The Puppetman

I got the chance to see this film on Shudder last night and I had really high hopes from it after watching the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately, it took a downward spiral pretty fast.

The Puppetman, is a story about a mysterious entity possessing a body and forcing the victims to commit suicide via mind control.

Now, this idea isn't very original and has been done before however, I believe that it still had the potential to deliver some original great scares.

The problem though, the story line is pretty much uninspiring and the acting is monotonous. From the beginning till the end, the movie doesn't even really surprise you and the scary scenes that are supposed to be scary aren't satisfying enough.

The acting is okay and the cinematography is just bland which makes the movie even more uninteresting. If you're in the mood for something scary, this isn't the best option for you but if you want something watchable, I'd say give it a chance.

The newest Shudder exclusive entry as of today- I appreciate the network but lately has been hit or miss. Found the idea and set up on this one to be good, and intriguing. Unfortunately, the script seemed a bit uneven and fragmented and about a quarter way in just stammered along until it got closer towards the end. Good effort, but character motivations were questionable (including the entity's) and a couple characters in general didn't gel well with the over-all plot (which by the time it was said and done, I thought seemed a bit thin). Once it finally got to the reveal, it was a decent twist, and a decent death or two were included along the way.

This movie actually had a lot more potential than I was expecting. Unfortunately, it suffered from some amateurish issues but was still intriguing and entertaining.

I found the concept for this to be quite interesting and I think that's where the majority of the potential was. It let itself down in the end with pretty vague and ambiguous final moments. I was pretty surprised and impressed through the beginning but it started to go down hill after the rooftop scene. And I realized what I thought to be good acting primarily revolved around the brunette roommate and it kind of fell apart in that regard without her. She was quite good and the blonde had some moments as well. The actual storytelling here felt a little lazy and the script was really not great. There were however some pretty cool and gnarly deaths that I appreciated.

Overall it definitely has an indie vibe to it in its imperfections but it's actually pretty decent. Had the potential to be great but didn't quite get there. 4.5 rounding up to a 5, would recommend.

I recently viewed The Puppetman (2023) on Shudder. The plot revolves around a man who, under the influence of a malevolent entity, is compelled to commit a heinous act in front of his daughter, leading to his execution. Years later, his orphaned daughter, now a high school student, faces the entity as it possesses her friends, coercing them into committing gruesome acts. Will she become another victim, or can she find a way to stop the entity?

Directed by Brandon Christensen (Superhost), the film features Alyson Gorske (Jungle Run), Kio Cyr (Give Me an A), Zachary Le Vey (Run Hide Fight(, Michael Paré (Gone) and Angel Prater (Amy's F it List).

The Puppetman had the potential to be a standout horror film. The opening scene was well-crafted and effectively set the movie's tone. Unfortunately, it didn't maintain the quality of kill scenes after the beginning. While there were some entertaining fire and a shootout scenes, there was also a terrible seance that was awkward. The acting was good enough, but the ending was disappointing and felt like a copout.

In summary, this movie offers a few engaging scenes and a solid concept but struggles with execution. I would rate this a 4/10 and suggest considering other options.

A nice breath of fresh air (yeah I know that term has been beaten to death..).

Good story, some blood and gore, decent acting, a few twists, nice photo and music/ambience. A bit lowbudget I think, but if thats the case they did a good job!

Its not a 10, as I think it has just a few too many minor plotholes/logical issues. But its not a 3 or 4 either.

I settled at a 6, and I think thats fair :) (Im sure I will will see some 7's later on)

Its up there with the movie "it follows" I think, which I also like.

Ok.. so they want more characters for this review? Jeez. Ok then..

Oh nevermind I think this is enough!

So yeah, a decent horror movie. A bit slow at the start maybe, but I thibk its worth to keep going.

Well done guys!

6/10.