Puppet Master 5 (1994)

Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter is a 1994 horror film written by Douglas Aarniokoski among others, and directed by Jeff Burr. It is the fifth film in the Puppet Master franchise, the sequel to 1993's Puppet Master 4, and stars Gordon Currie as the series' third Puppet Master, and Ian Ogilvy, his work colleague, whose attempts to salvage the animated puppets of Andre Toulon from the Bodega Bay Inn are foiled by a demon. As in the previous film, the puppets serve as protagonists, rather than terrorize as they had in the first and second films. As the title indicates, Puppet Master 5 was intended to be the final installment of the series, however in 1998 a sixth entry, Curse of the Puppet Master, was released, and the series has been ongoing since.

Plot
Following the events of Puppet Master 4, Rick Myers has been arrested under the suspicion of having caused the murders which occurred in the previous film. His boss, Dr. Jennings, gets him out on bail. In the storage of the police department. Blade has been put in a crime scene bag. He rips from the bag and jumps into Susie's purse. Dr. Jennings wants to go to the hotel and find the puppets that Rick has mentioned. He hires three thugs to break into the hotel. At Susie's house, Rick, who was sleeping at Susie's, is awakened by Blade and Rick knows that somethings not right with the hotel. In the underworld Sutekh puts him self into his last and most powerful Totem. The Totem comes out of the portal board and hides in the puppet trunk. When Rick shows up he finds the puppets and they all meet up. Six shooter hold up four arms meaning that there are four thugs in the hotel. A thug named Jason has a feeling that something is following him when he turns around he sees Jester following him. He chases Jester into a vent where he loses him. Rick tells Torch to go with Six shooter, Blade to go with Tunneler, while they search for Pinhead and Jester. Jason finds the board and then looks in the trunk. The Totem leaps out at Jason and slaughters him to where there is blood flying everywhere. Dr. Jennings runs into the same Totem and runs for his life. Torch and Six shooter intercept the Totem. Torch tries to light him on fire but just misses. The Totem pushes Torch back but gets shot up by Six shooter. The Totem runs away into the shadows. Another thug named Scott runs into Pinhead and starts to poke him. At first Pinhead doesn't really care but then Scott says that he looks ugly and Pinhead punches him in the jaw then runs off. Scott follows Pinhead into the kitchen. Pinhead gets up on a tall shelf. Scott keeps on insulting him and then tries to hit him with a piece of lumber. On the bottom shelf Jester comes out of a box holding a meat tenderizer. Jester begins to spin his face. Scott continues to try and hit Pinhead until Jester's head stops spinning and Jester slams the meat tenderizer in between Scott's legs. Pinhead then drags him away and stores him in a supply closet. Susie shows up looking for Rick. Another thug named Tom is walking around and runs into the Totem which then takes his energy. Rick and Dr. Jennings meet up and Jennings suggests taking the puppets and running. Rick disagrees and decides to animate Decapitron. Pinhead walks down a hall and notices a vent. Jester walks up behind him and the two decide to go inside. While Rick is looking for Decapitron he sees Jester who has come out of a vent. Jester takes them to a hidden opening that the Decapitron is in. Pinhead comes out of a different vent and sees the Totem. The Totem walks straight through a door. Pinhead runs up to the door and starts pounding it. Eventually he gives up until the Totem leaps out of the door onto Pinhead. The two struggle for survival but then when it seems Pinhead is done for, Blade hooks him in the back and pulls him off. The two prepare for a show down but the Totem flies up through the celling. Up on the second floor, Rick is getting Decapitron ready. He tries several times but he won't get up. Finally Decapitron awakens and gets ready for battle. Rick and Dr. Jennings go looking for the Totem but in the elevator Jennings starts attacking Rick. Rick goes unconscious and when Jennings gets out of the elevator all the puppets are there looking at him. Decapitron mimics Jennings face and then Torch's flame starts to rise. Pinhead opens the elevator door and Jennings falls down the elevator shaft. Rick and Susie run out of the hotel. The Totem shows up and stands face to face with the Decapitron. The Totem quickly drains the energy from the Decapitron making him more weak. Totem's attention is turned to Six shooter shooting his back. Decapitron right away gets in an attack while the Totem is distracted. The Totem is shocked and thrown back. Blade and Jester show up to see whats happening. Blade pokes the Totem to see if he is dead. The Totem is not moving so they assume he is dead. Jester sees his arm twitch and warns Blade. The Totem gets up and throws Blade back then drains Six shooter's energy but gets shocked again by Decapitron. He gets back up and tries to drain Blade but Decapitron has stunted his powers. Since he has no more choices, he creates a portal and Decapitron has to stop it by electrocuting him. There is a large explosion and Jester, Blade, and Decapitron are all injured while Six Shooter takes cover behind the stairs. The Totem is all burnt up and kind of twitching. Rick walks in and steps on his head. Later Rick is still trying to fix Decapitron, with Blade and Pinhead beside him. The movie ends with Toulon talking to Rick and the credits roll.

Availability
The Final Chapter, as well as the second, third and fourth installments of the series, are only available in DVD format through a Full Moon Features box set that has since been discontinued. However, in 2007, Full Moon Features reacquired the rights to the first five films, and the boxset has since been reissued and is available directly from Full Moon, as well as through several online retailers.

Cast

 * Gordon Currie – Rick Myers
 * Chandra West – Susie
 * Ian Ogilvy – Jennings
 * Teresa Hill – Lauren
 * Guy Rolfe – Andre Toulon
 * Nicholas Guest – Hendy
 * Willard E. Pugh – Jason
 * Diane McBain – Attorney
 * Duane Whitaker – Scott
 * Kaz Garas – Man #2
 * Clu Gulager – Man #1
 * Harri James – Nurse
 * Ron O'Neal – Detective
 * Chuck Williams – Policeman
 * Ash Adams – Cameron

Featured puppets

 * Blade
 * Six Shooter
 * Pinhead
 * Tunneler
 * Jester
 * Decapitron
 * Torch

DVD releases
The Final Chapter, as well as the second, third and fourth installments of the series, are available in DVD format through a Full Moon Features box set that has since been discontinued. But in 2007, Full Moon reacquired the rights to the first five films, and the set has since been re-released. However, more recently the first six films of the franchise have been available as part of the budget-priced Midnight Horror Collection released by Echo Bridge Entertainment; parts 1, 2 and 3 on one double-sided DVD, and parts 4, 5 and 6 on a separately sold double-sided disc.

Trivia

 * The Final Chapter marked the last time David W. Allen would work on the special effects for the Puppet Master series. Subsequent follow-ups feature a combination of rod and string puppets, save for Curse of the Puppet Master, which relies heavily on stock footage for action sequences.