Alright, fellow tapeheads, gather 'round the flickering glow of the CRT screen in your mind. Remember scouring the horror section at Blockbuster or maybe that slightly sticky independent video store down the street? You’d see that distinctive Full Moon Features logo, maybe a holographic box, and you knew you were in for… something. And if you were tracking Andre Toulon's lethal marionettes, 1994 brought us what was promised, with glorious finality etched right onto the cover, as Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter. The final chapter! Or so they said.
### The End... Again?
Picking up directly where Puppet Master 4 left off – because, let's be honest, these were often designed for binge-watching before binge-watching was cool – we find our beleaguered hero Rick Myers (Gordon Currie) still trapped within the haunted halls of the Bodega Bay Inn. The demonic Sutekh isn't happy his little Totem creatures failed last time, so he sends a beefier, meaner Totem after Rick and the secret of animation. Luckily for Rick, he's got Blade, Pinhead, Jester, Tunneler, Six-Shooter (wait, was Six-Shooter actually in this one much? Memory gets hazy...), and the electrifying Decapitron on his side. It’s puppet-on-monster mayhem, Full Moon style.
This entry was famously shot back-to-back with Part 4, a classic cost-saving move by maestro of low-budget magic, Charles Band. You can feel that efficiency; it doesn’t waste much time resetting the stage. We're thrown right back into the fray. Director Jeff Burr, who already had genre cred with films like Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) and Stepfather II (1989), steps behind the camera again, bringing a certain workmanlike competence to the proceedings. He knows how to frame the puppets to maximize their menace, even on a shoestring budget.
### Pint-Sized Practical Powerhouses
Let’s talk about the real stars: the puppets. By Part 5, the Full Moon crew had the puppet effects down to a science, albeit a charmingly imperfect one. We get that signature blend of stop-motion for wider shots and walking, rod puppetry for close-ups and interaction, and maybe even a little wire work here and there. Remember how real those whirring blades and drill bits felt? Okay, maybe 'real' is strong, but they had a tangible weight that modern CGI often lacks. When Tunneler charges, drill-head spinning, you feel that crude, dangerous energy. There’s no digital smoothing; it’s pure, clunky, practical terror.
The introduction of Decapitron in Part 4, with his interchangeable heads (including a cool energy-blasting one), adds a bit more firepower to the team. And the main villain here, the new Totem warrior sent by Sutekh? It’s another wonderfully weird stop-motion creature, looking like something Ray Harryhausen might have sketched on a napkin after a particularly spicy curry. Its jerky movements and almost tribal design fit perfectly into this bizarre little universe. Seeing it square off against Blade and the gang feels like watching tiny titans clash in someone’s basement – and I mean that affectionately.
### The Human Factor (Bless 'Em)
Gordon Currie does his best as Rick, the everyman caught in this supernatural storm. He looks appropriately stressed and determined. Chandra West returns as Susie, providing some human connection, and the always welcome Ian Ogilvy (you might remember him from Return of the Saint back in the day) pops up again as Jennings, adding a touch of slightly bewildered class. But let's be real: we're not primarily here for the nuanced human drama. We're here to see puppets stab things. It's a testament to the actors, though, that they commit fully to reacting to their diminutive co-stars. Imagine the direction: "Okay, Gordon, now look terrified... a puppet with a hook-hand is slowly shuffling towards your ankle!"
The pacing feels brisk, driven by the simple goal: survive the night, protect the formula, defeat the big bad Totem. The Bodega Bay Inn provides a suitably atmospheric, if familiar, backdrop. The lighting is often moody, trying to hide the budgetary seams, and the score does its job underscoring the action, hitting those classic 90s synth notes we know and love.
### So, Was It Really The Final Chapter?
Well, spoiler alert: No. Not even close. The Puppet Master series became the Energizer Bunny of horror franchises, kept going and going by Charles Band's sheer tenacity and a dedicated fanbase hungry for more miniature mayhem. This "finality" felt more like a marketing hook than a genuine conclusion even back then. Did we mind? Probably not. It just meant more tapes to rent next year.
Watching Puppet Master 5 today is like opening a time capsule. It’s pure mid-90s direct-to-video horror. The ambition might outweigh the budget, the plot might feel like a retread, but the passion for practical effects and creature features shines through. It delivers exactly what it promises: tiny terrors taking on a demonic monster in a spooky hotel. What more could you ask for from a tape rented on a Friday night?
VHS Heaven Rating: 6/10
Justification: It's competently made for its niche, delivers the puppet action fans expect, and features some fun practical effects work. It loses points for feeling a bit repetitive after Part 4 and for the blatant fib in its subtitle, but it’s still an entertaining slice of Full Moon history for those attuned to its specific wavelength.
Final Thought: They called it The Final Chapter, but like a stubborn stain on your favourite armchair, the Puppet Master legacy proved impossible to fully remove – thankfully for us retro horror hounds.