Puppet Master II
Encyclopedia
Puppet Master II is a 1991 horror film
written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen
. It is the second film in the Puppet Master franchise
, the sequel to 1989's Puppet Master
, and stars Elizabeth Maclellan, Gregory Webb, Charlie Spradling, Jeff Weston and Nita Talbot
as paranormal
investigators who are terrorized by the animate creations of an undead puppeteer
, played by Steve Welles. Originally, Puppet Master II was intended to have the subtitle His Unholy Creations.
Puppet Master II, as well as the third, fourth
and fifth installments of the series, are only available in DVD
format through a Full Moon Features
box set that was briefly discontinued, until in 2007 when Full Moon Features reacquired the rights to the first five films.
in the backyard of the Bodega Bay Inn. As we go around the graveyard, we see Pinhead digging Andre Toulon's grave. Pinhead opens up the coffin, climbs out, and pours a yellow liquid on the skeleton, with Tunneler, Leech Woman, Blade and Jester watching. After pouring the formula, the skeleton
raises its arms, indicating that Andre Toulon is alive again. A few months later, a group of parapsychologists, led by Carolyn Bramwell (Elizabeth Maclellan), are sent to the hotel to investigate the strange murder of Megan Gallagher and the lunatic ravings of a now insane Alex Whitaker. It is explained that Megan's brain was extracted through her nose (by Blade), and Alex, suspected of the murder, is now locked up in an asylum. While at the asylum, he begins to experience terrible seizures and premonitions.
That very evening, one of the investigators, Camille Kenney (Nita Talbot
), decides to leave after spotting two of the puppets in her room. However, while packing, Pinhead and Jester attack and kidnap her. The next day, Carolyn talks to Michael (Collin Bernsen) about the disappearance of his mother, due to finding Camille's belongings and car still at the hotel. That very evening Carolyn's brother Patrick (Gregory Webb
) gets his head tunneled by Tunneler. Another investigator, Lance (Jeff Weston) runs in, knocks Tunneler out, and kills him by crushing him with a lamp. After dissecting Tunneler, they realize that the puppets are not remote controlled, but rather that their gears and wood are run by a chemical. From this, they deduce that the chemical must be the secret of artificial intelligence
.
The next morning, while still trying understand the puppet's motivation, a man named Eriquee Chaneé (Steve Welles) comes in, stating that he had inherited hotel, and that he was in Bucharest
while the investigators moved in. Afterwards, Camille's son Michael travels to the hotel, trying to figure out what happened to his mother. That very evening, Blade and Leech Woman go to a local farmer's house, where Leech Woman kills the husband, Matthew (George "Buck" Flower), but gets thrown into the fireplace by the wife, Martha (Sage Allen). Just before Martha shoots Blade with her shotgun, a new puppet, Torch, walks in and burns Martha with his flame-throwing arm. It is then revealed that Eriquee is really Andre Toulon and he created Torch after being brought back to life, and he believes that Carolyn is a reincarnation
of his now deceased wife, Elsa.
Toulon then has a flashback of him (played by Steve Welles) and Elsa (also played by Elizabeth Maclellan) buying the formula of eternal life from a Cairo Merchant (Ivan J. Rado). The next morning, Michael and Carolyn go into town to find Camille and to find out more about Eriquee Chanee. During this, it is revealed that the puppets are killing because they are growing weaker and need the secret ingredient that makes that formula: brain tissue. Carolyn finds no records of Eriquee Chaneé, and starts to connect Eriquee to the disappearance of Camille and the death of her brother, Patrick. At the same time, she also realizes she has a crush on Michael. That same evening, Carolyn and Michael kiss, and have a little romantic interlude, as do Lance and Wanda (Charlie Spradling), the remaining two investigators. While Wanda goes back to her room, Blade kills Lance, killing Wanda afterwards. After killing them, he uses their tissue for the formula.
