Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich 4K Ultra HD

In "Puppet Master," Edgar (Lennon) is recently divorced and reeling, and returns to his childhood home where he finds a nefarious-looking puppet in his deceased brother's room. Girl-next-door Ashley (Pellicer) and comic book pal Markowitz (Franklin), join Edgar for a doomed road trip to a small-town convention and auction celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets at the convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that's motivated by an evil as old as time. (Gary Reber)

Special features include four featurettes: "Behind The Scenes," "The Cast," "Puppets: From Concept to Creation," and "Lightning Girl Comic: From Sketch To Final"; a photo gallery; and upfront previews.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution The opening illustrated sequence in red and black is striking. Generally, though, the picture exhibits a digital look with acceptable quality. The color palette is generally natural with at times strong saturation. Fleshtones are natural in appearance. Contrast is acceptable with deep blacks. Resolution is a bit soft, though, close-ups fair better. Overall, picture quality is a bit inconsistent and digital in appearance, with little to do with the label 4K Ultra HD. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel, not an Immersive Sound, track is fairly mediocre, though, deep bass is at times effective with sound effects that extend to the surrounds. Atmospherics are generally realistic, and sound effects add a bit of excitement and enhance the multiple killing methods. The music score is in the background with a distant sound, except for the music under the credit roll, which is quite good spatially and fidelity wise. Surround energy is intermittent and at times effective. Dialogue is generally good quality. Overall, this is an underachieving soundtrack. (Gary Reber)