At one of them there fancy mansions, somewhere in Hollywood, a warlock named Malcolm Graves (Michael Des Barres) is about to sacrifice his only child for some totally like powerful powers and stuff. Malcolm’s wife, to whom he definitely promised that he wouldn’t sacrifice their baby, interrupts the ceremony and takes her son’s place at the altar. Years later, after inheriting the property, the all grown up now baby, Jonathan (Peter Liapis), returns to the abandoned mansion with his girlfriend Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan) to fix up the place.
The old Graves mansion is deserted except for old Wolfgang (Jack Nance) the caretaker, who rescued Jonathan from the clutches of his evil daddy and raised him. (It’s too bad we didn’t get to see any scenes where Wolfgang was breastfeeding Jonathan. I think that’s a missed opportunity on the director’s part.) The mansion has a nasty effect on good old Jonathan, and soon, he begins to take after his father in both studying the occult and being an obsessive jerk about it. Rebecca may be going for saint status with how much of Jonathan’s weird crap she’s willing to put up with.
At a housewarming party with all of he and Rebecca’s bizarre friends, Jonathan tries to conjure a spirt after the other boring party game suggestions are too lame to even consider. Nothing happens at the ritual, but later, after the guests have left the room, a cute little ghoulie materializes. Next thing you know, there’s a whole mess of these little definitely-not-gremlins running around the place. As Jonathan becomes completely possessed by his quest for supernatural power and/or his dead daddy’s spirit, Rebecca is driven to her wits’ end and beyond. Will she be the next sacrifice, or will Jonathan go to the damn eye doctor to get his freaky, glowy eyes looked at? Watch and find out!
Actor turned producer/director Luca Bercovici makes the most out of the meager budget of Ghoulies (1984) and delivers an entertaining horror romp with just enough occult hokum, wacko special effects, lamebrained party animal characters, kooky monster designs, slime, and blood to satisfy any self-respecting horror kid of any age happy. The rules of the supernatural that are used to make up this film’s story are never fully explained, but hopefully, most viewers of Ghoulies are not the type of folks who actually care about that kind of stuff!
There’s so much talent in front and behind the camera in Ghoulies. Editor Ted Nicolaou wrote and directed the bizarre horror comedy TerrorVision (1986), as well as directing Subspecies (1991) and its many sequels. Co-writer Jefery Levy would go on to write and direct the anarchic and grunge-fueled dark comedy called S.F.W. (1994). Cinematographer Mac Ahlberg shot so many great horror films in the 1980s that it’s just nuts. Speaking of nuts, Charles Band produced this thing, and you’ll lose your mind trying to keep up with all the films he’s had his hands in during his wild career.
In the cast, we have Jack Nance being only slightly subdued for a change and Bobby Bresee of Mausoleum (1983). I wish she’d caught on as a scream queen! Good old Lisa Pelikan of the (probably not) underrated Carrie (1976) rip-off called Jennifer (1978) is here, and I just love her performance. I hope that, as the years go by, my wife is half as understanding as poor Rebecca when it comes to putting up with my bullshit. Mariska Hargitay of approximately 50 billion episodes of “Law & Order: SVU” is in this. Slasher fans will no doubt recognize Ralph Seymour. He plays an annoying creepo in Killer Party (1986), that is 100 times less bizarre than oddball and patron saint of this film, Toad Boy. Where did they find these freaks?
My feelings for Ghoulies are about as nostalgic as you can get. As a kid, I took everything in this movie completely seriously and it has haunted me in a happy way for many years afterwards. Fun (but only interesting to me) note: I rented this and the fun as hell faux slasher April Fool’s Day (1986) around the same time back in the day, and I still catch myself mixing them up once in a while. Both films have a bunch of goofball characters secluded at a big house, going their separate ways, and getting themselves offed through bizarre and disparate means. Maybe we’ll get Ghoulies V: April Ghoul’s Day in the near future if we’re lucky.
Looking to upgrade your copy of Ghoulies? Then the new release from MVD Rewind is the way to go. There’s a wee bit of grain flickering in the dark scenes, but nothing too distracting. It’s a gorgeous release in terms of look and sound! As for extras, this has two archival audio commentaries from other releases. One is a commentary from director Bercovici and the other is one with (surprise!) Bercovici, this time moderated by Jason Andreason (Terror Transmission). From the Shout! Factory release, there is a half-hour documentary called From Toilets to Terror: The Making of Ghoulies. New to this release however are interviews with editor Nicolaou, cast member Scott Thomson, and Luca Bercovici. There are also trailers and a still gallery.