Puppet Master II (1990)

Puppet Master II, sequel to the 1989 horror film Puppet Master was released direct to video in 1991. It continues the saga of Andre Toulon's murderous puppets at the Bodega Bay Inn. The movie was originally entitled: Puppet Master II: His Unholy Creations.

Plot
The movie begins at Shady Oaks, a cemetery in the backyard of the Bodega Bay Inn. As we go around the graveyard, we see Pinhead digging up a grave, Andre Toulon's grave. Pinhead opens up the coffin, climbs out, and pours the formula of giving life on the skeleton, with Tunneler, Leech Woman, Blade, and Jester watching. After pouring the formula, the skeleton rises it's arms, indicating that Andre Toulon is alive again. A few months later, a group of parapsychologists, led by Carolyn Bramwell (Elizabeth MacLellan), are sent to the hotel in order to investigate the strange murder of Megan Gallagher and the lunatic ravings of a now insane Alex Whitaker. It is explained that Megan's brain was extracted through her nose (by Blade), and Alex is now locked up in an asylum for having terrible seizures, and premonitions.

That very evening, one of the investigators, Camille Kenny (Nita Talbot), decides to leave after spotting two of the puppets in her room. But while packing, Pinhead breaks her kneecaps. Jester then ties a ribbon around her mouth, and Pinhead drags her off, with her still alive. The next day, the rest of the investigators are now getting suspicious, due to finding Camille's belongings and car still at the hotel. That very evening, another investigator, Carolyn's brother Patrick (Gregory Webb) gets his head tunneled by Tunneler. But then, another investigator, Lance (Jeff Weston) comes in, knocks Tunneler out, and crushes him with a lamp, killing Tunneler. The investigators now realize that the puppets are not remote control puppets, now realizing that their gears and wood are run chemically by the formula, meaning that they've found the secret of artificial intelligence.

The next morning, still trying understand the puppet's motivation, a man named Eriquee Chanee (Steve Welles) comes in, stating that he's the new owner of the hotel, and he was in Bucharest. Then, Camille's son, Michael (Collin Bernsen), comes over, trying to figure out what happened to his mother. That very evening, Blade and Leech Woman go over to some farmer's house, where Leech Woman kills the husband, Matthew (George "Buck" Flower), but then gets burned in the fireplace by the wife, Martha (Sage Allen), killing Leech Woman. Just before the Martha shoots Blade to pieces with her shotgun, a new puppet, Torch, walks in and burns Martha with his flame-throwing arm. It is now revealed that Eriquee is really Andre Toulon and he created Torch after being brought back to life, and now believes that Carolyn is a reincarnation of his now deceased wife, Elsa.

Toulon then has a flashback of him (played by Steve Welles) and Elsa (also played by Elizabeth MacLellan) buying the formula of eternal life from a Cairo Merchant (Ivan J. Rado). The next morning, Michael and Carolyn go into town to find Camille, while it is revealed that the puppets are killing because the puppets are growing weaker unless they have the secret ingredient that makes that formula: blood tissue. Carolyn, now knowing there are no records of Eriquee Chanee, she now begins to believe that Eriquee is somehow connected with the disappearance of Camille and the death of her brother, Patrick, at the same time, has a crush on Michael. That very evening, Carolyn and Michael kiss, and have a little romantic interlude, as so does the rest of the investigators: Lance, and his wife, Wanda (Charlie Spradling). Then, Blade kills both Lance and Wanda, using their tissue for the formula.

That very evening, Carolyn sneaks into Eriquee's room, and finds two life sized mannequins in the wardrobe. Eriquee sneaks up behind Elsa and ties her up. Michael, hearing her screams, goes to rescue her, after finishing off challenges with Torch, Pinhead, and Blade. On his way up, Michael finds his mother, Camille in the dumbwaiter, with Jester slitting her throat. Meanwhile, the puppets now realize that their puppet master has used them for his own needs, realizing that he's using the formula for his own immortality, and Carolyn's, still believing she's Elsa. After putting his soul into the man-sized mannequin by soul-transference, the puppets start torturing Toulon, until Torch walks in, and burns Toulon, who falls out the window and dies. Michael then breaks into the room, saves Carolyn, and get out of the hotel. Afterward, Jester goes back to Camille's body with the rest of the formula.

Several days later, it is revealed that Camille's soul has been put in the woman-sized mannequin, and is now running her own little puppet show. Blade, Pinhead, and Jester, are locked up in a cage, except Torch. Camille then decides to go to the "Bouldeston Institution for the mentally troubled tots and teens". Camille puts the puppets in the back of her car, and Torch up on the passenger's seat, and drives off, leaving this movie as a cliff-hanger.

Later release
This film, as well as sequels three through five, are only available on DVD through a Full Moon Features box set that is now discontinued. However, it is still available at their website as well at Amazon.com. It includes all the first seven chapters of the franchise and a bonus disc with 45 movie trailers. Other than the first three films, which have been released separately as a Spanish region free DVD, the films have not yet been released individually.

Cast

 * Elizabeth Maclellan – Carolyn Bramwell/Elsa Toulon
 * Collin Bernsen – Michael Kenney
 * Guy Rolfe -- Andre Toulon/Eriquee Chanee
 * Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis
 * Ashley Johnson as Jill Metzner
 * Gregory Webb – Patrick Bramwell
 * Charlie Spradling – Wanda
 * Jeff Weston – Lance
 * Nita Talbot – Camille Kenney
 * Sage Allen – Martha
 * George "Buck" Flower – Matthew
 * Sean B. Ryan – Billy
 * Ivan J. Rado – Cairo Merchant
 * Michael Todd – Andre Toulon Puppet
 * Julianne Mazziotti – Elsa Toulon Puppet

Featured Puppets

 * Blade
 * Pinhead
 * Tunneler
 * Leech Woman
 * Jester
 * Torch
 * Chained Egyptian Doll
 * Mephisto puppet

Reception
In a contemporary review, Variety described the film as "okay followup to the gory William Hickey-starrer" and that the "Use of stop-motion puppet effects should please genre fans."