Ghoulies (1984 franchise)
Summary
"Ghoulies: they'll get you in the end!" A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons. In the sequels, a stage magician working for a bankrupt amusement park accidentally summons the creatures, a college professor brings the little creatures back to his campus to terrorize the faculty and students, and a retired occult detective (the same main character and actor from the first film) must battle a former lover after she escapes a mental asylum and tries to summon the Ghoulies.
Details
- Release Date: 1984, 1988, 1991, 1994
- Country/Language: USA, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Fantasy, Black Comedy
- Setting: 1980s California
- Runtime: 1 hr 21 min
- Starring: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres; Damon Martin, Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro; Evan MacKenzie, Kevin McCarthy, Eva LaRue; Peter Liapis, Barbara Alyn Woods, Stacie Randall
- Director: Luca Bercovici; Albert Band; John Carl Buechler; Jim Wynorski
- Writer: Luca Bercovici, Jefery Levy; Charlie Dolan, Dennis Paoli; Damon Martin, Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro; Brent Olson; Mark Sevi
- Producer/Production Co: Charles Band, Empire Pictures, Ghoulies Productions, Taryn Productions Inc., Lightning Pictures, Taurus Entertainment Company, Vestron Pictures, Cinetel Films
- View Trailer: (link), (link), (link), (link), (link)
- TVTropes: (link)
- IMDB Page: (link), (link), (link), (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: generally R (1980s Violence, Nudity, Profanity, Adult Content)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; vaguely similar in tone, could be a very loose adaptation)
The first film is a very loose, uncredited adaptation of "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (fiction)", with all the Lovecraftian serial numbers filed off, given a black comedy make-over. The sequels are a bit less Lovecraftian than even that.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- (review needed)
Synopsis (SPOILERS)
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
- Ghoulies - A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.
- Ghoulies II - The Ghoulies wreak havoc at an amusement park, disposing of those who mistake them for mere fairground attractions.
- Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College - A college teacher brings the little creatures back to his campus, where they proceed to terrorize the faculty and students.
- Ghoulies IV - A retired occultist turned police officer must battle a former lover as she attempts to summon forth demonic forces after escaping an asylum.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- Originally, the first film was going to be about a kid moving into his grandfather's house who finds out that the inspirations for his grandfather's stories are living in the house and trying to kill him.
- Actors in costumes played the Ghoulies in the final film because Cinetel Films could not afford the puppets used in earlier installments; a fifth Ghoulies movie was planned but never materialized.
Associated Mythos Elements
TO_DO:
- fiction: the original film was basically a clone of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (fiction)
- tome: Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, The Secret World of Magic, The Black Magic Ritual, The Grimoire of Abramelin
- race: Ghoulies
- race: Human Cultists
- race: Deadites
- demons: Lucifer, Paimon, Vepar, Procell, Astaroth
Keeper Notes
