Puppetmaster

Puppetmaster has built a devoted audience in Australia on Amazon Prime Video and Foxtel Now, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Shudder Amazon Channel among viewers who want their drama to earn its emotional beats. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 395 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Paul Le Mat's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Amazon Prime Video.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Puppetmaster earns its spot. Puppetmaster trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. After being contacted by their mysterious former colleague, four psychics arrive at a secluded hotel where they are stalked by a group of murderous puppets. Paul Le Mat and William Hickey lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1989. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Puppetmaster delivers. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Paul Le Mat is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.