Directed by Brandon Christensen (Z, Superhost, Still/Born), and written by Ryan Christensen, The Puppetman follows Michal (Alyson Gorske) – a young woman haunted by her childhood and the murder of her mother by her father, who is now awaiting his fate on death row.
Opening with the gruesome murder of a woman by her husband, viewers are witness to what appears to be a domestic homicide that isn’t all that it seems, with the husband seemingly not in control of his own actions. Fast-forward to a present times and Michal, who has spent the majority of her childhood in and out of the foster care system, is attending college where her roommate Charlie (Angel Prater), witnesses her tendency to sleepwalk on a nightly basis. After joining their classmates for a drink on a rooftop, Michal and Charlie argue, culminating in Charlie apparently losing control of her own bodily actions and throwing herself off the top of the building, dying instantly. After discovering that Charlie had been visiting a medium because of her concern for her roommate, Michal and her friends attempt to dive back into her past, and finally lift the veil on what really happened the night her father murdered her mother.
Alyson Gorske is highly competent as Michal – the young woman haunted by her past trauma, who’s desperately trying to conceal and push down any long-term effects her nightmarish childhood has caused her.
The Puppetman is a supernatural drama that feels aimed at teenagers and young adults, which is no bad thing in itself, but the story seems to suffer from a lack of development with its central themes of childhood trauma and familial abuse. Even the paranormal entity of the film appears to have been an afterthought during The Puppetman’s running time of just over 90 minutes, and it may be that with a little extra time, the film would have thrived by pushing its demonic plot device further, and expanding the lore behind the supernatural antagonist. Alyson Gorske is highly competent as Michal – the young woman haunted by her past trauma, who’s desperately trying to conceal and push down any long-term effects her nightmarish childhood has caused her.
While audiences can appreciate The Puppetman for attempting to put a less tropey spin on the occult and possession horror, it’s lack of a strong direction causes it to just fall short from a well rounded and satisfying entry into the horror sub-genre.
The Puppetman is out now on Shudder
