Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Puppet Master

R 1989 1h 30m Horror List
43% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 40% Audience Score 10,000+ Ratings
Assailed by nightmarish visions, Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat) and his fellow psychics descend on the Bodega Bay Inn. There, they discover that their compatriot Neil (Jimmie F. Scaggs) has apparently committed suicide. But, as the gruesome visions continue, they sense that there's still something sinister afoot. When they find themselves hunted by a band of homicidal marionettes created by twisted puppeteer Andre Toulon (William Hickey), they discover they're right. Read More Read Less
Watch on Peacock Stream Now

Where to Watch

Puppet Master

Peacock Prime Video

Watch Puppet Master with a subscription on Prime Video.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore With some weird, awesome puppets, a nice finale, and an interesting theme hovering over it all, Puppetmaster's a unique piece of the late '80s. Rated: 3/5 May 1, 2019 Full Review Heather Wixson Dread Central While the movie has terrific atmosphere and set designs, it's the iconic posse of killer puppets that have cemented Puppet Master in horror history as a campy cult classic. Rated: 3/5 Jan 4, 2012 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed The performances are strong and visuals quite eloquent... Jul 15, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Sep 25, 2005 Full Review Jules Brenner Cinema Signals Rated: 1/5 Feb 25, 2005 Full Review Michael Szymanski Zap2it.com Rated: 1/5 Aug 15, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (528) audience reviews
SuperSmashBros U Watched because of Dead Meat, do not regret it. CULT. CLASSIC. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/24 Full Review Dev F I only watched it because Dead Meat James is covering it on the Kill Count tomorrow. It is suitable for passing the time--and I enjoy cheesy 80s slashers--but this stale film is slow with characters whose names I cannot remember besides the French dollmaker at the beginning. The following five films are streaming on Peacock, and I heard the fifth installment is good. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/24 Full Review Darth G Cheap boring film that should be avoided at all costs. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 12/15/23 Full Review Monsol E Right off the bat, this has a cool power system, or rather two!...Psychics exists, and it's possible to create lifeforces, and put them into inanimate objects....neat! Always nice when a horror movie has actual rules. I liked the puppets a lot! Especially the cool little knife guy...and the effects were good. However, the movie itself is kind of bland, and doesn't do enough with either of its systems...the cast was unremarkable, the villain and his plan were dumb...[and rather easily dealt with, despite the boasting...] ...I don't understand what happened at the very end tho... The biggest thing working against this, is how draaaagged oooout all the scenes are. stuff takes WAY too long to get to it's obvious ends. Still , despite my gripes, it was an ok watch...and maybe the sequels get better...but SHEESH are there a ton of em! That's a hole I'm not ready to jump in at this time. If you wanna see some wacky little guys chop up some jerks, and can turn your brain off, you'll probably have fun. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/08/23 Full Review Kyle J A movie whose premise far exceeds it's execution. An absolute slog through poor performances from human and puppet alike with little to no payoff for the viewers patience. By far the most impressive special effect was making a movie with less than a 90 minute runtime feel like an eternity. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/23 Full Review PhilBrad Honestly… I don't know what to say about this movie. It was so strange but so entertaining. If you got nothing else to watch then why not check it out… it's not gonna kill you. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Puppet Master

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Dolls 60% 52% Dolls The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 37% 58% The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Devil's Rejects 54% 78% The Devil's Rejects Dracula II: Ascension 0% 30% Dracula II: Ascension Freddy vs. Jason 42% 50% Freddy vs. Jason TRAILER for Freddy vs. Jason Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Assailed by nightmarish visions, Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat) and his fellow psychics descend on the Bodega Bay Inn. There, they discover that their compatriot Neil (Jimmie F. Scaggs) has apparently committed suicide. But, as the gruesome visions continue, they sense that there's still something sinister afoot. When they find themselves hunted by a band of homicidal marionettes created by twisted puppeteer Andre Toulon (William Hickey), they discover they're right.
Director
David Schmoeller
Producer
Hope Perello
Screenwriter
David Schmoeller
Production Co
Empire Pictures, Full Moon Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Ultra-Stereo, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Academy (1.33:1)
Most Popular at Home Now