Les Hackel (James Marsters) is down on his luck. Maybe even worse than that, as he wakes up to find that an explosive device has been implanted in his neck. Now, he must carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind ordering him to keep killing.

Also: This is a puppet movie.

Director and writer Evan Marlowe said, “We resolved (for some insane reason) to use only realistic lifelike hand puppets in actual settings, just like any other movie. No CGI backgrounds or actors wearing prosthetic makeup. This sort of thing has never been done. The Dark Crystal comes close, though there, the designers weren’t bound by the confines of reality. We’ve had a few incredibly skilled people helping out. Jeff Farley has been our lead puppet fabricator. Again, this kind of work isn’t common, so some amount of trial and error has been needed to find the balance of aesthetic, durability and function. Meaning, the heads need to look great on camera, hold up well under shooting environments that are often hostile,and let the puppeteer emote without too much effort. When it comes to the actual shoot, our puppeteer Danny Montooth lip syncs with each line, played on loop on my magical iPad until all the aspects (lighting, camera movement, mouth motion, eye line) are just right. Once I’ve got the footage, I edit it up and then our visual effects guy John Sellings smooths out any problems. When a scene is done, it gets color-corrected and graded, and then the sound and score are added.”

It took six years to make this movie. It also has an incredible voice cast, including Sid Haig, Robert Englund, Jordan Peele and Christopher McDonald. And there hasn’t been a movie ever before that looks or feels like this.

For those that can get past just how strange it looks to have human-sized puppets in every role, this movie is pretty awesome. Reality pretty much falls apart as Les has to place poison gas in workplaces, watch assassination TV shows and even slice the head off a baby which soon sprouts tentacles. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Can we even be sure after the end?

If you want to see a movie that goes all the way and beyond, Abruptio is for you.

You can learn more at the official site.

Did you see that name and logo above? Anchor Bay Entertainment is back. The home entertainment and distribution company was a favorite of collectors during the early years of DVD and blu ray. Umbrelic Entertainment has revived the brand with a mission to release quality films that entertain, inspire, and challenge audiences.

The Anchor Bay blu ray of this movie comes with a commentary track with writer/director Evan Marlowe and producer Kerry Marlowe, a second commentary with puppeteer Danny Montooth, interviews with the performers and filmmakers and the first pressing will have a limited edition slip cover.

You can get this from MVD.