During this, Carolyn sneaks into Eriquee's room, and finds two life sized mannequins in the wardrobe. Eriquee sneaks up behind Carolyn, and still thinking she is Elsa, ties her up. Michael, hearing her screams, wakes up and goes to rescue her, all while fighting off Torch, Pinhead, and Blade. On his way up, the dumbwaiter opens, revealing Jester and Michael's dead mother, Camille. Toulon transfers his soul into one of the mannequins, and explains that after seeing Carolyn, he decided for them to live together forever. The puppets, upon hearing this, realize Toulon used them for his evil needs, and start torturing him. Michael then breaks into the room, saves Carolyn, and the two run out of the hotel. Up in the attic, Torch sets Toulon on fire, causing him to fall out a window and die. Afterward, Jester goes back to Camille's body with the remaining of the formula.
Several days later, it is revealed that Camille's soul has been put in the woman-sized mannequin, and is now running her own little puppet show. Blade, Pinhead, and Jester, are locked up in a cage, leaving Torch free. Camille takes them to the Bouldeston Institution for the mentally troubled tots and teens. Camille puts the puppets in the back of her car, and Torch up on the passenger's seat, and drives off, leaving this movie as a cliff-hanger.
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 David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen
David W. Allen
David W. Allen was a film and television stop-motion model animator.Considered among the finest stop-motion model animators, Dave Allen has contributed some of the best stop-motion sequences to many feature films, rivaling the work of other premier model animators Ray Harryhausen and Jim...
. It is the second 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 to 1989's 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...
, and stars Elizabeth Maclellan, Gregory Webb, Charlie Spradling, Jeff Weston and 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...
as paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
investigators who are terrorized by the animate creations of an undead 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...
, played by Steve Welles. Originally, Puppet Master II was intended to have the subtitle His Unholy Creations.
Puppet Master II, as well as the third, fourth
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...
and fifth installments of the series, are only available in DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format through a Full Moon Features
Full Moon Features
Full Moon Features is a motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series Puppet Master and Subspecies, as well as the innovative VideoZone featurette at the end of films through 1989 to 2000.-Full Moon...
box set that was briefly discontinued, until in 2007 when Full Moon Features reacquired the rights to the first five films.
Plot
The film begins at Shady Oaks, a cemeteryCemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in the backyard of the Bodega Bay Inn. As we go around the graveyard, we see Pinhead digging Andre Toulon's grave. Pinhead opens up the coffin, climbs out, and pours a yellow liquid on the skeleton, with Tunneler, Leech Woman, Blade and Jester watching. After pouring the formula, the skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
raises its arms, indicating that Andre Toulon is alive again. A few months later, a group of parapsychologists, led by Carolyn Bramwell (Elizabeth Maclellan), are sent to the hotel to investigate the strange murder of Megan Gallagher and the lunatic ravings of a now insane Alex Whitaker. It is explained that Megan's brain was extracted through her nose (by Blade), and Alex, suspected of the murder, is now locked up in an asylum. While at the asylum, he begins to experience terrible seizures and premonitions.
That very evening, one of the investigators, Camille Kenney (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...
), decides to leave after spotting two of the puppets in her room. However, while packing, Pinhead and Jester attack and kidnap her. The next day, Carolyn talks to Michael (Collin Bernsen) about the disappearance of his mother, due to finding Camille's belongings and car still at the hotel. That very evening Carolyn's brother Patrick (Gregory Webb
Gregory Webb
Gregory J. Webb is a former police chief of Lyons, Nebraska, who was convicted of killing his neighbor, Anna Anton. He pleaded no contest after being arrested in Holly Hill, Florida, to manslaughter and tampering with evidence...
) gets his head tunneled by Tunneler. Another investigator, Lance (Jeff Weston) runs in, knocks Tunneler out, and kills him by crushing him with a lamp. After dissecting Tunneler, they realize that the puppets are not remote controlled, but rather that their gears and wood are run by a chemical. From this, they deduce that the chemical must be the secret of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
.
The next morning, while still trying understand the puppet's motivation, a man named Eriquee Chaneé (Steve Welles) comes in, stating that he had inherited hotel, and that he was in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
while the investigators moved in. Afterwards, Camille's son Michael travels to the hotel, trying to figure out what happened to his mother. That very evening, Blade and Leech Woman go to a local farmer's house, where Leech Woman kills the husband, Matthew (George "Buck" Flower), but gets thrown into the fireplace by the wife, Martha (Sage Allen). Just before Martha shoots Blade with her shotgun, a new puppet, Torch, walks in and burns Martha with his flame-throwing arm. It is then revealed that Eriquee is really Andre Toulon and he created Torch after being brought back to life, and he believes that Carolyn is a reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of his now deceased wife, Elsa.
