Puppet Master X: Axis Rising 2012 - REVIEW

 

Full Moon Features and Charles Band are at it again!  Adding another sequel to their long running and most popular series to date, Puppetmaster.  This is a direct sequel to Axis of Evil that was made in 2010, and left wide open for another installment in the series.  Written and Directed by Charles Band himself, this promises to be another great addition to the already strong library of Full Moon. 

The story picks up right were Axis of Evil left off.  The puppet Tunneler has been captured by the Nazi's and Danny (Kip Canyon) and his girlfriend Beth (Jean Louise O'Sullivan) need to find a way to get him back and put a stop to the Nazi's once and for all.  Danny and Beth are taken to be honored by General Porter (Paul Thomas Arnold) himself for saving the plant from being blown up by the Nazi's, but the Nazi's already have something else in mind.  They have kidnapped scientist from Austria to help them bring dead soldiers back to life.  In doing this the scientist finds the serum inside of Tunneler and makes 4 new puppets to battle the Americans.  The new puppets are named Bombshell, Blitzkrieg, Wehrmacht, and Kamikaze.  All equipt with weapons and will serve as a match for Toulon's puppets.

I did like Axis of Evil but really did not know what to expect from Rising.  This installment was even better than the previous packed with action and a well written story.  The only complaint that I have is at the beginning the movie is a little slow moving.  But once the action starts, it does not stop till the end.  I thought the acting was especially good in this one as well.  Full Moon did elect to recast the characters of Danny and Beth from the previous film and they did a great job finding good talent.  Honestly I really did not even realize it was not the same people playing the roles until I started writing this review and noticed it on IMDB.  I purchased the DVD version which has nothing to lack in definition.  The movie looks and sounds great, but I would not expect anything less from the Puppetmaster series.

I was very impressed with Rising and would recommend a viewing to anyone who is a fan of the Puppetmaster series.  Some of the Full Moon releases lately have not been what they used to be.  While I am a fan of cheesy movies, alot of Full Moon's recent releases have had a bit too much of cheese and not enough of straight the straight horror they are noted for.  Like a said it takes a bit to get moving in the beginning but once it gets some momentum it does not stop.  I loved this movie from beginning to end.  While it does not compare the the original 5, it is the best installment since 5 was made.  I really wish a few of the Puppets were made a little better and looked a little more like the original.  Leech Woman looks nothing like the original and Blade's head and face could have been made a little better in my opinion, but for the most part they are still badass.  Stay twisted  everyone!