A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.
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- TriviaThe scream let loose by Donna (Mariska Hargitay) was a stock sound effect. Mariska Hargitay has a naturally deep, husky voice and could not produce a scream loud or high pitched enough for the liking of the director.
- GoofsGrizzel is shown holding the goblet before Jonathan sets it down for them to drink from it.
- Alternate versionsOriginally opened with an R-rating in Las Vegas, Nevada in November of 1984. Shortly after,12 seconds of footage were removed from the nationwide American release of Ghoulies in order to achieve a PG-13 rating.
- ConnectionsEdited into Lifesavers: The Movie (2013)
- SoundtracksDancing With A Monster
Written and Performed by Fela Johnson
Subliminal Music 1982
Featured review
They'll get you in the end.
The camp and cheese levels are off the charts with this effort from Charles Bands' Empire Pictures, one of a few movies (and subsequent franchises) to jump on the "Gremlins" bandwagon. This means combining comedy (which, in this case, is never really that funny) and horror (although the movie sure ain't scary at all) and trying to go for a playful approach. The result is a movie that does have some fun moments, but nothing special enough to make it compare to its inspiration.
Eric Roberts lookalike Peter Liapis stars as Jonathan Graves, who moves with his girlfriend Rebecca (pretty Lisa Pelikan of the "Carrie" ripoff "Jennifer") into the mansion he's just inherited. Turns out his dad Malcolm (pop singer Michael Des Barres, in a hilariously unsubtle turn) was one of a group of Satan worshippers, and the mansion has been home to demons in the past. As any moron character in this type of genre movie would do, Jonathan lets his curiosity get the better of him, and he becomes obsessed with wearing robes and performing rituals. The title creatures show up to create mayhem, followed by an endearing pair of little people (Peter Risch, Tamara De Treaux).
The Ghoulies themselves don't get to do all that much; they would be brought more to the forefront for the sequels. The human cast - including Scott Thomson ("Police Academy"), Ralph Seymour ("Just Before Dawn"), Keith Joe Dick, and Mariska Hargitay in her film debut - is amusing, but it's the Ghoulies who are the most fun. Jack Nance of "Eraserhead" fame is wasted as the wise old caretaker of the mansion. Bobbie Bresee ("Mausoleum") has a bit as a temptress. Special effects and makeup by John Carl Buechler and his company are generally pretty good. The score, credited to both Shirley Walker and Richard Band, is catchy.
"Ghoulies" is indeed pretty ridiculous, but this viewer doesn't see that as necessarily being a bad thing. Just don't go in expecting anything resembling a serious genre film.
Six out of 10.
Eric Roberts lookalike Peter Liapis stars as Jonathan Graves, who moves with his girlfriend Rebecca (pretty Lisa Pelikan of the "Carrie" ripoff "Jennifer") into the mansion he's just inherited. Turns out his dad Malcolm (pop singer Michael Des Barres, in a hilariously unsubtle turn) was one of a group of Satan worshippers, and the mansion has been home to demons in the past. As any moron character in this type of genre movie would do, Jonathan lets his curiosity get the better of him, and he becomes obsessed with wearing robes and performing rituals. The title creatures show up to create mayhem, followed by an endearing pair of little people (Peter Risch, Tamara De Treaux).
The Ghoulies themselves don't get to do all that much; they would be brought more to the forefront for the sequels. The human cast - including Scott Thomson ("Police Academy"), Ralph Seymour ("Just Before Dawn"), Keith Joe Dick, and Mariska Hargitay in her film debut - is amusing, but it's the Ghoulies who are the most fun. Jack Nance of "Eraserhead" fame is wasted as the wise old caretaker of the mansion. Bobbie Bresee ("Mausoleum") has a bit as a temptress. Special effects and makeup by John Carl Buechler and his company are generally pretty good. The score, credited to both Shirley Walker and Richard Band, is catchy.
"Ghoulies" is indeed pretty ridiculous, but this viewer doesn't see that as necessarily being a bad thing. Just don't go in expecting anything resembling a serious genre film.
Six out of 10.
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- May 16, 2015
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- $5,500,000 (estimated)
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