Ghoulies (1985) / Ghoulies II (1987) - 9/6/22

Hello everyone, Matthew here with some more reviews. I mentioned before that I was going to discuss some of the films that I had the opportunity to watch while I was bedridden with COVID. Well, I figured why the hell not kick things off with doing just that. There weren't a lot of them. But there were one or two. 

It absolutely boggles my mind to think that there are people out there that will never have the opportunity of going to their local video store. It’s also incredibly saddening. I have countless memories of going into our local video store on a Friday Night after school. The sensation of perusing the shelves as the waves and waves of VHS covers flowing oer you. It was calming to do. The VHS covers alone were always amazing. Yes, even Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning. The DVD and Blu Ray covers nowadays cannot even hold a candle to those VHS covers. I will give them some credit that they try at times. Shout! Factory/Scream Factory is fantastic with giving you those original covers if you’d like the option. 

Some of those VHS covers that I remember so vividly are Ghoulies, Ghoulies II, The Gate 2, Ice Cream Man and Dr. Giggles to name a few. Each of them just having those striking visuals. It just immediately was able to capture your attention and imagination. The next thing you know, you’d find yourself just wondering what the film was about. Then if you managed to pass on them, they would still stay in your memory til your next trip. Almost challenging you to take a chance and check them out. 

Imagine my surprise when I was reading Nat Brehmer’s Puppet Master Complete and hearing about Charles Band’s Empire Pictures days. For those that don’t know, Charles Band is responsible for Full Moon and in those last days for Empire - he also was behind Ghoulies and Ghoulies II. His whole motto was to craft a marketing plan that would be so enthralling that it’d grab your attention and not let go. With Ghoulies that was definitely the case as the cover illustrated the forementioned Ghoulie popping up out of a toilet. In one image, it was able to sell you on exactly the type of film you were in for. 

One day, I found myself choosing 10 movies to pick up for the weekend. Out of the corner of my eye, that cover was drawing my attention. I whisked it up along with the sequel and eight other films. At that time, my mother was with me and didn’t really care what rented. There’s a lot more to that story but won’t get into it here. The next morning, I found myself unsure of what exactlly I had watched. Ghoulies and Ghouies II had creatures in them. I was certain of that. It was one of the reasons why I had enjoyed it so much. But other than that, the first film was all but a blur. The second film I knew was more focused around a carnival. But one thing I do know is that I had watched those two films more than any of the others I had rented that weekend. 

In the years since, I kept remembering Ghoulies and Ghoulies II. It was just one of those fond memories of when times were a bit easier and was able to have movie marathons on the weekends. There’s honestly nothing else like it. Some may even say it’s like a warm comforting blanket. 

So when I became bed ridden with COVID, I thought one day that I’d take a look into what was available on TUBI. Tubi is a wonderful free streaming app that has so much variety to its offerings. You can watch Batman ‘66 with Adam West one minute and the next find yourself taking a stroll in Springwood with Freddy’s Nightmares. I know a lot of people have been praising Tubi and saying that it’s one of the best streamers available and I’d happily agree. Shudder and Tubi are two of the best streamers for Horror. ScreamBox is getting there now. But I found myself browsing the horror selection and found Ghoulies and Ghoulies II. Immediately, I was hit with those warm nostalgic feelings and hit play. 

The first Ghoulies honestly didn’t hold up for me. It felt like such a mish mash of several different elements striving to come together to tell a story. It’s a story about a man discovering himself and aspects of himself that he never knew of. It’s a story involving small creatures terrorizing a group of people at a party. It’s a story involving a reincarnated Wizard or Warlock(?). Is that the best way to describe the zombified weirdo that comes up from the ground? The feeling that the film evoked felt so familiar with something I had watched this past year. I just couldn’t manage to place a finger on it. Then when the credits rolled, I felt like I was slapped in the face. Spookies. 

For those that remember, I covered Spookies last year for the 31 for 31 Halloween I did. It was just such a bizarre film that was made up of various different elements. Whether or not that managed to succeed in a good film, that’s up to the viewer to decide. I know it has managed to find an audience in the years since its release. And honestly, I’d recommend a Ghoulies/Spookies double feature. 

It’s not to say that Ghoulies is bad. It’s obvious that it was made with a certain plan in mind. Low budget guerilla filmmaking. It’s something that we honestly don’t see much of nowadays and that’s a shame. Hopefully one day, we will be able to see that type of filmmaking make a return. It just feels like it’s unsure of itself. Does it double down on the creatures or does it double down on the magic? Does it double down on trying to establish the characters or does it double down on the fact that these are cookie cutter characters? Does the film have stakes? These were all questions I found myself asking. 

For the most part, I would say that the creatures are the most memorable aspect in this first film. They each have their own unique design. I know I’ve found myself loving the Cat Ghoulie to the point where I’ve been looking at the Replicas that have been made by Trick Or Treat Studios. They are evil demonic entities. They do whatever they want and however they want as long as it serves their master’s wishes. 

