Everyone is a puppet.

I was drawn to this film by its striking poster art reminding me of 70's-style movie art (and a touch of Saul Bass) and the way it blends (really freaky) life-sized puppets with masked actors for characters in motion, all set in real environments. The dialogue was recorded in 2015, which explains why Sid Haig—who passed away in 2019—remains part of the voice cast, alongside Robert Englund, Christopher McDonald, and... Jordan Peele.

Director Evan Marlow spent eight years bringing this film to life. After making the festival rounds in 2023, it was quietly dumped on Blu-ray and streaming at the end of last year. Well, it sure is something special. If the puppet designs don’t startle you, then the film’s often dark, disturbing, and utterly insane LSD-trip contents surely will.

Les Hackel (James Marsters) is a mundane 35-year-old office worker still living with his parents. His girlfriend broke up with him, he’s an alcoholic, and he has no plan to turn his life around. Then one day, he receives a text from his best friend Danny (Jordan Peele) claiming there’s a bomb implanted in his neck. Les feels the back of his own neck and realizes he has the same. Soon, messages start arriving, instructing him to commit heinous acts at the behest of the person—or organization—responsible for the implant. As the violence around him escalates, he discovers more people are performing so-called "missions" for the unknown messenger.
Where does it all lead? Who (or what) is behind it? And will Les manage to hold onto his humanity and sanity?

The puppet designs—bulging bloodshot eyes, grotesque malformations, and bizarre anatomy (yup, there are boobies)—are truly a sight to behold. They also give the creators free rein to push the boundaries of sadism, blood, and guts. At times, it’s distressingly brutal, to the point where it might have been too much if it were live-action. Heads explode, puppets are shredded into gory pulp, and bodies are blown apart in a spectacle of carnage. Special effects and creature designer Jeffrey S. Farley, known for his work with Screaming Mad George on "Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991)," as well as "The Blob (1988)" and "Demolition Man (1993)", perfects his craft here, delivering grotesque body horror at its finest.

The core premise—people forced to commit increasingly disturbing acts to save their own skin—isn’t new. Films like the Thai horror-thriller "13: Game of Death (2006)," its U.S. remake "13 Sins (2014)," or the tamer PG-13-rated "Nerve (2016)" have explored similar territory. But this film stands out in its surreal, nightmarish execution, growing more unsettling as it progresses.

Tonally, it’s all over the place—one moment deadly serious, the next introducing quirky, almost cartoony characters that feel somewhat out of place. Yet, through puppets, it kind of works, especially as everything ties together in the end. But make no mistake: this isn’t a comedy. It’s mostly horrifying and surreal.

It’s my kind of weird—uncanny, unsettling, and unique enough to appeal to genre film enthusiasts and lovers of fucked-up puppets. I especially dug the psychological implications revealed in the finale.