IR Film Review: THE PUPPETMAN [Shudder]

The concept of demon possession can be an interesting mode of psychological tells depending on how the story is told. With "The Puppetman", premiering on Shudder, it is about taking on a protagonist that doesn't quite know where the antagonist fits into the story. Michal (Alyson Gorske) had a traumatic childhood. The prologue drops the viewer right into the thick of it before building it up again. Like "Brooklyn 45" earlier this year, it uses the slow build in certain ways. Michal, after a traumatic childhood and growing up an orphan, is trying to live a normal life integrating as a freshman college student. But there is a construct that something is wrong at least subconsciously (as shown by sleepwalking and other actions). The movie makes a structure that certain emotions and revelations deconstruct what is actually going on with her.

The idea of "The Puppetman" is more subtle and dark than what the title actually suggests. The context is more free will versus control (not even suggestion). One scene towards the end even has a feel like "The Terminator" (the original) when Schwarzenegger walks into the police station. The story eventually brims to a possible solution which is nicely executed (though the third act does take a bit of a leap of faith --- and tends to jump the shark with an essence of believability). Michael Pare is effective and grounds the movie as Detective AI (though this reviewer thought at the inset, he was Holt McCallany (of "Mindhunter" and "Lights Out" fame)]. Gorske as Michael does an effective job of switching up the construct of who this person is balanced with a bit of dread and yet not overacting it. Director Brandon Christensen understands that the audience needs to take the ride as long as the rules are clear. And even to the very end, he does keep the course to the last shot. B

By Tim Wassberg