Other than that, the first film’s story just didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I found myself a little confused as the story progressed to the point where I rewatched part of the film to figure out exactly what was going on. There is some gore in the film and some frightening images. However by the end of the film, I was hoping that there’d be more stakes. It felt like things just were undone and characters were all saved for a happy ending. Why? Why couldn’t there be consequences for character’s actions? It did give a good Haunted House feeling to the film though. I will give it that. However with Ghoulies, I don’t know if I’ll return to it again.

After the first film finished, I took a deep breath and hit play on the second installment. Yes, I did see that Ghoulies III and Ghoulies IV are also available on TUBI. No, I haven’t watched them yet and unsure if I’ll get to them. Maybe on another bedridden day, I’ll decide to. 

Ghoulies II immediately was a whole new bag of tricks. It immediately tossed aside the surviving cast of the first film. Instead, we find a priest running to a warehouse with a bag full of Ghoulies. His whole goal is to attempt to boil them in acid before they can inflict any harm to anyone else. Noble goal. However, it doesn’t last long for him and he’s knocked into the acid by a flying Ghouie. Yes, we have more Ghoulies in this film. Except the big different this time around, they don’t have a master to serve. So the kid gloves are off for them. They are able to inflict any harm on anyone they wish. 

The Ghoulies find themselves into the back of a truck of Royal Dano’s Carnival Magician and his nephew. They arrive at a travelling carnival. And then things are off to the races. The Ghoulies manage to blend in to Royal Dano’s attraction schtick - House of Horrors. Royal Dano is honestly the one actor that I managed to remember the most besides Phil Fondacaro. Everyone else delivers an okay performance to make the most out of the film. 

It was honestly so refreshing to see the Ghoulies able to enact mayhem and have it have consequences. Characters die in this film and by the end, don’t return. There’s not necessarily a happy ending. There’s no undo button. Things happen and the blood flies. I would say the interesting solution to the Ghoulie problem: How does one kill a Ghoulie? By summoning an even bigger Ghoulie. That was pretty interesting. Yeah, it’s a man in a monster suit. But ya know what? Who cares. It’s fun. It definitely makes the film very memorable and dare I say it - surpasses the first film. 

Overall, Ghoulies II was a lot of fun. It’s in on the joke. It knows that it’s B-Movie over the top goodness. It knows exactly what people want to see going into it and delivers. It doesn’t overstay its welcome with a plump runtime - no we get a lean mean 1 hour 20 minute machine. And it’s effective. 

Ghoulies Rating: 2.5 Cat Ghoulies out of 5. 

Ghoulies II Rating: 3.75 Cat Ghoulies out of 5. 

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BLADE: THE IRON CROSS

Hello everyone, earlier this week I talked about Nat Brehmer's Puppet Master Complete. A fantastic companion to the Puppet Master franchise the same way that Crystal Lake Memories is to Friday the 13th. If you get a chance, pick it up. While reading it, I was reminded that there was still more Puppet Master.

All this brings me to BLADE: The Iron Cross. This was the first time that Puppet Master would receive a spin-off. Not surprising is that it would focus on Blade, the poster child of the franchise in a way. There is another spin-off coming with Doctor Death. It's honestly a natural progression and evolution of the series. 

The story of The Iron Cross picks up after the ending of Axis Termination. Oh yes, we are still in the WWII Era - 1945. By this point, it could easily feel like a cash grab. I mean, in my opinion, the Axis trilogy wasn't necessarily a hit for me. Well at least, Axis Termination kinda fell off the mark. But we have Elisa Ivannov, who is now the keeper of Toulon's Trunk of Puppets, working with Blade. They seem to have a nice back and forth in a sense. Elisa is now a journalist and is investigating random series of murders. This leads them to an off shoot of Nazis still trying to take over the world. 

Honestly, this a solid simple story. It knows what it's trying to do. The fact that there is only Blade helps it immensely. It allows us to focus as well as being practical.  The downsides of the Axis Trilogy is the Puppets, unfortunately because of the crunch of production time. The way things are handled here was super solid. It easily allows this to surpass the trilogy and probably rank a bit high for me. One or the interesting things is that this was a film shot in 4 Days. That's something that is extremely commendable. 

The cast all deliver relatively solid performances. Tania Fox does a good job and that's huge considering it's kinda all riding on her shoulders. Vincent Cusimano is great as the Detective. He is exactly what you imagine when you think of 1940s detective. And the villains are a bit cheesy. But isn't that the point? 

I honestly could go into more. But this is a successful spin-off, in my opinion. It gives you what you'd like to see. Could there be more Blade? Yes. However, they do a good job with what we have. There is also some fantastic callbacks. There is a mention of Dr. Hess. For those that know, it's cool knowing that Hess inhabits Blade. So it adds a layer of a redemption story to it. I'm now at the point where I'm looking forward to Doctor Death, as that gets to explore modern day. This is a film that has me hyped again for this franchise. 

