As a child, Jamie is introduced quickly to the world of horror films by Susan, his genre loving mum. When Susan falls gravely ill and dies, Jamie retreats to the comfort of those scary movies with his beloved pink puppet Simon by his side. In time, Jamie’s dad Robert finds himself in a new relationship with Janet, a woman who believes that a diet of fright flicks will turn Jamie into a serial killer and demands that something be done about it.
Janet tears Jamie’s posters from the wall, confiscates his video tapes – including Sorority Girls Bloodbath, which is “a good one” according to Robert – and threatens to take Simon away too. A few moments later, Janet is hearing Simon’s voice telling her that no one likes her, and a few moments after that Janet is very dead indeed, having succumbed to a Pet Sematary-style Achilles tendon slashing followed by a repeated stabbing. It couldn’t possibly be Simon – could it?
Lisa Ovies’ riotous, referential comedy horror then flashes forwards to high school, where “teenage” Jamie (Aleks Paunovic) is sharing a Simon-related tale to a not-entirely invested counsellor who is fed up with hearing about puppets committing murder and even less impressed that Jamie is spending his Christmas break by going back to his childhood home where said carnage too place. Of course, it can’t happen again – can it?
Packing its running time with a slew of recognisable genre tropes and beats, Puppet Killer works as a zany, gory slasher and a knowing parody, playing one of its most audacious cards almost straight out of the gate by taking the casting of older actors to play high school kids to a purposely ridiculous and jarring level, with 50-year-old Paunovic playing the loveable lunk who may just have the heart of a killer beneath his imposing frame.
The rest of his high school buds are somewhat nearer the age their characters are supposed to be but are still more likely to be mistaken for the teachers than the pupils. They’re also the types we all know and love if we’ve merely seen just a smattering of similar titles, including Jamie’s sweet girlfriend Jessie (Lisa Durupt), macho jock Lee (Kyle Cassie), Lee’s new love interest and impossibly gorgeous party girl Brooke (Gigi Saul Guerrero), weed aficionado Curtis (lee Majdoub) and odd Goth loner Rick (Richard Harmon).
And so, with best wishes from Robert, our merry band of drives off to their secluded winter retreat, where things predictably turn from fun to a whole lot darker very quickly as Jamie’s recurring nightmares about a murderous Simon showing up to wreak bloody havoc look as if they’re about to turn into terrifying reality.
Puppet Killer crams in so many nods to horror movie icons and landmark films that it’s almost impossible to catch them all in one viewing. Varying from overt visual references to classics such as Psycho and The Shining to less obvious nods such as a particular line of dialogue lifted from Evil Dead 2, this is a production which is about as upfront in paying homage to its influences as it could be. It’s a delight for the veteran horror hounds among us, who can spend their time film spotting but it doesn’t preclude less-seasoned watchers from having a damn good time.
In fact, the whole joy of the piece, in both its visuals and technical aspects, comes across strongly. Its easy-going style, its wacky sense of humour and its willingness to lean into the utter ridiculousness of the enterprise gives the impression that Puppet Killer was a lot of fun to be part of. Having filmmakers such as Gigi Saul Guerrero in front of the camera adds to that whole meta dimension and this is only further bolstered by the uncredited appearance of a well-known directing duo who show up in a sequence that both alludes pleasingly to their debut and provides the plot with that old faithful of a standby when you might just not have enough victims - a couple of extra folks turning up out of nowhere to add to the potential body count.
Even though Ovies – and the screenplay by Kevin Mosley – is concerned with the playful skewering of well-worn shocker clichés, there’s due diligence given to the nasty skewering and slashing and disembowelling of unsuspecting cast members. The gore effects are practical, gooey and guarantee a gleeful, gruesome time for anyone who’s also here for the red stuff.
Puppet Killer is clearly made with a huge amount of affection for the genre but it also points up the horror community’s ability to laugh at itself, showing exactly why we all embrace the splattery nonsense that runs rampant through these crazy tales while still demonstrating that quirky heart and soul that so many chillers possess.
The performances are knowing without being too obvious, Paunovic managing to walk the line between sweet and weird, ably assisted by a supporting cast who bring their archetypes to life in a fun and subtly mannered way that’s perfect for their roles as franchise maniac fodder. The set-pieces cleave closely to those classic suspense sequences such as wandering down darkened corridors, slowly opening doors to reveal what’s behind…you know the drill, and the folks behind this know it too.
I had a big grin on my face throughout Puppet Killer. It appealed to me greatly as both a huge fan of the slasher movie and someone who loves a well-crafted spoof. Comedy horror is extremely difficult to get right and although this leans more towards chuckles than chucking up it more than earns its place as a genre-blender. Also, any film that has the guts to have one character call out for her friends with the line “Jamie?...Lee?...Curtis?” deserves credit in my book.
