Puppet Master: The Legacy
Encyclopedia
Puppet Master: The Legacy is a 2003 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 written by C. Courtney Joyner and David Schmoeller, and directed by Charles Band. It is the eighth film in the Puppet Master franchise
Puppet Master (franchise)
Puppet Master is a horror film franchise which focuses on a group of puppets animated by an Egyptian spell, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device and are represented as heroes, anti-heroes, and antagonists...

, the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 to 1994's Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter, and stars Jacob Witkin as an elderly Peter Hertz (a character who appeared as a child in Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge) and Kate Orsini as a mercenary hired to confront Hertz for information regarding the magic puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...

 Andre Toulon used to animate his puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....

s.

Plot

The film begins with a rogue agent, Maclain (Kate Orsini), in one of the rooms in the Bodega Bay Inn, reading Toulon's diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...

, hoping to find some secret to the formula
Formula
In mathematics, a formula is an entity constructed using the symbols and formation rules of a given logical language....

. While reading, we are viewed a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 from Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...

.

It's 1926, and Andre Toulon (Steve Welles)'s puppet set has been burned down. He and his wife Elsa (Elizabeth Maclellan) are introduced to a Cairo Merchant (Ivan J. Rado), who in fact happens to be the one who burned down the set. He claims to Toulon that there's another way of reanimation. He offers Toulon to buy the formula instead of using Afzel's Egyptian ring to bring puppets to life. Toulon and Elsa agree to buy it.

Cut back to present day, the diary bursts into flames (due to a light shining against a magnifying glass) and Maclain continues to search around the hotel for more evidence. As she enters the basement, she finds a man named Eric Weiss (Jacob Witkin) talking to the last Toulon puppets: Blade, Pinhead, Jester, Tunneler, and Six Shooter. Eric explains that he knew Toulon before he died, and that he swore he wouldn't pass it to anyone else. Maclain threatens Eric with a gun, and says that she's planning on selling the secret on the open market
Open market
The term open market is used generally to refer to a situation close to free trade and in a more specific technical sense to interbank trade in securities.-Use of the term in economic theory:...

 and if [Eric] doesn't cooperate she will kill him. Eric then takes out a tape recorder, and plays a recording that Toulon left him, which tells us when he first got the secret to reanimation.

We are then shown a clip from Retro Puppet Master
Retro Puppet Master
Retro Puppet Master is a 1999 horror film written by Charles Band, Benjamin Carr and David Schmoeller, and directed by David DeCoteau...

, where Toulon (Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...

), in 1941, in the Koleweige Inn, talking to his puppets about his previous puppets in 1902. We are then taken back to 1902, Paris, France, when Toulon (Greg Sestero
Greg Sestero
Greg Sestero is a French-American actor and model. He is best known for his role as Mark in the 2003 cult film The Room.-Personal life:...

) performs Dante's Divine Comedy. He is then greeted by Afzel (Jack Donner
Jack Donner
Jack Donner is an American actor. He acted in theater, as well as in television and film.-Early life:Donner was born in Los Angeles, California. He has worked steadily in television and film since the 1950s including early work on The Guiding Light and As the World Turns...

), who is a 3,000 years old Egyptian sorcerer and has stolen the secret to reanimation from the Demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

 God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 Sutek. Afzel teaches Toulon the secret before he commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in order to not be killed by one of Sutek's servants (Stephen Blackehart
Stephen Blackehart
Stephen Blackehart is an American actor and producer from Hell's Kitchen, New York. It has been reported that Blackehart was born Stefano Brando and is the son of actor Marlon Brando...

). Toulon, along with the puppets, chase after the servants when the servants keep Toulon's soon to be fiancee Elsa (Brigitta Dau) held captive. After defeating the servants, the Puppets, Toulon and Elsa continue their lives.

Cut back to present day, after the tape recording's finished, Eric reveals that his real name is Peter Hertz, the boy who was saved by Toulon in Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge, and then he starts telling Maclain the adventures he and Toulon had together.

