The Bodega Bay Inn was the scene of a terrible massacre, from which only Alex Whitaker, a researcher with psychic powers, was saved. The latter shocked by the shocking experience, attributed the incident to evil puppets that allegedly inhabited the hotel.
A group of four scholars and an eccentric medium named Camille are commissioned by the university, at which Whitaker worked, to shed light on the incident. During their stay at the hotel, a disfigured man suddenly appears, claiming to be the true janitor of the tree. After his arrival, mysterious disappearances occur, and the rumors about the puppets described by Whitaker will no longer remain just rumors, but will become a terrible reality.
"Puppet Master II," like the previous installment, is made, again by Charles Band's "Full Moon" production company, directly for the vhs market and is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best chapter in a long and mediocre series, which includes such titles as "The Infernal Toys," "Killer Toys," "The Return of the Killer Toys," " The Revenge of Toulon," etc.; there is even a crossover between two series namely "Demonic Toys vs Killer Toys."
In this second episode, the direction is entrusted, with good results, to a skilled special effects craftsman, David Allen. Against all expectations, this unpretentious little film convinces and intrigues far more than the first; some elements and characters are introduced (in truth only one significant character: the puppeteer Toulon) that lift and vary the story.
First of all, this episode turns out to be far more sadistic and cruel than the first one (a child is even killed, in a bad way, by the puppet nicknamed "flashlight"); the murders are all shown clearly in their execution (whereas in the first one some took place off-screen, and one could see "only the results" of them; in practice, bodies were discovered in the dining room of the Bodega Bay Inn); there is, therefore, a certain attention to and predilection for the bloody detail, as well as a certain inventiveness (the murders are carried out in different ways but have, in common, one detail: the removal of brain parts); which for lovers of splatter can only be a very positive element.
The special effects are very well-rendered and quite believable; the animations of the puppets are also good, and in this episode there are even more scenes in which we see them directly in action. Of course then, as is often the case in sequels, the number of deaths is also increased.
The killer puppets are the same as the first one with a new entry: "toarch," a puppet that has a flamethrower instead of a hand. Surely this puppet turns out to be the one with the most appealing look and especially the most original: to imagine a puppet with a flamethrower instead of a hand is really remarkable or crazy, depending on your point of view. Well-drawn and "sui generis" is the figure of the puppeteer Toulon, a character who in the first one was shown for very few moments (in the prologue) and who here, instead, becomes the fulcrum of the story; it is, moreover, the only figure worth mentioning.
The other characters are terribly flat and predictable: there is the usual medium who wants to warn people off, the usual couple, the handsome guy etc.....
The story is described in more detail than in the first chapter and, above all, in a more linear way, without inconsistencies or gaps; there they had only a few details, here they even dwell on various details (such as the discovery in the East of the living puppets; the formula and ritual that allow the puppets to be given life; a ritual for which even human brain parts are needed; finally, the various flashbacks to Toulon's past, which allow us to understand the reason for his actions and his obsession; elements, then, that give more depth to the character of the puppeteer).
Certainly one of the few instances in which the second chapter surpasses the first as value and achievement, although these are still small films and clearly not genre masterpieces.
Review of decker
