DVD & BLU RAY REVIEWS
Reviews by JAIME PINA
Puppet Master III
Full Moon Features/MVD
To be honest I only saw the initial film in the Puppet Master series when it was first released. I liked it but didn’t give it much afterthought. And I had no clue that the series was highly successful and had many sequels on the level of the Friday The 13th series. So when I was offered this to review I thought, why not? I saw that it had a great cast and that the effects were done by David Allen (Laserblast) so I figured it may be of some interest. The film is a prequel as it tells the story of the puppeteer Toulon played in this installment by Guy Rolfe (Mr. Sardonicus, Dolls) and how he runs afoul of the Nazis. A German doctor played by Ian Abercrombie (Young Frankenstein, Army Of Darkness) is working on a serum to reanimate dead corpses for the Third Reich to use on the battlefield. When he is made aware of Toulon’s work with puppets he goes to a Nazi general played by Walter Gotell (General Gogol in the James Bond series) and asks him to keep a Gestapo head played by Richard Lynch (God Told Me To, The Ninth Configuration) from executing him until he can learn his secrets. When the Nazis apprehend Toulon, they murder his wife (Sarah Douglas of The Land That Time Forgot,
Superman I & II) in cold blood as Nazis tend to do and Toulon, with the help of his loyal puppets, swears revenge.
Many fans of the series consider this to be the best and I must say it’s a great little thriller. The performances are excellent with Rolfe being the star and big standout. While he played a similar role in Dolls, this is no repeat performance. For this role he seems to channel John Carradine both in look and mannerisms. Rolfe is incredibly likeable and you can’t help but root for him. Especially because he is killing Nazis. Ricard Lynch who is usually cast as the heavy gives one of his most evil performances. He seems to turn it on full steam as soon as he hits the screen in order to make his comeuppance all the more delightful. In one of the extras both Lynch and Gotell discuss trying to give their rather reprehensible characters some depth and humanity but while Lynch just exudes pure hate Gotell’s General Mueller has a sense of humor, gets sick of the bickering in his ranks and goes to a house of ill repute to fondle Michele Bauer’s tiddies. While Sarah Douglas’ bit is short, it is sweet and she is another plus mark for the film. And if you are a fan of stop-motion animation then you will be amazed and entertained by David Allen’s work with the puppets.
Blood And Steel
SRS Home Video/MVD
For some reason this title stuck out like a sore thumb to me when it was offered for review. I decided to check it out and was a little taken aback by the grainy photography at first. It looks like it was shot with an 8mm film camera. The film opens with a murder scene where a masked man stalks a woman night swimming in her backyard pool. Somehow, even with the obvious amateur acting, the suspense of the scene worked well and I was hooked. While the acting doesn’t really improve much as the film progresses the actors are good enough to move the bare bones story forward because this isn’t the kind of film that requires dramatic actors who have paid their dues on the boards and are hopeful of winning an Academy Award someday. It’s a revenge driven plot and once it is explained that a guy is going after the killers of his sister, just one in a series of tributes to Enter The Dragon and Bruce Lee, the film goes right to a series of fight scenes that lead to the brutal wrap up. Producer, director and star Mark Swetland has enough charisma (he immediately endures himself to the audience in a scene with his dog) and more than enough fighting skills to pull off the lead role. And director of photography Al McCracken is right there capturing the combat in a satisfying way. Whatever obstacles Swetland had in front of him in getting his idea of being an upstate New York Bruce Lee on film, he overcomes them and the enthusiasm that oozes from the very film grain is infectious.
The DVD looks pretty good considering it was a low, low budget production. The sound is good with nice and chunky sound effects for the strikes, kicks, gunshots, falls and broken necks. The music is from a cue library with one original song and is loud and clear but nothing to write home about. The extras include two trailers for the film and SRS trailers and outtakes but the real treasure here is a “fight analysis” with Swetland and David W. Bobnik, the actor who plays Steiner, the hit man he faces in the film’s centerpiece fight. It’s a commentary with the two fighters going over two fight scenes, slowing down certain sequences to explain the moves. One astonishing comment is when Bobnik points out that some of the moves were improvised as they were “going with the flow”. Serious fans of Martial Arts might think the film corny but will be won over by the fight scenes and fans of grade Z gems who love surprises will fall in love
with Swetland and his film. He dedicates the film in the end credits to Bruce Lee but the entire film is a love letter to Bruce. It’s all there from the cat like howls during the moves, to the nunchakus, to uncovering the bad guys’ drug scheme and when Swetland goes to kick ass for the finale he is wearing a yellow suit. You can’t help but love the guy. And oh yeah, Blood And Steel was the original title for Enter The Dragon.