Rating: 4 out of 5. (Doesn't overstay its welcome.)

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Tiny Terrors Day 5: Puppet Master (1989) and Puppet Master II (1990)

Welcome to Day 5 of Tiny Terrors! This week I had decided to cover the films in the way that they were released. And for the first time, I am switching to covering 2 films at a time. 

Child's Play set the tone and laid some ground work for what people expected from a film with a killer doll. Child's Play was pretty successful when it was released. The studios could see that horror was still big. Though, it was starting to slow down a little bit. Charles Band created Full Moon Pictures and crafted a deal with Paramount Pictures to release a few horror films on the cheap. 

This led to the release of Puppet Master. Puppet Master was written by Kenneth J. Hall and Joseph G. Collodi, directed by David Schmoller, and produced by Charles Band. Puppet Master was a small budget horror title that Band felt would be more successful in the video stores than a theatrical release. And sure enough, his instinct proved to be right.

The film focuses on a group of psychics that attend a wake for their late friend. Unbeknownst to them, there are a group of small puppets living in the hotel that don't take kindly to their presence. Soon, the puppets begin to stalk them one by one. And it all leads to the discovery of a lifetime. 

This film over the years has found itself as a cult classic. It does a bit right. The pacing of the film feels good and never like it's lagging behind. The psychic characters are all okay. I mean, they serve their purpose. It's not like they are going to win any awards. They do seem to be having a bit of fun with the schlocky B-material they are given. 

However, it feels like the Puppets are the standouts here. They are what everyone is coming to the film for. And they do not disappoint. 

We have Blade, Tunneler, Pinhead, Jester and Leech Woman in this first film. They each have something that makes them distinctly unique. Blade is the leader in a sense. He's dressed in black trench coat with the hat, the ghostly grin on his face, one hand is a hook and the other is a blade. He's almost like a noir detective in a sense as he spies upon his prey as well as checking the perimeter in the prologue. Next up is Tunneler. He is very unique as he has a drill attached to his head. But he's dressed as an army soldier. If Blade was the recon specialist, Tunneler is one of the men in the front line. Then we have the muscle, Pinhead. He's a brute force in this lineup as he's very much dressed as a thug with his sweater, pants and fingerless gloves. He also knows how to throw a hell of a punch. Then there's the Jester. Jester is an interesting one as he has revolving faces to emit different expressions. He's a lively one of the bunch as well. His weapon of choice being a mallet as he doesn't necessarily possess brute force or quick on his feet. Finally, we have our leading lady of the Puppets..the siren herself, Leech Woman. She definitely doesn't possess any strength. However, her specialty is more....sensual. She spits out leeches onto her victims with a distinct sensibility about the whole thing. 

The kills in the film are all fine. They obviously were on a low budget. However, that adds so much charm to the film. Even adding to the charm of the puppets, the techniques they utilized for them are extraordinary. It's honestly something that is hard to replicate in modern times. So it feels like a bit of a lost art to it.

When the reveal happens, it's something that still feels cheesy. Their friend who had committed suicide was not dead. He was using the Puppets to get back at his friends, one by one. This honestly was the weakest part of the film. And it also led to a few sequences where the film would enter a dream like state. 

Overall, this film is a fun ride. It's easy to see why this is considered a cult classic. And it's a nice callback to a much simpler time - the time when video stores walked the earth. 

Rating: 4 out of 5. 

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Thought we were done? Amateur. We were just beginning. Here are my thoughts on Puppet Master II: Toulon's Revenge. 

After the success of the first Puppet Master, the studio asked Charles Band for a follow-up. Quickly, Toulon's Revenge was put together. And it does show a bit.

Toulon's Revenge was released on VHS in 1990. It was written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen. Charles Band once again would produce the film.

So, watching these two films back to back. It led me to see how much of a formula there was in these two installments. Both of them follow a similar pattern revolving around parapsychologists this time around. And also involving a reanimated Toulon corpse. (Where have we seen that one before?)

The Puppets now have reanimated Toulon using a vial of green formula. Toulon's main motive in the film is to find a way to animate two mannequins. One for himself and the other for his beloved Elsa. Kinda sweet and romantic...if it wasn't for the reanimation process turning Toulon into a raging psychopath.

This plotline is largely the biggest addition to the story from the first one. Again, if it ain't broke - no need to fix it. That's again why the film was able to come together so quickly. 

So, the Puppets are hunting down people to collect pieces of their brain. So then, it can be used to create a vial for the mannequins that Toulon is hoping to transfer himself into. Makes perfect sense to me. 

Honestly, if you enjoyed the first one. It's almost safe to say that the second will be enjoyed as well. And the addition of Torch is a welcome one. He has a very unique firebug approach to his personality. Even going as far as torching a child off screen. (The comics are highly recommended as we get to see more human qualities to the Puppets as they are transfered to human bodies once again. I mention this because the realization of how old Torch's spirit is fitting.)

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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Check back on Friday for Leprechaun 1 and 2.