PopHorror Let's Get Scared
A mere 9 or so months after the release of Ghoulies on 4K, along with a special edition of Ghoulies 2 on Blu-ray, MVD Visual has decided to satisfy many a collector’s OCD compulsions and give Ghoulies 2 the 4K treatment.
Synopsis
“The ghoulies wreak havoc at an amusement park, disposing of those who mistake them for mere fairground attractions.”
For some great insight on the making of Ghoulies 2, I can’t recommend Charles Band’s recent autobiography Confessions of a Puppet Master: A Hollywood Memoir. Ghoulies 2, produced by Band’s Empire Pictures, and directed by his father Albert (Castle Freak) was a shining example of Band, in one of his periods of prosperity, doing things just because he could (or perhaps he was spoiling his father).
Famously, rather than filming in the US, where he’d have access to all the carnival set dressing he needed, Band, instead, shot at his newly minted Italian studio, importing all of the rides, tents, etc. to build a working carnival on one of the sound stages (ironically, Band sold the rights to the franchise to Vestron shortly thereafter to save Empire).
And, of course, the iconic “ghoulie emerging from the toilet” was resurrected for the cover art, Band still, to this day, gets people at conventions telling him that the image made them scared to go to the toilet for weeks in their youth. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
Having so recently reviewed both the original HERE on 4K and Ghoulies 2 HERE on Blu-ray, I’ll spare the details and dive right into what makes this two disc (4K and Standard Blu) set stand apart. For openers, the 4K transfer on this edition is a marked improvement from the previous Blu, sharp contrast, laser focused images, and blacker than black blacks make this a treat for the eyes.
For the completist in all of us, the uncut, 91 minute, not-rated version is presented here for the first time in the US (previously only available on an Australian release). Both the PG-13 and Unrated versions are here in a 16 bit scan of the original camera negative, preserving Ghoulies 2’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio, with a cleaned up 2.0 stereo audio mix. A new introduction by legendary genre screenwriter Dennis Paoli (Dagon) and the original trailer round out the 4K disc.
The Blu-ray portion of this package mainly just ports over everything from the previous Blu-ray only release with: trailers, a “making of” featurette, and an interview with Paoli. Packaging wise, the “video store” style slipcover has been replaced by the slicker “4K Laser Vision” style, with reversible (albeit almost identical) artwork on the inlay sleeve. A collectible poster is also neatly folded inside.
A cleaned up, “as good as it’s gonna get” version of a fun, somewhat darker and mean spirited than the original, film, Ghoulies 2 is the perfect bookend for the original’s 4K on your video shelf, so if you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on the UHD disc, now’s the time. While there’s not a lot of extra content, it is a significantly better transfer. And say what you will about W.A.S.P, “Scream Until You Like It” is still a solid track.
Now make sure you check that toilet before you sit down…
MVD Visual’s 4K Ultra release of Ghoulies 2 is available now from fine retailers everywhere.
