“I am not a cynic, Frank! ...I like to think of myself as a nasty bitch.”
-Dana Hadley
Directed by: David Schmoeller
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Irene Miracle, Matt Roe Kathryn O'Reilly
Trailer/Video: Here
The premise: Puppeteer Andre Toulon brought his puppets to life in 1939, but hid them in the Bodega Bay Inn and committed suicide in order to escape the Nazis. Fifty years later, a group of psychics come to the inn to investigate the sudden death of their friend.
My Familiarity With the Movie: None. Recommended to me by a friend.
Random thoughts as I watch it:
- “And introducing” does anyone with that credit ever go on to great fame? Aside from Cameron Diaz in “The Mask”.
- The music was done by a guy named Richard BAND. That’s funny.
- the 1930s weren’t a great time for many people. Many social injustices, the rise of the Nazi party, ect. On the bright side, though, it wasn’t taboo to wear a fedora. So, that’s something, I guess.
- You can just TELL this was direct-to-video.
- This phony fortune-teller is kinda cute.
- Phantom of the Opera shout-out?
- Alex is rocking that grey mullet.
- I’m not gonna kinkshame Carissa and Frank, but I don’t think a healthy sex life involves leeches.
- MULLET
- I almost feel bad for Pinhead being thrown around like that.
- The bit with the heads in the bed was very well done.
- Alex having a vision, then immediately living it was kinda cool, but the fourth Nightmare on Elm Street did it better.
- And here comes the murder mystery-style “how he did it” monologue.
- Good riddance to our villain, but man, what a way to go...
The Good:
- The puppets! Each one has a distinct personality and style, and the stop-motion animation is great. Think my favorite is Pinhead.
- I like the idea of a team of psychics, each with their own abilities, teaming up to investigate a murder.
- Most of the psychics are unique characters with their own quirks.
- I like how the exposition gets across. It doesn’t waste time overexplaining things. “They’re psychic. Why?” Not important. “How’d they all meet?” Eh, who cares? “How’d they discover their abilities?” I dunno, it’s not relevant to this story. The fact that the puppets are alive is spelled out for us in the very first scene.
- Toulon himself is a likable character.
- The soundtrack is really good.
- The death scene of the Big Bad is insanely gruesome, and I found it kinda hard to watch, even with the clearly fake-looking gore.
- The acting from Jimmie F. Skaggs and Irene Miracle is great, both playing unlikable but entertaining characters.
The Bad:
- Despite the exposition going down easy...the movie is pretty slowly paced, and tends to drag on. It’s not until about the last twenty minutes that it finally starts to pick up.
- Our two unambiguously “good” characters, Alex and Megan are about as interesting as watching a piece of drywall lying on the floor. Sure Alex has got The Mullet, and Megan’s cute, and they’re both important to the plot...but they’re BORING. The kinky couple, and the alcoholic who talks to a taxidermied dog are much more entertaining.
- Feels like it doesn’t use some of its concepts to its fullest potential. The big infodump at the end just feels rushed.
Best Scare: Neil’s (second) death, by dismemberment and getting a leech forced down his throat.
What Did We Learn Today? To see if a body is actually dead, don’t check for vitals or breathing, just stab it!
Recommended? Maybe. I wasn’t the biggest fan, but I hear that some of the sequels are better.
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