We are then shown clips from Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge, where Peter (Aron Eisenberg
Aron Eisenberg
Aron Eisenberg is an American actor best known for his role as "Nog" on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Personal life:...

) is watching Toulon (Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...

)'s puppet show in 1941, Berlin, Germany, and being viewed the puppets after the show is performed. After everyone leaves, Toulon and Elsa (Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...

) are confronted by Lt. Eric Stein (Kristopher Logan), who is a Nazi assistant to Major Kraus (Richard Lynch). When Toulon and Elsa aren't looking, Eric takes some pictures of the puppets moving and shows them to Kraus, who thinks might be able to help Dr. Hess (Ian Abercrombie
Ian Abercrombie
Ian Abercrombie is an English actor, best known for playing Alfred Pennyworth in Birds of Prey. He appeared as Elaine Benes' boss Justin Pitt during the sixth season of Seinfeld, and as a fastidious butler on Desperate Housewives.-Biography:He is the cousin of John Abercrombie, a jazz guitarist of...

), who is being forced by Kraus to create a drug that can bring dead soldiers back to life so they can use them as shields. After the Nazis' confront Toulon, they shoot Elsa, who tried to attack Dr. Hess. While being traveled back to Head Quarters, along with Pinhead and Tunneler, the puppets kill the Driver and the guard and they escape. While hiding from the Gestapo, Toulon brings his wife back to life by putting her soul into Leech Woman, who kills Lt. Stein soon afterwards. The next day, Six Shooter kills General Mueller (Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...

), and Toulon is greeted by Peter and his father Matthew (Matthew Faison), who too are also in hiding from the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

. Matthew, however, makes a deal with Kraus to bring forth Toulon in exchange to leave Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 forever along with Peter Hertz. Meanwhile, Dr. Hess, who is very interested in Toulon's formula, wants to become his friend instead his enemy. The Gestapo find Toulon's hiding place and a fight begins, ending with the deaths of three soldiers, Matthew, and Dr. Hess himself. Toulon then puts Dr. Hess's soul into his new puppet, Blade, and he and the puppets get revenge on Kraus. After killing him, Toulon, Peter and the puppets escape Germany to Geneva, Switzerland, Peter's hometown.

After the conversation, Maclain, stressed out, shoots Eric in the knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...

, knowing he knows more about Toulon and his puppet's bloody legacy, such as Toulon's suicide.

We are then shown in a flashback from Puppet Master
Puppet Master (film)
Puppet Master is a 1989 horror film written by Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall, and directed by David Schmoeller...

 where Toulon (William Hickey
William Hickey (actor)
William Edward Hickey was an American actor. He was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Don Corrado Prizzi in the John Huston 1985 film Prizzi's Honor, as well as the voice of Dr...

) kills himself.


Eric, believes that Toulon only killed those who deserved to die. Maclain, however, brings up the subject of the murders that happened with the parapsychologists in Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...

.

We are then shown clips from Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...

 that show the deaths of Camille (Nita Talbot
Nita Talbot
Nita Talbot is an American actress. Talbot was a leading lady who spent the first decade or so of her career playing "slick chicks" and sharp-witted career girls, but is perhaps best known for her role as Marya, the White Russian spy in the 1960s sitcom, Hogan's Heroes, as well as Sheila Fine in...

), Patrick (Gregory Webb), Lance (Jeff Weston), and Wanda (Charlie Spradling). We are then shown Torch's kill of Martha (Sage Allen), Leech Woman's kill of Matthew (George "Buck" Flower), and Leech Woman's supposed death.


After the argument over whether Toulon was good or bad, Maclain still threatens to shoot Eric with the gun. Eric tells her that the puppets fought a war that was a hell of a lot tougher than anything they ever known, and then he plays another tape recording of Toulon, which tells about Sutek's attempt to steal the elixir
Elixir
An elixir is a clear, sweet-flavored liquid used for medicinal purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's ills. When used as a pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orally....

 formula to kill the Puppet Master.

