Shudder Secrets: The Puppetman Is Moody & Atmospheric Occult Horror

If you ask me, director Brandon Christensen has yet to make a bad film. Still/Born, Z, and Superhost are all solid features. His latest, The Puppetman, is one of his bleakest films yet, from the setting to the premise, to the body count. There are some truly brutal kills in this one that will likely get people talking. While Superhost had some laughs in tackling influencer culture, Christensen’s latest doesn’t have much, if any, levity.

For the first time, the director really leans into occult horror with his fourth feature. There are also slasher elements here after a group of friends are picked off one by one by a supernatural force that possesses the lead character. It’s a cool premise with several harrowing and grisly scenes.

The Puppetman and the Effects of Trauma

The Puppetman has quite the opening. David (Zachary Le Vey) stabs his wife in the chest with a butcher knife, and it’s evident he’s possessed by some unseen force. He may want to resist murdering his beloved, but he can’t. Meanwhile, their daughter, a young Michal (Natalie Meetze), hides and catches glimpses of the frightful scene playing out, which will forever scar her.

After that shocking opening, the film shifts to the present. That little girl who witnessed her mom’s murder is all grown up and in college. Alyson Gorske does a fine job in the lead role, playing a character reeling from some serious trauma. By the time she’s in college, her old man sits in a jail cell, awaiting execution through lethal injection. Meanwhile, Michal does her best to lead a normal life, including hanging out with friends during a wintery getaway. However, she has to live with the fact that her dad’s name is constantly in the papers. She can’t escape the family legacy.

Rightfully so, the film spends ample time exploring how Michal copes with the death of her mom and the fact her dad is a well-known killer. In that regard, Gorske turns in an authentic and compelling performance, making it easy for viewers to empathize with her character. She just wants to lead a normal life, go to school, and hang out with friends. However, this is complicated by the fact that the spirit who possessed David also controls her. She can’t escape her past.

A Protagonist That’s Both Victim and a Killer

Here we have a movie where the protagonist is both victim and a killer. She witnessed her mom’s murder, but fairly early in the film, her roommate, Charlie (Angel Prater), points out her strange behavior. This includes sleepwalking at odd hours of the night. Even though Charlie records the strange episodes and saves them to her laptop, which Michal eventually discovers, the protagonist doesn’t recall any of this.

Meanwhile, after attempting a getaway with friends, the supernatural force takes over Michal’s body more and more. It manipulates people to kill themselves. There are some truly horrific scenes throughout the runtime and some rather startling deaths. Two sequences in particular, which happen simultaneously, are some of the nastiest kills that I’ve seen in any of Christensen’s films.

To add, Michal’s sense of isolation is reinforced through the gloomy setting. The sky constantly looks gray, and the film just feels cold, reinforced by the snowy setting. I don’t know where exactly Michal and her friends go to school. You start to wonder if the sun ever shines there. The winter rawness makes everything feel frigid, adding to the grim tone.

Eventually, it’s revealed that the greater force at work is named Dolos. This does feel a little shoehorned in past the halfway point. However, in Greek mythology, Dolos was the spirit of trickery and deception. So, it’s a good fit for the greater context of the film. The occult scenes make for some pretty gnarly visuals atop of the mind manipulation sequences. There is an explanation for what exactly “the puppetman” is, even if it comes fairly late into the film.

In terms of tone, The Puppetman most resembles Z. It’s a moody and atmospheric film with several memorable and jolting kills. This is a solid watch for spooky season, or even during the coming winter months.

The Puppetman will streaming on Shudder starting Oct. 14. For more on the streaming service’s newest releases, follow my Shudder Secrets column.