80s Horror Movie Revivals Continue With Puppet Master Reboot
Strings were pulled to put the deal together...
Continuing the long-running trend of remaking cult 80s horror movies, Di Bonaventura Pictures and Caliber Media have announced their partnership for a filmic reboot of the Puppet Master franchise.
With high profile remakes of classic 80s horror movies such as A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday The 13th and The Thing already in the bag, Hollywood studios are now turning their attention towards lesser known cult franchises. The Puppet Master series entails no less than 9 sequels, an enduring presence in the home video market, with the latest installment Puppet Master: Axis Termination set for release later this year.
The series focuses on a group of puppets who become animated by an Egyptian spell, and were produced by Full Moon Features, headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band, returning to the reboot as executive producer.
The franchise reboot looks set to add a layer of respectability with the announcement that S. Craig Zahler will be penning the script for the intriguingly-named Pupper Master: The Little Reich. Given that the original series failed to wow any critics and is relatively unknown outside of horror fan circles, it will be interesting to see what the man who brought us last year's most surprising and effective horror film, Bone Tomahawk, will bring to the table.
With the Transformers and G. I. Joe franchises under their belts, Di Bonaventura Pictures has a track record of producing profitable movies, while the spectre of CGI - so often the bane of 80s horror remakes - seems unlikely to come up. Speaking about the project at the Texas Frightmare Frightmare Weekend, Jack Heller of Caliber Media reassured fans,We couldnt be more excited to take the series in a new direction while embracing all the practical effects and terrifying insanity that fans of the Puppet Master films love."