Puppet Master X: Axis Rising
Plot: Tunneler is abducted by the Nazis (who are hiding out in California), who are planning to use the serum that created him to bring back the dead. It’s up to Danny (Kip Canyon), Beth (Jean Louise O’Sullivan) and the rest of the Puppet Master clan to rescue Tunneler and save the day.
Review: As a fan of the “Puppet Master” series, I was already excited for the tenth installment. When it was announced that Charles Band would be taking the director’s chair for the first time, my interest peaked a bit. He’s not a magnificent director, but his presence is felt in all of the productions and having him take control could only help matters (as well as further increase his rather alarming doll fetish). What got me the most excited was the announcement that professional wrestler Nigel McGuinness would have a role in the film. Granted, it’s only as a brief cameo as Nazi Solider #1, but he has to start somewhere. Maybe he’ll be promoted to a bit player in the next Full Moon feature.
With McGuinness’ brief appearance underwhelming me (he was fine, I just wanted to see more of him), I shifted my attention to the film itself. Like a good chunk of the series, it does suffer from serious lulls when the puppets aren’t in action. Band made a wise decision with the last installment to bring Nazis back into the equation after their role in the third film granted their best edition! Like “Axis of Evil”, this works to keep the viewer’s attention, if not underwhelming them a bit.
To add more intrigue to the film, four new puppets are introduced to battle our heroes (which, for the record, having the once evil puppets be the heroes makes sense considering they’ve been the selling point and were usually rooted for even when evil). The four puppets are Blitzkrieg, a tank puppet that shoots grenades and bullets; Bombshell, a femme fatale in the Ilsa mold who has guns for breasts; Weremacht, a werewolf puppet who strangles and slashes his victims; and Kamikaze, an extremely racist caricature whose only purpose is to blow himself up. They add enough flavor to the mix and their battles with Blade and the gang are staged rather well. Much better than the miniature duels in “Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys”, that’s for sure!
You know what you’re in store for when you watch a “Puppet Master” film. Outside of the third entry, they’ve all been decent to middling (and terrible on a few occasions). “Axis Rising” is no different. Some of the acting is wooden and the dialogue scenes feel more like filler than development. It’s the scenes with the puppets, the money shot(s) if you will, that are the selling point. While not breathtaking or highly original, they serve their purpose and quench the viewer’s thirst.
Final Rating: B-
Absentia
Plot: The husband of Tricia Riley (Courtney Bell) has been missing for over seven years .Just as she and her sister, Callie (Katie Parker), begin to sign the death certificate, strange occurrences begin happening. Tricia believes she sees her husband and Callie is spotting unusual behavior in the tunnel near their house.
Review: Just when you think you know where “Absentia” is going, Mike Flanagan yanks you into another direction. Just when you think you have all of the answers, he changes the questions. The best way to describe his direction is the exaggerated rollercoaster comparison. You’re put at a state of unease, preparing for the big drop. You take the dip and then are immediately jerked around. The rest of the ride is a mix of all three. It’s not until you get off that you officially calm down.
Flanagan starts you off by thinking that Tricia may be imagining her husband’s rather frightening appearances. She’s finally declaring him deceased and moving on. She’s pregnant (the father is never named) and is slowly starting a relationship with Detective Ryan Mallory (Dave Levine), who has been working on her husband’s disappearance case for years. It’s natural for her guilt to overtake her and create nightmarish images.
Then you start to believe that maybe his presence isn’t imaginary. Supernatural, possibly, but not apocryphal. When Callie has run-ins with mysterious individuals in the tunnels who speak of going underneath, you begin to wonder if something supernatural is occurring. If not that, then ghastly abductions. Whatever you theorize, your mind will constantly be working.
That’s the beauty of “Absentia”! It’s a mind-twisting puzzle that keeps the viewers on their toes. Flanagan doesn’t get too lost in this that he forgets to develop the characters. He does so tremendously and pulls strong performances out of his crew! That makes the mystery even more involving. You feel a connection with the characters and want to unravel the riddle. You’ll hit a few bumps in the road, but almost immediately get back on the narrow!
Final Rating: A-
Wrong Turn 5
Plot: Maynard (Doug Bradley) and the three inbred hillbilly cannibals from the previous installments take siege of a small West Virginia town during the Mountain Man Festival on Halloween.
