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Well, if you enjoyed the 1989 "Puppet Master" movie from Full Moon Entertainment, then you will definitely also enjoy this 1990 sequel titled "Puppet Master II".

I sat down here in 2023 to watch the 1990 movie "Puppet Master II" from director David Allen, as part of a "Puppet Master" movie marathon. I do remember having seen the movie once before, many years ago, but I have to admit that I had forgotten about the storyline.

Writers Charles Band, David Pabian and David Schmoeller put together a rather enjoyable script for the movie, and it felt like a good sequel to the original movie, though they actually had little in common. But the movie proved to be entertaining, nonetheless.

The acting performances in "Puppet Master II" were fair enough, though I was only familiar with actress Nita Talbot.

Visually then you know what you are getting here, provided you have already seen the 1989 original "Puppet Master" movie. The stop-motion effects for the puppets, while cheesy and campy, does add a certain enjoyable charm to the movie. And I will say that the make-up effects on the zombified Andre Toulon was actually quite good.

I enjoyed "Puppet Master II" as much as I enjoyed the original 1989 "Puppet Master" movie, so I was adequately entertained by this 1990 sequel.

My rating of "Puppet Master II" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Alright, so the original was a fairly smart film, but this is just a fun B-movie. SOme good gore, cool kills, and that feel of an 80's flick are all present. Plus the new puppet, Torch, is awesome, along with all the original puppets doing what they do best...kill. In this film, Andre Toulon is brought back by the puppets to create more carnage. The storyline is not strong, the acting is not excellent, but it all works and the movie turns out to be pretty darn fun. Also some cool kills, and better gore than the first. The special effects are also excellent by David Allen's great effects crew, as David Allen also takes the director's chair on this film. If you like the original, you will also love this one, that is my logic.

An inevitable simple rehash, which is probably a little more expansive and wicked in its visions. Not as fun as the original, but nonetheless a respectable b-grade sequel by Full Moon productions. Which I believe, would be followed up by the best entry of the series "Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge", as after that film I didn't particularly care for the rest. The second film of the franchise keeps pretty much the same structure of the original, as a group of government paranormal researchers head to the ocean facing cliff top hotel to look into Alex Whitaker's stories (the survivor of the original now in a mental hospital) and soon become targets of the puppets and the resurrected Andre Toulon (dressed in bandages) from the dead in the quest to collect enough brain fluid for his reanimation serum to keep them alive. But when Toulon encounters Carolyn, he's quickly reminded of his dead wife Elsa and the plans seem to change.

Director / visual effects wizard David Allen does a resourceful job with his low-budget, instilling a clean-cut Gothic atmosphere with an underlining eeriness and donning sensational puppet creations (a newly added one too -- Torch) and stop motion effects. This gimmick is where the film's personality arrives from, outside a dementedly compulsive performance by Steve Welles (under some bandages and heavy make-up) as the cracking Toulon. Welles is the life of the party (getting plenty of screen time --- where a little more is explained about his character), as the rest of the cast (Elizabeth Maclellan, Collin Bernsen, Gregory Webb, Jeff Celentano and a perky Charlie Spradling) are immensely one-note. Also showing up in minor, but fruitful parts are Nita Talbot, Sage Allen and George 'Buck' Flower. When it came to the puppets doing Toulon's dirty work, while ominously nasty it just lacked the imagination found in the original's death set-pieces, but the meaty, if dark narrative seemed a little more fuller in its angle of dementia, betrayal and revenge. The pacing can have its stuffy moments too (being rather slow to get going), but the location for the developing macabre fits and Richard Band's brooding score is reused with that striking playful carnival arrangement.

The puppets return, this time they hunt down some locals and paranormal researchers to assist their master in his evil plan.

Charles Band's story and David Pabian's screenplay is almost a remake of the first film. Effects wizard David Allen in the directing chair exceeds the 1st certainly in terms of effects and atmosphere.

While this installment reduces Andre Toulon / Eriquee Chaneé to a walking nod to the Invisible Man and other Universal classic characters, in contrast to how he is presented in the later adventures, it is by far the creepiest of the bunch. Steve Welles performance is wonderfully over the top and steals every scene. Veteran Nita Talbot is on fine form and the remaining cast are a mixed blessing, Charlie Spradling and Elizabeth Maclellan give solid performances while here at least Collin Bernsen and Jeff Celentano are as mechanical as Tunneler's innards.

Despite it's editing and story flaws Allen gives us a darker faster paced and eerier film than it's predecessor. The flashbacks are welcome and the paranormal investigation angle, while not totally original, gives the proceeds some weight and intrigue. Notably Blade running and jumping from a bed to slice his victim is probably one of best low budget horror moments to date. There are many stand out moments in part 2, Leech Woman's demise, Torches encounter with a toy whipping boy and the unworldly human puppets reminiscent of the aliens in Carpenter's (1988)They Live to name a few.

As with all the films in the Puppet Master series they always leave you with one burning question, in two's case: Why didn't Julianne Mazziotti/Nita Talbot's Camille get her own sequel with your favorite little puppets?

Overall, a entertaining sequel with some great stop-motion puppet effects.

I must say that I enjoyed this second installment to the series better than I enjoyed the original PUPPET MASTER. I like the killings better, the story better, and especially the new Torch puppet. The film is a horror fest from beginning to end. You will really enjoy this film.

The actors and actresses are all pretty much unknown except for a few which some people may recognize. I also think that the special effects are much better in this film. This one is much more gory and graphic than the original. PUPPET MASTER II brought the PUPPET MASTER legacy back to life and kept it alive until it was destroyed by the godawful PUPPET MASTER III: TOULAN'S REVENGE. Now, that movie was gay! On the other hand, this one is not. This is one of the better horror films that I have ever seen. PUPPET MASTER II: 5/5.