Puppet Master: Axis Termination (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story unfolds primarily in a modern American city suffering from a city-wide blackout after a power station explosion, and in an eerie, secluded mansion used by Nazi spies for occult experiments. The contrast between the bustling urban environment and the dark, secretive mansion highlights the clash between science, magic, and war.

• setting
• mansion
• power station
• american city
• nazi hideout

While the movie features modern infrastructure like power stations, it is set during World War II, with the conflict centered on stopping the Third Reich and the Nazi war machine from altering the world's fate through supernatural means.

• world war 2
• wwii
• time period
• nazi era
• 1940s

The movie explores three core themes: occult warfare, where Nazis use forbidden magic to animate puppets as weapons; sacrifice, with characters making personal losses that drive the mission forward; and resistance, as a coalition of soldiers, psychics, and puppets unite against a powerful Nazi force.

• themes
• occult warfare
• sacrifice
• resistance
• world war 2 themes

The Nazis use occult forces to animate puppets, turning living objects into weapons of war. The psychics and their strange powers become a central tool in the battle against the Nazi threat, exploring the moral costs and risks of wielding forbidden arts for national aims.

• occult
• puppets
• magic
• nazi supernatural
• psychic powers

Captain Brooks (played by Paul Logan) is a seasoned American officer who starts skeptical of living puppets and occult powers but gradually comes to respect them. He leads with caution, and his resolve strengthens as the team faces escalating Nazi threats.

• captain brooks
• paul logan
• protagonist
• american officer
• leader

Steiner Krabke is the primary antagonist, a formidable Nazi psychic who can stun and paralyze opponents with his powers. He serves as the central magical threat that the heroes must overcome.

• steiner krabbe
• nazi psychic
• villain
• antagonist
• main villain

A coalition of soldiers, psychics, and puppets bands together to thwart a superior Nazi force. The group's resilience is tested by psychic ambushes and dangerous foes, but they persist through strategic raids and shared purpose, reinforcing themes of courage and perseverance under oppressive tyranny.

• resistance
• coalition
• allies
• courage
• teamwork

The puppet characters are Toulon’s seemingly indestructible puppets who unite with powerful psychics to fight the Nazis. They embody a terrifying fusion of life and control, serving as both weapons and symbolic representations of the battle between good and evil.

• puppets
• toulon puppets
• animated puppets
• main characters

The power station and mansion serve as key locations. The power station is the site of an explosion causing a city-wide blackout, while the old mansion serves as the Nazi headquarters for occult experiments, both locations become sites of major confrontations between the puppets and Nazi forces.

• locations
• mansion
• power station
• key settings
• nazi headquarters

Characters face personal losses as the fight intensifies, with Beth’s dying plea shaping Brooks’s resolve. Sacrifice drives the choices of both allies and anti-heroes as they balance duty with personal costs, with the puppets themselves demanding a heavy toll.

• sacrifice
• beth death
• loss
• character deaths
• heroic sacrifice