Puppet Master: Axis of Evil

Life is hard in 1939 when you’re a red-blooded patriotic American young man with a twisted leg who wants nothing more than to ship off to Germany or Japan as a soldier (*).

Danny Coogan makes chairs. Damn fine woodworker. His brother Donny is a soldier.

There is a Monsieur Toulon who has a mysterious glowing liquid and a case of puppets — and he’s being sought by the Germans and Japanese (whose agents have a strange passive-aggressive relationship).

Soon, Monsieur Toulon is dead, Donny is dead, and Donny’s girlfriend has been captured by The Enemy. Danny mixes some of his brother’s fluids into the green liquid and injects it into a new puppet, then sets out to seek vengeance.

Ultimately, don’t think too hard about anything in Puppetmaster: Axis of Evil. The puppets have a better emotional range than the characters. It’s directed by David DeCoteau (**), and its badness is kept firmly under-the-top, tongue only briefly flirting with cheek.

Or as Amy said, “Well, that was terrible … but competently made.”


(*) Don’t come at me, come at the movie.


(**) Per Amy, DeCoteau’s artistic vision was seriously compromised because there is not one scene of Danny, Donny, or Monsieur Tolon wearing only boxer briefs and socks. Similarly, there are no scenes of any humans smearing oil onto smooth, muscled chests. No promises about the puppets, though!