Janet tears Jamie’s posters from the wall, confiscates his video tapes – including Sorority Girls Bloodbath, which is “a good one” according to Robert – and threatens to take Simon away too. A few moments later, Janet is hearing Simon’s voice telling her that no one likes her, and a few moments after that Janet is very dead indeed, having succumbed to a Pet Sematary-style Achilles tendon slashing followed by a repeated stabbing. It couldn’t possibly be Simon – could it?
Lisa Ovies’ riotous, referential comedy horror then flashes forwards to high school, where “teenage” Jamie (Aleks Paunovic) is sharing a Simon-related tale to a not-entirely invested counsellor who is fed up with hearing about puppets committing murder and even less impressed that Jamie is spending his Christmas break by going back to his childhood home where said carnage too place. Of course, it can’t happen again – can it?
Packing its running time with a slew of recognisable genre tropes and beats, Puppet Killer works as a zany, gory slasher and a knowing parody, playing one of its most audacious cards almost straight out of the gate by taking the casting of older actors to play high school kids to a purposely ridiculous and jarring level, with 50-year-old Paunovic playing the loveable lunk who may just have the heart of a killer beneath his imposing frame.
The rest of his high school buds are somewhat nearer the age their characters are supposed to be but are still more likely to be mistaken for the teachers than the pupils. They’re also the types we all know and love if we’ve merely seen just a smattering of similar titles, including Jamie’s sweet girlfriend Jessie (Lisa Durupt), macho jock Lee (Kyle Cassie), Lee’s new love interest and impossibly gorgeous party girl Brooke (Gigi Saul Guerrero), weed aficionado Curtis (lee Majdoub) and odd Goth loner Rick (Richard Harmon).
And so, with best wishes from Robert, our merry band of drives off to their secluded winter retreat, where things predictably turn from fun to a whole lot darker very quickly as Jamie’s recurring nightmares about a murderous Simon showing up to wreak bloody havoc look as if they’re about to turn into terrifying reality.
Puppet Killer crams in so many nods to horror movie icons and landmark films that it’s almost impossible to catch them all in one viewing. Varying from overt visual references to classics such as Psycho and The Shining to less obvious nods such as a particular line of dialogue lifted from Evil Dead 2, this is a production which is about as upfront in paying homage to its influences as it could be. It’s a delight for the veteran horror hounds among us, who can spend their time film spotting but it doesn’t preclude less-seasoned watchers from having a damn good time.
In fact, the whole joy of the piece, in both its visuals and technical aspects, comes across strongly. Its easy-going style, its wacky sense of humour and its willingness to lean into the utter ridiculousness of the enterprise gives the impression that Puppet Killer was a lot of fun to be part of. Having filmmakers such as Gigi Saul Guerrero in front of the camera adds to that whole meta dimension and this is only further bolstered by the uncredited appearance of a well-known directing duo who show up in a sequence that both alludes pleasingly to their debut and provides the plot with that old faithful of a standby when you might just not have enough victims - a couple of extra folks turning up out of nowhere to add to the potential body count.
Even though Ovies – and the screenplay by Kevin Mosley – is concerned with the playful skewering of well-worn shocker clichés, there’s due diligence given to the nasty skewering and slashing and disembowelling of unsuspecting cast members. The gore effects are practical, gooey and guarantee a gleeful, gruesome time for anyone who’s also here for the red stuff.
Puppet Killer is clearly made with a huge amount of affection for the genre but it also points up the horror community’s ability to laugh at itself, showing exactly why we all embrace the splattery nonsense that runs rampant through these crazy tales while still demonstrating that quirky heart and soul that so many chillers possess.
The performances are knowing without being too obvious, Paunovic managing to walk the line between sweet and weird, ably assisted by a supporting cast who bring their archetypes to life in a fun and subtly mannered way that’s perfect for their roles as franchise maniac fodder. The set-pieces cleave closely to those classic suspense sequences such as wandering down darkened corridors, slowly opening doors to reveal what’s behind…you know the drill, and the folks behind this know it too.
I had a big grin on my face throughout Puppet Killer. It appealed to me greatly as both a huge fan of the slasher movie and someone who loves a well-crafted spoof. Comedy horror is extremely difficult to get right and although this leans more towards chuckles than chucking up it more than earns its place as a genre-blender. Also, any film that has the guts to have one character call out for her friends with the line “Jamie?...Lee?...Curtis?” deserves credit in my book.