Guy Rolfe as Andre Toulon (previously played by William Hickey) and Sarah Douglas (Superman 1 and 2) as Elsa Toulon bring some emotion to the film.Naturally there's Richard Band's music and thanks to director David DeCoteau and the effects team it's a blast to see the creation of both Blade and Leech Woman. In addition, Jester gets a fair amount of screen- time.In a film with reanimated dead soldiers and Nazi's versus psychotic puppets, you should already know what you're in for. Without selling the surprisingly good cast ensemble short it's a low budget affair but what a recommended guilty pleasure of entertainment it is. Where as the first film had the burning question of – What happened to Theresa? The burning question with three is – if Toulon shot himself in 1939 what is he doing alive and well in 1941? Answers on a postcard
Aaron1375
For a movie made by Full Moon studios and whose prior two sequels were kind of fluffy in terms of plot and such this one was very well done. I would say this movie is sort of a prequel to the previous two puppet master movies, however, the character of Toulon is done so differently here that he seems like a entirely different character than he was portrayed in the other two movies. The story has him as a puppeteer during the Nazi regime. Many of his friends have been killed, and he has indeed placed their souls so to speak in his special puppets. Certain Nazi agents are aware of this and want the secret, tragedy ensues and Toulon begins his quest for revenge. Once again, the plot is totally different from the other puppet master movies, and it works great for a Full Moon film, they should have made more movies like this and they might still be around today. Of course, I do not know if they are gone or not, but I have not seen a movie by them in a long time now. By movies like this, they do not have to have super scripts or anything, just a horror movie that did not feel the need to have lots of laughs in it. I like comedy horrors when done right, but you have to do them right. This one is not a horror comedy, but it has good pacing and rather good acting for a low budget movie. The highlight of the puppet master series.
AD