We are then shown clips from Puppet Master 4
Puppet Master 4
Puppet Master 4 is a 1993 horror film written by Charles Band among others, and directed by Jeff Burr. It is the fourth film in the Puppet Master franchise, a sequel to 1991's Puppet Master II, and stars Gordon Currie as a youth scientist who, along with his friends, played by Chandra West, Ash...

, where Sutek sends three of his totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...

 children to go up into the real world and kill those who are close to finding the secret of reanimation. The people discovering the secret are all involved with something known as the Omega
Omega
Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to omicron, which means "little O"...

 project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...

. The totems kill Dr. Piper (Stacie Randall
Stacie Randall
Stacie Randall is an American actress, best known for her roles in Puppet Master 4, Trancers 4 and 5, and Excessive Force 2: Force on Force. Her genres include Action, Science Fiction, Comedy, and Horror.-Actress:-External links:...

) and Dr. Baker (Felton Perry
Felton Perry
Felton Perry is an American actor. He is known for his role as Inspector Early Smith in the 1973 movie Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry series. Felton's other well-known role is in the 1987 science fiction movie RoboCop as Donald Johnson, the executive at the corporation Omni...

). Meanwhile, another scientist named Rich Myers (Gordon Currie
Gordon Currie
Gordon Currie is a Canadian and American actor. He has also directed, written and produced several films. He works in both the U.S. and Canada in television and film roles. He is probably best known for his role as Nicolae Carpathia in Left Behind-Early life:Currie was born in Vancouver, British...

) is also involved in the Omega project, and is the caretaker of the Bodega Bay Inn. Also involved in the project is Rick's colleague Cameron (Ash Adams
Ash Adams
Ash Adams , also known professionally by his given name of Jason Adams, is an award-winning American independent filmmaker, producer, writer, and well-known TV and movie actor.- Early life :...

). After inviting Cameron, Rick's girlfriend Susie (Chandra West
Chandra West
-1990s:West's career began in 1991 when she played a small part in the television series True Confections, a 1950s conservative drama about a woman with an ahead-of-her-time awareness...

), and Cameron's girlfriend Lauren (Teresa Hill
Teresa Hill
Teresa Hill is an American actress and interior designer.She played Nemesis in the 1995-1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.-External links:* * *...

) over to dinner, Lauren (who is a psychic), finds a trunk that contains the puppets and brings them back to life with the formula. Meanwhile, Sutek, realizing that the puppets used to belong to Andre Toulon (who he tried to have his henchman kill in Retro
Retro Puppet Master
Retro Puppet Master is a 1999 horror film written by Charles Band, Benjamin Carr and David Schmoeller, and directed by David DeCoteau...

) tells the totems to not only kill Rick and Cameron, but also kill the puppets. The Totems break into the hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

, and kills Cameron, and tries to kill Rick. The puppets kill two of the Totems, but soon they animate another puppet, the Decapitron, who can morph his head into any person he wants, including Toulon (Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...

). The Decapitron kills the last totem and Rick knows that there was more to come.

After the recording finished, Maclain tells Eric that she knows everything about Rick, because before she came to the hotel, she went to Rick's house where she found Toulon's diary. When Rick didn't cooperate to give up the diary, she shot him and his friends four times and took the diary with her. Seeing that there's one last recording, Maclain threatens him to play it. The recording talks about how there's always someone discovering Toulon's secret, even after his supposed death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

, always someone who didn't fully understand what a gift, or a Curse
Curse Of The Puppet Master
Curse of the Puppet Master is a 1998 horror film written by Benjamin Carr and David Schmoeller, and directed by David DeCoteau. It is the sixth film in the Puppet Master franchise, the sequel to 1989's original Puppet Master, and stars George Peck as a scientist experimenting with transforming...

...the formula for the puppets really was.