Review: I’ve only seen the first and fourth entry in the “Wrong Turn” series and enjoyed them both. Neither were high art, but they were good slasher fare that utilized the hillbilly cannibal trope well. The fourth, it should be stated, was a prequel, hence why I felt comfortable jumping into it without having seen the second and third installments. Even so, I didn’t feel I had too much to worry about. Most slasher sequels set up a new cast of victims and make references to the previous entries, so seeing them in order isn’t a necessity.
“Wrong Turn 5” proves my theory correct. All you need to know going into it is that Maynard and his three cannibals are vicious murderers who are out for blood. It’s as simple as that. All of the other characters are of the stock variety and make dumb decisions (some of them a bit too idiotic) to further the plot. The only difference Declan O’Brien does with them is offing them in a random order. Usually, you can predict that order within the first few minutes. Here, he throws a curveball, keeping the viewers on their toes.
Making the viewers cringe are the vicious ways that the cannibals do in the victims. They gut them and make them eat their intestines, set dozens of fires, go after their eyes and legs, bury them in dirt and… well, I’m not going to spoil that one. Gorehounds will be pleased with this entry! Those who are squeamish would be best to avoid this film, as the blood flows like wine at an Oscar party. Which is the closest this film is going to get to the Oscars, but that’s besides the point. This film isn’t aiming for that. It wants to entertain and make horror buffs squeal and it does a fine job of doing so!
I’ve heard that the second entry is the best and the third is the worst. I’ll definitely be checking those out down the road thanks to my enjoyment with the other three. I can’t personally speak for the series as a whole, but if that track record holds true, this is a damn fine series! Most horror series run out of steam by the fourth entry. We’ve got five down and I’m actually anticipating a sixth! That’s a huge compliment to not only the series, but to Declan O’Brien as well!
Final Rating: B
Vamps
Plot: Goody (Alicia Silverstone) and Stacy (Krysten Ritter) are two vampires, or ELFs (Extended Life Forms) as they like to go by, who are adjusting to modern times. They begin romances and question their states of being just as Cisserus (Sigourney Weaver) is going through a midlife crisis and causing trouble for their community.
Review: Amy Heckerling uses vampires as a symbolism for today’s culture. By having Goody being alive since the 1800’s and even Stacy since the 1980’s, she’s able to show how advanced in technology we have become. She doesn’t shed this in a positive light, but in a derogatory fashion. Using Goody as a mouthpiece she lambasts the youth of today and their lack of actual social connection.
This isn’t the film critic in me dissecting the film’s undertones. The message is loud and clear to everybody. Amy, who found success in dissecting pop culture in “Clueless”, misfires here simply because she force feeds her message upon the audience. Enough so that she has both Goody and Stacy discuss classic films, with the latter taking a film class and talking about hidden symbolism. The only hidden symbolism Heckerling utilizes is by having the majority of the students in the class texting and playing on their computers instead of paying attention to the film. Had she utilized this simple method more often, the film would have fared better.
By focusing so heavily on her message, Heckerling forgot about the plot at hand. It’s a simple one of Stacy falling in love with Joey (Dan Stevens), whose father just so happens to be Dr. Van Helsing (Wallace Shawn). She has to hide her vampirism to not only save herself, but be with the one she loves. Goody even has a romantic interest by rekindling a relationship (sort of) with Danny (Richard Lewis). The two dated in the 1960’s when they both were protesting. She left him due to her condition and not wanting to rope him into her lifestyle.
All the while, the two occasionally work for Cisserus who, from my understanding, is the head vampire. Heckerling, as mentioned before, tends to let the plot go by the wayside in order to promote her message. She’s going through a midlife crisis of sorts and is slowly exposing her clan without a care in the world. Goody and Stacy get the help of their fellow ELFs, who are somewhat led by Vlad (Malcolm McDowell, who once again proves that his presence makes anything a tad better), to help in saving their clan. There’s also a pregnancy angle that’s thrown in near the end that felt tacked on solely to get to the rightful conclusion.
Going into “Vamps”, I was expecting a painful experience. The marketing for it makes it seem as if a dopey comedy about two glam vampires in today’s world. While there are lame jokes abound, the film has more heart to that thanks to a lively cast (no pun intended). I showed faith in Heckerling, who has taken plots that weren’t aimed at me and engrossed me, to surprise me. She ended up disappointing me as she was more concerned with her overwrought message than she was with her characters.
Final Rating: C+