If it comes in miniature and could conceivably be evil in nature, chances are Charles Band has probably used it as the basis for a schlock horror film (even ‘worry dolls’ have gone very, very wrong in his hands). And, in terms of success stories, the Puppet Master franchise has probably been one of his most successful; it’s the gift that keeps on giving, certainly, spawning numerous films over the past thirty (!) years. Even though Band himself doesn’t have such a direct hand in The Littlest Reich, it uses many of the same puppets we know and love – even if I’ve never quite gotten over the early retirement of Leech Woman. I may not have known quite what to expect from a film with such an indecorous title, but it turns out that this Fangoria project is a lot better than I could ever have expected. It knows not to overflex, but it has buckets of ingenuity, as well as a range of gory sequences which, yeah, you can half-imagine were there before the plot filled in around them, but you love them no less.
To join the new film to the first, we start back in the late 80s, where a mysterious stranger arrives and spooks a barmaid and friend…and hang on, that’s Udo Kier in a fun cameo as the ‘puppet master’ himself, Andre Toulon. This European visitor is a little socially awkward, appropriately facially scarred and none too keen by witnessing their lesbianism, so off he goes, back into the night. But not before the two girls suffer through his invocation of his puppet minions, in one of the film’s first, cards-on-table practical gore effects. After a fun animated sequence over the opening credits fills us in on the intervening years, we’re bang up to date: we see a divorced fortysomething, Edgar (Thomas Lennon) moving back in with his parents, into a room which has been frozen in time decades previously after the death of his brother. His dad is clearly none too impressed with his son as things stood before the divorce: Edgar works in a comic book store, which is beyond the pale. and dad doesn’t much like him going through his brother’s old toys either, despite being equally displeased that they’re all still in the house in the first place. Still, Edgar finds one old thing which looks like a collectable; he decides to find out when he accompanies new girlfriend Ashley (Jenny Pellicer) and boss/best friend Markowitz (Nelson Franklin) to a very special convention…
In another link to the original franchise, this convention is all about the Toulon Murders. A cop involved in the case, Officer Doreski (Barbara Crampton) leads tours for those interested in the case, the history of Toulon’s exodus from Europe is explained and this very select group of interested parties bring along examples of their own Toulon puppets. Except, no sooner is everyone checked in to the hotel, than a lot of the puppets go missing. Oh come on, that’s not spoilering really. This simply the frame for the highly entertaining hell which breaks loose…
Firstly, the relationship between the main characters of Edgar, Ashley and Markowitz is very sweet, plausible and well-written, with some genuine humour. The argument about not playing grindcore in the car made me laugh, certainly. Their interplay, along with the interplay with the supporting cast also fills the plot gaps in an effective, if none-too-subtle way (well what did you expect?) so that the premise for all of the rather ingenious slaughter is established. The gore is the film’s stand-out feature, and the CGI is kept deliberately low in the mix in order for the camera to linger on the set-up and the pay-offs. Also, the path is paved for the second half of the film to be a complete bloodbath at the hands of a bunch of marauding, RACIST killer puppets. I can only imagine watching this film with an audience; many of these sequences are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, and whilst there are a few head-scratching moments, I can’t imagine anyone would really mind; there’s gratuity at the expense of intricacy, let’s say. The one-liners peg everything together just nicely too.
If you like splatter and silliness but appreciate decent characters to see both of those things along, then The Littlest Reich is indeed worthwhile. It dandled the promise of another sequel at the end, and this would be extremely welcome. Retro nostalgia meets graphic, cartoonish violence. Sometimes you can ask for nothing else.
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is available now from Exploitation Films.