I’ve always wanted to like the Puppet Master movies more than I actually do.

Unlike Chucky and Gizmo the antagonists/protagonists of the Puppet Master films not only can’t talk, but also aren’t particularly expressive physically so it makes relating to them–beyond being interesting practical effects–a little difficult.

And while a lot of that may be due to the relatively cheap production budget of each movie (Box Office Mojo doesn’t even list them, never mind their costs), it goes without saying that starting with a relatively small pie means even less when you divvy things up.

And that’s a problem because weak characters can maintain viewer interest for a movie or two–there have been twelve movies in the Puppet Master series and about five Transformers movies so what do I know?–though they’ve never reached the popularity of a Child’s Play or Gremlins.

Which is why Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich interests me.  Charles Band–the producer of all the prior movies–seems to be taking a backset to a different creative team.

Then there’s the particularly gory direction of the new film.  A definitive voice is a good thing, even if one doesn’t particularly want to hear it.