PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Ah nostalgia! Does it ever want to make you revisit all of the “evil little creature” films (Critters, Ghastlies, etc.) that followed in the wake of Joe Dante’s game-changer Gremlins? Um…no. Not all of them anyway, especially the direct-to-VHS titles that popped up incessantly in video stores. However, director Luca Bercovici’s Ghoulies is a cheesy trip down memory lane!
Ghoulies Synopsis
“A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.”
Have a look at the trailer!
Okay, you’re at a party in an old Hollywood mansion. The host Jonathan (Peter Laipis; Wishmaster), despite suggestions of charades, Trivial Pursuit or strip poker from his girlfriend Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan; Lionheart) and his assembled guests: Dick (Keith Joe Dick; Leonard Part 6), Ed (David Dyan; Against All Odds), Mike (Scott Thomson; Police Academy), Robin (Charene Cathleen; Girls Just Want To Have Fun), Mark Toad Boy (Ralph Seymour; Rain Man), and Donna (Mariska Hargitay; Law & Order: SVU), decides to blurt out “let’s do a ritual”!
What the actual HELL, right?
Well, Hell might not be too far off the mark, because right after Charles Band’s Re-Animator-inspired opening theme, we were treated to Jonathan’s pop Malcolm (Michael Des Barres; Freaking everything in the 80s and 90s) trying to sacrifice his infant ass to some Satanic deity, only to have his mother (Victoria Catlin; Twin Peaks) and Wolfgang (frequent David Lynch collaborator Jack Nance; Eraserhead) thwart his plan with a protective talisman. Jonathan, unfortunately, gets progressively weirder as he summons, and attempts to control the titular Ghoulies with the help of medieval little people Grizzel (Peter Risch; Something Wicked This Way Comes) and Greedigut (Tamara De Treaux; E.T.),
Rated PG-13 and ridiculously corny, Ghoulies holds a special place in my heart because it’s just so over-the-top! The cover art alone, with the toilet-popping green monster, was more than enough to warrant a rental back in the day. And despite some low-rent visual effects (green glowing eyes?), the Ghoulies themselves were ultra cool, and given some creepy realism from the late legend John Carl Buechler and a team of FX stars like Howard Berger, Cleve Hall, and John Vulich.
A cameo by 80’s vixen Bobbie Bresee (Mausoleum), 50s-inspired haircuts, questionable fashion, actors maybe a little too old to play college kids, and what is possibly the worst rolled joint in cinematic history all combine to make Ghoulies feel like a familiar memory of the decade that redefined home entertainment. And it inspired a long, somewhat eclectic, string of sequels, much like its shelf mates of the time. Ghoulies also answers the burning question: is Mariska Hargitay as sexy in her first film role as she is in Law & Order? Answer: Yes!
This release of Ghoulies is head and shoulders above what you remember from VHS or cable. I don’t think it’s possible, given the source material, to get this film looking any better! The contrast is amazing, and the clarity is off the charts, excellent transfer! The MVD Rewind package contains both the 4K disc and Blu-ray, with all kinds of commentary tracks with 4 featurettes containing interviews, BTS stuff and an editing spotlight with Ted Nicolaou. A neat slipcover (with simulated water damage), and a slick mini-poster round out the contents. A quintessential release for fans of Ghoulies and 80s-philes!
Ghoulies 4K Ultra is available now from MVD’s Rewind Collection at fine retailers
