The Puppet Masters (film)

The Puppet Masters is a 1994 American science fiction horror film directed by Stuart Orme, based on the 1951 science fiction novel The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein. The film stars Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David, and Will Patton.

The plot centers on a covert government agency, loosely disguised as a health organization, tasked with investigating and combating an alien invasion. These aliens are slug-like parasites that attach to human hosts, controlling their minds and bodies, effectively turning them into puppets of the alien hive mind. The film follows Sam Nivens (Thal), his father Andrew Nivens (Sutherland), a top-level government operative, and Mary Sefton (Warner), a scientist, as they work to uncover the scope of the invasion and develop a way to defeat the parasites.

The film explores themes of paranoia, control, and the fight for individual freedom against a collective, alien threat. It differs in some aspects from the original novel, notably by updating the setting to the modern day (1990s) and making changes to character relationships and plot elements. While it captures the core concept of mind-controlling parasites, it received mixed reviews upon release and was not a major box office success.