Puphedz: "The Tattle-Tale Heart" DVD Review

 Written by Peter West "Danger Seeker"

DVD released by Elite Entertainment

Directed by Jurgen Heimann

Written by Jurgen Heimann & Jim Kundig

Starring:
Connie Angland as Puppeteer
Mike Elizalde as Puppeteer
Nicholas J. Esposto as Puppeteer
Jorge Falconi as Puppeteer
Jurgen Heimann as Peter Feidwood and Douglas Fir
David Howe as Puppeteer
Jim Kundig as Puppeteer
Frank Langley as Puppeteer
Irit Lockspeiser as Puppeteer
Janet MacGregor as Puppeteer
Clayton Martinez as Pjörn - the cart puller
Scott Millenbaugh as Puppeteer
Andrew Rubio as Puppeteer
Georgina Santelises as Puppeteer
Valek Sykes as Puppeteer
Ryan Vaniski as Woodrow Larchbottom III and Leif Applebaum
Anthony Van Winkle as Puppeteer
Derik Wingo as Puppeteer

Movie:

What are the Pupheadz? They're a wooden puppet theatre of the macabre on wheels pulled by the outrageous Pjörn — the cart puller. For their initial offering to us the Puphedz bring us "The Tattle-Tale Heart", not so loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart".

Woodrow Larchbottom III lives with a very old man named Douglas Fir, their relationship is fine with the exception of the fact that the old man has a dreadful looking eye that drives young Woodrow crazy! The story starts with Woodrow talking to us from prision as he describes how "the eye" drove him crazy and made him commit the unspeakable deed. We watch as Woodrow desends into madness until he he becomes totally consumed with ridding himself of the eye and it's owner! An aborted murder attempt is followed by even more madness and a sucessfull demise of the old man.

No sooner than the deed is done however, the police are at the door and manage to sucessfully clean out Woodrow's kitchen. The inept search continues and Woodrow looks to be in the clear, until visions of the old man's loudly beating heart haunt Woodrow even worse than the eye!

There are two versions of the story told, a 27 minute version sanitized of gratuitous violence and a 34 minute version in all it's gory splendor with Woodrow doing his best to be a comedian between the recollections.

Review:

With a pricetag of $9.95 list Puphedz is a great value! One of the few titles from Elite that you can show to the kiddies (at least the short version). Puphedz was the winner of the "Best Animation" catagory at the 2002 Los Angeles Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Future Puphedz titles are in the works and will feature tales from the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelly, Charles Dickens and the Brothers Grimm. Writer, producer, director Jurgen Heiman credits include Gremlins 2, Mighty Joe Young, Men in Black and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I really enjoyed Puphedz and considered it great lighthearted fun!

Video and Audio:

The picture is crisp and sharp throughout. Being this is a new feature there was really no restoration needed. The puppets are animated marvelously, all traces of wires etc, brilliantly cleaned up! My screenshots may lead you to believe the film is in 1.85:1 widescreen, however that is just my dvdrom adjusting it anamorphically. Pupheadz is presented in a 1.33:1 full frame.

Crisp and clear, I suspect the audio is a dolby digital mono soundtrack. There really was not any specific information concerning it.

Special Features:

• Two Versions: Short Version – 27 min, Longer Version – 34 min
• Trailers
• Cast Bios
• Photo Gallery
• Feature Documentary

Besides having two versions of the feature there are plenty of extras in this package! There are domestic and international trailers, cast bios, and a photo gallery. A very informative feature documentary is included. Technical as well as story details are discussed, this feature is nearly as long as the short version of the feature itself. Another great job by Elite Entertainment!

Grades:

Movie –
Video –
Audio –
Features –
Overall –

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