Meat Puppet

Meat Puppet is a horror comedy short about the dangers of not growing up. It primarily features a college-graduate-aged man who blows off important people, namely his girlfriend, and events in his life in order to play with toys and action figures.

Seeing as we have twelve minutes and a good portion of that needs to be reserved for comedic bits and VFX horror, we don't get a lot of specific characterization. We see a lot of reliance on stereotypes and tropes. We do get an arc, but frankly, if the short's humor doesn't work for you, I don't think the arc will, either.

The VFX work is pretty impressive, and I really enjoyed the puppet. The pieces, like the cinematography and editing, come together quite nicely with the puppetry and the VFX to paint an enjoyable picture.

The humor might not land for a lot of people, though. I enjoy it well enough, and I think it does a pretty good job of doing what it sets out to do, but this brand of schlocky, B-movie horror isn't everyone's cup of tea. I'm also not sure the film nails the humor all the way through, either. There are a couple moments where the bit either needs to take a step bigger and crazier or to tone down some. It's hard to say what direction would be best, though, and I will say, that's a lot of personal preference.

I was pleasantly surprised at the arc and some of the more traditionally dramatic moments, specifically Cuba's (the girlfriend) light-bulb moment. I also loved how the film doesn't take itself to seriously at that juncture, as well.

Oh, and stick around after the credits. They don't take long, and the parting shot is a good bit of fun.