We are the showed clips from Curse of the Puppet Master
Curse Of The Puppet Master
Curse of the Puppet Master is a 1998 horror film written by Benjamin Carr and David Schmoeller, and directed by David DeCoteau. It is the sixth film in the Puppet Master franchise, the sequel to 1989's original Puppet Master, and stars George Peck as a scientist experimenting with transforming...

, where the puppets have been put up for an auction and have been bought by Dr. Magrew (George Peck
George Peck
George Peck may refer to:*George H. Peck, California real estate developer*George Peck, co-founder of Peck & Peck*George Washington Peck , U.S...

). After four years of having the puppets, Dr. Magrew is trying to find a way how to transform humans into puppets. The purpose of the experiments is to help prolong mankind into and past the nuclear age, where puppets (now with human intelligence) can survive, where humans wouldn't be able to. His daughter, Jane (Emily Harrison
Emily Harrison
Emily Harrison is an American actress.Harrison is most well known as Jennifer Finnigan's replacement in the role of Bridget Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, which she played from January to July 2004...

) comes home from college and has no idea of her father's experiments. They meet a young man named Robert (Josh Green
Josh Green
Joshua Green is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Oklahoma City Barons, of the American Hockey League .-Playing career:...

), who is a gifted wood crafter. Believing he's found the perfect victim for his experiments. Magrew gives Robert some work to do in order to keep things going and to make sure Robert doesn't get suspicious. However, Robert has a crush on Jane, and she starts beginning to get in his way of working. Not only is Jane getting in his way, but bully Joey Carp (Michael Guerin
Michael Guerin
Michael Guerin is a fictional character created by Melinda Metz for the young adults book series Roswell High and adapted by Jason Katims for the 1999-2002 American science fiction television series Roswell...

) is getting in his way. After Joey tries to sexually harass
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...

 Jane (but in the process injures Pinhead), Magrew sends Blade and Tunneler to kill Joey. After tricking Jane to go to the other end of town to pick something up, Magrew begins to work on Robert. After putting Robert's soul into a puppet Magrew already had for Robert, the puppets, after watching Magrew do his experiments for four years, have finally had enough and they attack him. When Jane comes back, after realizing her father tricked her, she finds her father bleeding to death on the floor, and Robert in a tank puppet with a visual display unit for a head. "Tank" points his arm at Magrew, which shoots out electricity and kills Magrew, with Jane screaming in terror.

After the recording, Pinhead throws a mallet at Maclain's head and Eric shoots her in the heart with her own gun, for trying to take over the puppets. Maclain, minutes away from death, explains that's not what she wants, and she tells Eric that the puppets brought Toulon back to life.

We are then viewed clips from Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...

 where the puppets bring Toulon back in Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...

, and how he began his final experiment: soul transference. We're then shown Toulon (Steve Welles) keeping Carolyn (Elizabeth Maclellan) captive because he believes that she's a reincarnation of his deceased wife Elsa. He transfers his soul into a mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...

 in order to get out of his decomposed body form, and as he's about to transfer Carolyn's soul into the other mannequin , the puppets, who now realized that their master has used them for his own personal needs, attack him and kill him. Meanwhile, Carolyn's boyfriend Michael (Colin Bernsen) breaks into the room and the two of them escape.

Maclain then explains that she's not here for the secret of bringing the puppets to life (she wasn't even planning on selling the secret to the open market), she wants to know what makes them die for good. Maclain finally explains: I was sent here for the secret by the creatures Toulon left behind. The immortals, souls trapped in wooden bodies, living every day in agony. All they want is revenge on their Puppet Master, and now that's [Eric]. Congratulations on your legacy. After explaining, Maclain drops dead on the floor. Eric hears something behind, turns around, saw someone coming, points the gun at the camera, and shoots it. Then a note appears:The producers would like to thank all the cast and crew that helped make the Puppet Master series a tremendous success over the years.

Featured puppets

  • Blade
  • Jester
  • Pinhead
  • Six-Shooter
  • Tunneler


Archived footage puppets

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