A group of psychics head over to an old hotel in California to pay their respects to a former
colleague of theirs who recently died. It seems he had purchased the property, known as the Bodega Bay Inn, many years ago. But prior to his death, had become extremely irrational,
closing the place and undertaking huge reconstruction work, yet strangely, having no interest in re-opening it, much to the chagrin of his long suffering wife.
The hotel was rumoured to be the last hideout of notorious French puppeteer Andre Toulon, who shot himself in his room back in 1939. It had been claimed that his shows were not simple performances, but that his puppets were actually alive. Hence why he fled Europe at the onset of WW2.
Suspecting their former colleague may have stumbled upon Toulon's secrets before his death, the group settle down for the night, only to find that the stories about his puppets having a life of their own are all too true. As they are subsequently attacked by a bunch of small, evil looking puppets, consisting of one with blades for hands, one with a rotating drill on his head, one that can spit out leaches and another with massive hands than can knock people out.
With the former friends and staff at the hotel (which includes "American Graffiti's" Paul LeMat and "Midnight Express's" Irene Miracle), slowly falling prey to the killer dolls, they attempt to discover who it is that might be controlling them, seeing as Andre Toulon is long since dead, whilst the puppets continue hack, slash, drill and punch their way through the unsuspecting victims. Which really makes you wonder, how come a hotel full of psychics didn't see this coming?
Released as a direct to video feature back in the late 80s, I must admit, it took me a while to get round to seeing this one, as I hadn't considered the prospect of killer puppets to be particularly interesting. However, when I finally got round to viewing this, I was pleasantly surprised and can see why this has gained such a huge cult following.
If you haven't seen it yet, then you should definitely check this out.
