Available at Amazon.com
Starz Home Entertainment presents Shadow Puppets. Written by Michael Winnick. 99 minutes. Not Rated..
Directed By:
Michael Winnick
Cast:
Jolene Blalock. Kate
Tony Todd. Steve
James Marsters. Jack
Marc Winnick. Charlie
Natasha Alam. Amber
Diahnna Nicole Baxter. Stacy
Richard Whiten. Dave
Jennie Ford. Melissa
The Film:
What do you get when you bring together the Candyman, Spike From Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the smoke monster from Lost, a bunch of bad actors and a ridiculous plot? Easy, you get this direct to DVD horror film that is a complete waste of space and time called Shadow Puppets.
Eight strangers awaken in a strange place with no memory of who they are, where they are, or how they go there (anyone seen Cube?). As they try to unravel the mystery the smoke monster begins killing them off one by one. And as they get closer to finding the truth they find that one of them is not who they say they are. Trust me, this not a thrilling a reveal as it sounds.
Everything in this film from the dialog and the acting to the plot and the special effects is laughably bad. James Marsters is the best actor of the bunch, but that’s not saying much. All while watching this film you’ll ask yourself “Why, why why!” and when all is said and done, you’ll have no answer. It starts off bad and as it goes on and you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Every choice the characters in this film make completely lack any semblance of logic, which is very frustrating. Then, to top it off this film crawls at a snails pace. Every scene goes on way longer than it should. A competent editor might have been able to cobble together something worth watching, but that didn’t happen here.
About the only way one could enjoy this film would be to get together with a bunch of friends, get some beer and due your own MST3K for it. You can laugh the ridiculousness that is this film. I suggest guessing the lines of dialog before they are spoken. Yes, it is that predictable.
Lost called, they want their smoke monster back.
The DVD:
The Video:
The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1. About the nicest thing I can say about this film is that it doesn’t look bad. It’s pretty well shot (for the most part) and the quality of the DVD looks good.
The Audio:
The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. I think they spent about five dollars on sound for this film. All the dialog is obviously looped and none of it quite fits. The score is okay, but the sound effects could use a little work.
Extras:
Note: While the packaging lists three different special features the DVD itself boasts only two.
Shadow Puppets: Director and Cast Comments: This short little puff piece is hilarious because the way they’re talking about the film you’d think it was a good movie. However, having watch the film I know the truth.
Commentary with Writer/Director Michael Winnick and Cinematographer Jonathan Hale: Wow, these guys are serious dorks and while this commentary is very thorough, it’s also very lame and just as worthless as the film itself.
Trailer
The Inside Pulse
This is a bad, bad, bad movie. If you’re a James Marsters fan in might make you cry to see him in such a bad film. Just go pop one of your Buffy discs in and avoid this film at all costs.
