Puppet Master: Axis of Evil

David DeCoteau is a talented microbudget horror director and he's directed some of the better, more artful Puppet Master films. Parts 3, 6 and 7 are some of the most competently directed, serious and beautifully shot Full Moon films. "Axis of Evil" fits in with them, but its the weakest of his efforts through no fault of his own.

The problem with Pt 9 (since Charles Band disgustingly counts a "Best of" tape as Pt 8) is that its a much, much cheaper rehash of 7 which was a rehash of 3. The plot follows a young man fighting the Nazis in a dark urban setting, losing his loved ones and then getting revenge. Pt 3 is a good film but remaking it twice is twice too many. Worst of all is that the puppets have less to do with the story and they look shabbier in each film. Lets face it: the puppets are the stars.

Its gorgeously shot, directed as well as a fast and cheap horror film can be and you have to admire the craftsmanship of a movie filmed for peanuts, but its not entertaining or original enough. This is the 1st of a trilogy and so you don't receive any closure but you do feel a rage at the cynical money-grubbing quality of Full Moon's lesser films. What a waste of DeCoteau and a modest Puppet Master premise.