Franchise Frights: Ghoulies
The Ghoulies franchise, one of a handful in the ‘80s about a bunch of diminutive monsters who cause havoc ranging from pranks to murder (along with Gremlins, Critters, Munchies, Hobgoblins, etc.), began life as a pitch by actor/director Luca Bercovici to Empire Pictures (later, Full Moon Features) founder Charles Band. Generally, the plot is the same between all the films: someone unleashes the Ghoulies via Satanic ritual, but they’re more than they bargained for and trouble ensues until the creatures are again banished. There are four films in the franchise, all fairly different from one another despite the same basic premise. Ultimately, Charles Band was involved only in the first two, which explains why things go off the rails a bit in parts three and four. Despite this, the Ghoulies remain one of the staples of the Charles Band oeuvre, along with Puppet Master, Subspecies, Trancers, Demonic Toys, and others. The franchise does embody the Band ethos: fun, cheesy horror movies that could be for kids if not for the occasional gore, sex, and adult language. The first film in the series was a breakthrough box office success for Charles Band and basically kick-started his long and infamous career in the horror genre. Interestingly, the revenue from the film’s success was used by Band to purchase a castle in Italy, which would be used as a primary shooting location and base of operations for a whole lot of Empire/Full Moon movies in the future — no doubt you’ve seen it on screen at some point. Like many horror franchises, the quality of each entry varies drastically and, in this case, provides a pretty easy ranking, in my opinion.
4. Ghoulies IV (1994; dir: Jim Wynorski)
By this point in the franchise, any semblance of the original film had evaporated. What’s left is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. It’s cheap and dull, and it completely ditches the classic Ghoulies designs in favor of half-assed trolls in bad makeup who are the good guys this go-round, though they’re very minor in the grand boring scheme of things. Just absolute garbage that should be avoided.
3. Ghoulies Go To College (1990; dir: John Carl Buechler)
Longtime franchise effects artist John Carl Buechler steps into the director role for the third entry, with mixed results. The Ghoulies designs have been updated, but are still recognizable, and the monsters now talk — they never stop, in fact, constantly spewing stupid banter. I guess as should be expected from a movie that takes place on a college campus, this is a very juvenile flick that focuses on the Ghoulies as pranksters on fraternity row. But it’s still kind of entertaining at times.
2. Ghoulies (1985; dir: Luca Bercovici)
The original is a decent one-location horror movie with fun creature designs that would end up being kind of iconic. But the story is dull and the pacing is very slow. The monsters aren’t given much to do and there’s not much to make the movie stand out other than its relatively influential place in horror history. But it did lay the groundwork for a truly great sequel.
1. Ghoulies II (1987; dir: Albert Band)
Charles Band’s father, Albert, took over for the second entry. The filmmakers here wisely looked at what could have worked for the original and actually put those ideas on screen. The fun demon designs are better articulated and appear more plentifully, the carnival setting allows for a great mix of scares and fun, and the cast (anchored by Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro, and Damon Martin) is really game and provides a lot of heart. Ghoulies II is easily the best of the franchise and real gem of family-friendly horror.