Interview: Jenny Pellicer Dishes on her Favorite Kill in ‘Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich’

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich has brought the decades-spanning horror franchise front and center, with audiences either raving about the uncompromising brutality and blood-soaked fun or taking issue with the depiction of Nazi puppet hate crimes. Neither viewer is wrong. We had the chance to speak Jenny Pellicer, who plays Ashley in the film, about her favorite kill, her newfound love for the Puppet Master series, and the imminent divisiveness of the reboot.

PopHorror: The Littlest Reich serves as a reboot to a franchise that consists of 10 canon films. Are you a fan of the film series?

Jenny Pellicer: I am now. I confess, I didn’t know them before. I grew up in Norway and I wasn’t acquainted with this cult classic franchise, but after getting the role and after working on the project, I experienced the madness that is Puppet Master and have had a lot of fun getting acquainted with it.

PopHorror: Was there any doubt or hesitation in rebooting and changing things that die-hard fans may take issue with, or were you confident that fans would enjoy The Littlest Reich as its own entity?

Jenny Pellicer: I think that I was confident that people would enjoy it as its own entity, and just have so much fun with it coming back to life and experiencing the sort of tongue-in-cheek approach and the hilariousness and insane gore that they would be able to see in this one.

PopHorror: Speaking of the insane gore, the film is WILD. There are so many graphic, over-the-top kills that I can’t wait for people to see. Do you have a specific death scene in the film that you consider your favorite?

Jenny Pellicer: Yes, I really like the- there’s a scene where there’s a man watching TV, and then he goes to the bathroom and he has to pee, and his head gets chopped off. I think that’s one of my favorites. I just think it’s terrifying.

PopHorror: I loved that kill also! You also mentioned the film being hilarious, and I agree. Most of the humor, though, is played in a totally deadpan and serious way, which made the film even more amusing to me. How was it working alongside such a funny cast, especially someone like Thomas Lennon, who has been consistently hilarious throughout his career? 

Jenny Pellicer: It was a delight. It was wonderful and so much fun. Honestly, it was one of the best, if not the best, times I’ve ever had on set. We became such good friends and had a blast. Thomas Lennon is such a brilliant and hilarious guy, and so incredibly talented that I feel really lucky to have been able to work with him.

PopHorror: While the film has been generously received by most, there have been some complaints about the undeserved violence inflicted upon characters based on the bigotry of the central villain. Given the material, was that sort of feedback anticipated? What do you personally hope for viewers to take away from the film?

Jenny Pellicer: I think that it was anticipated, and is anticipated, of course, given the material. But I hope the viewers can see this as what it is, which is just a movie, and I hope they are able to appreciate the tongue-in-cheek, crazy ridiculousness of it all and have fun. I think with this kind of movie- the horror, you know, gore genre, I think you only like it or you don’t. It’s just a matter of taste.

PopHorror: Before we let you go, do have any upcoming projects you’d like to announce?

Jenny Pellicer: Old Shadows with the three Swedes, the directors of Puppet Master. I also have a production company called Red Jacket Inc., and I currently am growing it with a focus on female storytellers, so I am very excited about that.