Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 14, 2023

Arrow just did Charles Band a solid with their recent release of Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams, which aggregated some fun Band productions for his erstwhile Empire Pictures, which kinda sorta more or less morphed into Full Moon Productions, the company that Band is probably more regularly associated with. The Puppet Master franchise helped to put Full Moon on the map, at least with Paramount, as is recounted in some of the supplements included with this release, and now Full Moon is revisiting the third entry in the series with a 4K UHD release.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge had a standalone 1080 release over a decade ago (a 1080 disc is included in this newer release, but it features different audio codecs and judging by screenshots looks different and so I'm assuming it is new as well), and for those interested in a plot recap, Martin Liebman's Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge Blu-ray review should easily suffice. Marty's review is also a good resource for his thoughts on the (first) 1080 presentation and details on the supplements.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this release. As discussed below, this looks like a new transfer, not the same as the older 1080 release Marty reviewed.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Full Moon Pictures with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. As alluded to above, and judging solely by screenshots and the fact that both the 1080 and 2160 discs sport DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks (which the original 1080 presentation evidently did not) argues that the 1080 presentation here is new as well, so I'll briefly address some of the differences I notice before moving on to the 4K UHD presentation. I've tried to duplicate some of Marty's screenshots from his review so that those interested can do side by side comparisons, but to my eyes both the 1080 and 2160 presentations in this newer release are a bit warmer than the older 1080 version, which almost looks like it has a slightly green-yellow cast to it, as well as being arguably a bit brighter overall. That said, some may actually prefer the original 1080's brightness for the way it can highlight fine detail (compare the crags in Guy Rolfe's face in screenshot 1 in both reviews to get an idea of what I'm referring to). Grain is a bit smoother looking in both the new 1080 and 2160 presentations, though I'm not implying that any outrageous filtering has been done. There are some noticeable improvements in the 4K UHD presentation, and in one very minor though particular case, I'm actually glad that this review features screenshots from the 1080 version. Look at screenshot 5, and you can see near pixellation starting during what is admittedly an optical which is further debilitated by a rapidly changing light source behind the flag. That anomaly is materially improved in the 4K UHD version, with a clear delineation of lighting gradations, and it's just one example of sometimes rather subtle but still noticeable upticks in the 4K UHD presentation. I was also struck by the highlights that HDR and/or Dolby Vision provide, especially in such elements as the deep reds of the Nazi flags. There are still some minor but observable blemishes in both presentations that whatever restoration gauntlet was undertaken haven't completely removed.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both the 1080 and 2160 discs offer DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, in addition to the Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks that Marty addresses in his review. I found the lossless surround track to be quite satisfying, if not at the bombastic levels that high budget spectaculars frequently provide. The track, while not offering the kind of omnipresent LFE and reverberant midrange that contemporary action films often do, still struck me as nicely clear and well balanced, with good engagement of the side and rear channels, especially when the puppets are marauding crazily through the frame. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both the 1080 and 4K UHD discs in this release sport the same slate of supplements, which duplicate at least some of what was on the original 1080 release. All of my "usual suspects" for checking resolution show the archival featurettes as HD, though obviously upscaled, while they were evidently in SD on the disc that Marty reviewed. Those interested can find more information on the shared supplements in Marty's review, linked to above.

• Behind the Scenes of Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge (HD: 12:20)


• Original Puppet Master III Videozone (HD; 25:11)


• Vintage Puppet Master Action Figure Commercial (HD; 2:15)


• Puppet Master 3 Original Trailer (HD; 2:16)


• Puppet Master Trailers

  Puppet Master 1 (HD; 1:39)

  
  

  Puppet Master 2 (HD; 2:08)

  
  

  Puppet Master 4 (HD; 1:46)

  
  

  Puppet Master 5 (HD; 1:49)

  
  

  Puppet Master: The Legacy (HD; 1:27)

  
  

  Puppet Master Axis Termination (HD; 1:44)

  
  

  Puppet Master X (HD; 1:38)

  
  

  Curse of the Puppet Master (HD; 1:48)

  
  

  Puppet Master Axis of Evil (HD; 2:05)

  
  

  Retro Puppet Master (HD; 1:34)

• Audio Commentary with David DeCoteau and C. Courtney Joyner is accessible under the Setup Menu.

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As I mentioned in my Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams Blu-ray review, for whatever reason Charles Band hasn't seemed to have gotten the same "instant name recognition" as folks like, say, Roger Corman, but the Puppet Master series helps to show how facile Band has been at knowing his target demographic and what they want to see. This is a fun lower budget offering that looks surprisingly spry in 4K UHD, and which at least for genre aficionados comes Recommended.