The Puppet Masters

A small town in the American Midwest becomes the centre of an unusual case. Reports of a landed spacecraft turn out to be a crude hoax, but the behaviour of the locals is harder to explain: their excessive friendliness and hospitality suggest something is not right. When a strange organism is found attached to the back of a resident, agents of a secret government office discover that the town has been taken over. Stingray-shaped alien parasites are fastening themselves to people, controlling their minds, and spreading. Andrew Nivens, his son Sam, and scientist Mary Sefton set out to stop them before the infestation spreads beyond the town.

The film is a 1994 science fiction horror thriller directed by Stuart Orme, based on a novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and David S. Goyer wrote the screenplay, and Ralph Winter produced it for Hollywood Pictures. Donald Sutherland leads the cast as Andrew Nivens, with Eric Thal as Sam and Julie Warner as Mary; Keith David, Will Patton and Richard Belzer also appear.

The film holds a rating of 5.9 out of 10 on IMDb from around 10,000 votes, and 5.8 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 200 votes. The critics' rating stands at 5.2 out of 10 from 24 reviews, so reviewers were less receptive than general audiences. Made for a budget of 15 million dollars, it took in about 9 million worldwide, a result below its production cost.