OK, how many movies have there been about aliens coming to earth and possessing people? "The Puppet Masters" doesn't seem like much that we haven't seen before; specifically, it looks like a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Still, Donald Sutherland makes the most of his role as a really creepy weirdo. It's just that the movie as a whole doesn't offer anything new. Sutherland, plus Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David, Will Patton, Richard Belzer and Yaphet Kotto all pass in a middling movie.

In the thick of everything, you gotta admit that those slugs were pretty nasty-looking.

Don't be surprised if you get a feeling of déjà vu while watching this alien invasion thriller, as it's a film which takes bits and pieces from lots of other films along the way to form one loud, unoriginal whole. Saying that, it's still a fairly exciting movie with an above average cast, but the feeling of "been there, done that" which hangs over it stops the film from ever rising above the norm for the '90s. THE PUPPET MASTERS is a lightweight, popcorn film at best, offering up a few thrills along the way but nothing of substance...INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, a blindingly obvious influence here, this isn't. Instead it plays more like Abel Ferrara's BODY SNATCHERS remake - shallow, lightweight and pretty much pointless.

It's actually pretty good to begin with, but soon the air of paranoia and oppressive atmosphere is dropped in favour of all-out action and clichéd situations. Funnily enough, the film is best when imitating INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, but when it turns into a low budget ALIENS wannabe towards the end, it loses all credibility. My hopes for a subtle, chilling flick were dashed twenty minutes in when we get our first exposure to the aliens, after its host is shot dead and the flying creature leaps on to a window. These aliens resemble giant, slimy slugs, and the influence of the facehugger creatures from ALIEN is also clear. Granted, the special effects are decent, but I would have preferred the creature as something a little more than slime and tentacles.

From this point on, our heroes are pursued by unstoppable alien-influenced killers, and the scene is set for a great many entertaining fights and plenty of violent action. Things move sluggishly from one set piece to another, until the uninspired showdown which sees two of our armed heroes storming the alien base, making their way through lots and lots of slime and gooey stuff and saving the day. This is where the film resembles ALIENS the most, and the design of the two nests is almost identical. The saving grace of this part is the nifty entrance to the "nest", done with the aid of a simple yet effective computer graphic.

Donald Sutherland takes the lead, and having previously starred in an alien invasion movie in the '70s he knows exactly what to do. Sutherland is fine in this kind of authorative role, although he isn't exactly stretched, instead content to fall back on the smirking persona he so often employs in his '90s films. Eric Thal is the muscular leading man, displaying little acting skill or ability, instead yet another wooden leading man. Julie Warner is the glamorous, predictable love interest, who finds a simple reason to gratuitously walk around in her underwear. Criminally, poor Keith David, who starts off as a solid action man at first, becomes a rampaging alien takeover, yet another case of the black guy getting it in a film of this kind. On the other hand, Yaphet Kotto is wasted, given only a few scenes and minimal dialogue. I will be fair and say that the supporting actors and actresses are all fine, though.

The atmosphere of this film is close to that of THE X-FILES, and the television series and this film do share a lot in common, from the male/female partnership right down to the tagline. Although it could have been potentially interesting, THE PUPPET MASTERS is spoilt by pedestrian, workmanlike direction from Stuart Orme, which gives it a kind of television movie ambiance. It's a shame, as I usually really enjoy films of this sort...sadly, it's just a case of a cheap '90s cash-in on some classic movies.

Aliens have landed in the small town of Ambrose, Iowa. The locals have made an attraction of an alien landing. Government agents Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland) and son Sam (Eric Thal) arrive with Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) and Neil Jarvis (Richard Belzer) to investigate. They discover stingray-like creatures using humans as puppets. They escape back to base where agents Alex Holland (Keith David) and Dr. Graves (Will Patton) examine the parasite.

The problem for this movie is that the solution seems so obvious. Everybody should walk around without their shirts. The soldier can have extra armor on their backs. The President should be warning the general public. The movie starts out great with Julie Warner and her boobs theory. However, the tension peters out after they escape from the town. The movie wants to have a big third act but it's never big enough.