Toulon then has a flashback of him (played by Steve Welles) and Elsa (also played by Elizabeth Maclellan) buying the formula of eternal life from a Cairo Merchant (Ivan J. Rado). The next morning, Michael and Carolyn go into town to find Camille and to find out more about Eriquee Chanee. During this, it is revealed that the puppets are killing because they are growing weaker and need the secret ingredient that makes that formula: brain tissue. Carolyn finds no records of Eriquee Chaneé, and starts to connect Eriquee to the disappearance of Camille and the death of her brother, Patrick. At the same time, she also realizes she has a crush on Michael. That same evening, Carolyn and Michael kiss, and have a little romantic interlude, as do Lance and Wanda (Charlie Spradling), the remaining two investigators. While Wanda goes back to her room, Blade kills Lance, killing Wanda afterwards. After killing them, he uses their tissue for the formula.
During this, Carolyn sneaks into Eriquee's room, and finds two life sized mannequins in the wardrobe. Eriquee sneaks up behind Carolyn, and still thinking she is Elsa, ties her up. Michael, hearing her screams, wakes up and goes to rescue her, all while fighting off Torch, Pinhead, and Blade. On his way up, the dumbwaiter opens, revealing Jester and Michael's dead mother, Camille. Toulon transfers his soul into one of the mannequins, and explains that after seeing Carolyn, he decided for them to live together forever. The puppets, upon hearing this, realize Toulon used them for his evil needs, and start torturing him. Michael then breaks into the room, saves Carolyn, and the two run out of the hotel. Up in the attic, Torch sets Toulon on fire, causing him to fall out a window and die. Afterward, Jester goes back to Camille's body with the remaining of the formula.
Several days later, it is revealed that Camille's soul has been put in the woman-sized mannequin, and is now running her own little puppet show. Blade, Pinhead, and Jester, are locked up in a cage, leaving Torch free. Camille takes them to the Bouldeston Institution for the mentally troubled tots and teens. Camille puts the puppets in the back of her car, and Torch up on the passenger's seat, and drives off, leaving this movie as a cliff-hanger.
Cast
- Elizabeth Maclellan – Carolyn Bramwell, Elsa Toulon
- Collin Bernsen – Michael Kenney
- Steve Welles – Andre Toulon, Eriquee Chaneé
- Gregory WebbGregory WebbGregory J. Webb is a former police chief of Lyons, Nebraska, who was convicted of killing his neighbor, Anna Anton. He pleaded no contest after being arrested in Holly Hill, Florida, to manslaughter and tampering with evidence...
– Patrick Bramwell - Charlie Spradling – Wanda
- Jeff Weston – Lance
- Nita TalbotNita TalbotNita 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...
– Camille Kenney - Sage Allen – Martha
- George Buck FlowerGeorge Buck FlowerGeorge Buck Flower was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower, George Flower, Buck Flowers, C. D. LaFleur, C.D. LaFleure, C.D. Lafleuer, and C.D...
– Mathew - Sean B. Ryan – Billy
- Ivan J. Rado – Cairo Merchant
- Michael ToddMichael ToddMike or Michael Todd may refer to:*Mike Todd , American film producer*Mike Todd, Jr. , son of American film producer Mike Todd and stepson to Elizabeth Taylor...
– Puppet Toulon - Julianne Mazziotti – Puppet Camille/Elsa
- Taryn Band – Cairo Child
- Alex BandAlex BandAlex Band is an American musician and singer-songwriter, best known for his work in his former band The Calling and their signature song "Wherever You Will Go", which peaked at #3 on the Top 40 in 2001.Along with bandmate and fellow songwriter Aaron Kamin as part of The Calling, the pair achieved...
– Cairo Child
Featured puppets
- Pinhead
- Leech Woman
- Tunneler
- Jester
- Blade
- Torch
- Mephisto
- Djinn the Hobgoblin