Let My Puppets Come (1976)


Viewed January 6 2020
Directed by Gerard Damiano
***1/2

 Well, this is certainly one of the weirdest things I've ever had the pleasure to witness. A puppet porno comedy musical that has a lot of what the fuck imagery. During the first half, it's like the filmmakers decided to indulge in their most disturbed fantasies, turning out a dog/woman scene, a BLOWfish, a gross audition and Pinocchio using his nose as a dick (which later goes in a woman's ear). Goes on too long, but this is certainly SOMETHING.

 It makes you wonder who it was for. Muppet fetishists? This seems unlikely as this CAME OUT THE SAME YEAR AS THE MUPPET SHOW STARTED. Apparently, it was inspired by an erotic puppet show on the stage. Stage shows of weird funny sex shit work better because it seems more permissable. Here, it seems likely that this would've played in the same adult theatres that had screened Damiano's Deep Throat and Devil In Miss Jones. It's hard to imagine the moviegoers not being shocked by something this outre.

 But for us, it's a strange wonderful discovery, something so completely and utterly batshit that it's easy to surrender to. Most of the time. There's a couple of trans and homophobic language which has dated badly, as has much of the entire film, but it feels so much like a 70s artefact. At one point, a character enters claiming she is from Urban Women For Decent Pornography. Another character says she's in the wrong movie. It's hard to disagree.

 Nothing in this is arousing, but I have an intense soft spot for Lash, the kinky bondage guy who is obsessed with discipline, runs a sex shop and becomes their camera man. More weird bondage puppets please. Enormous kudos to Vinegar Syndrome for going out of their way to not only make this widely available but to make it look absolutely gorgeous in a stunning restoration. My Christmas present to myself was going slightly nuts at the VinSyn Black Friday sale so yay for more weird sex shit coming into my eyeballs.

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