Characters
Ghoulies
| Ghoulie | Ghoulies | Ghoulies II | Ghoulies III | Ghoulies IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Ghoulie |  | | | Archival footage |
| Cat Ghoulie | ||||
| Rat Ghoulie | ||||
| Flying Ghoulie |  | |||
| Clown Doll Ghoulie | | |||
| Other Fish Ghoulies | | |||
| Toad Ghoulie | | | ||
| Giant Ghoulie | ||||
| Lite Ghoulie | | | ||
| Dark Ghoulie |
| Ghoulies | |
|---|---|
| Created by | |
| Original work | Film |
| Years | 1985–1994 |
| Print publications | |
| Book(s) | The Complete History of Ghoulies (2021) |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Direct-to-video |
|
Ghoulies is an American comedy horror film series that consists of four films released from 1985 to 1994. [1] The films center on a group of small demonic creatures that have a wide range of twisted appearances.
| Film | Director | Production | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghoulies (1985) | Luca Bercovici | MGM Home Entertainment | Jefery Levy | |
| Ghoulies II (1987) | Albert Band | Dennis Paoli | Albert Band | |
| Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991) | John Carl Buechler | Vestron Video | Brent Olson | Iain Paterson |
| Ghoulies IV (1994) | Jim Wynorski | CineTel Films | Mark Sevi | Gary Schmoeller |
The plot of this film centers on Jonathan Graves (Peter Liapis), a college student who uncovers his late father's occult paraphernalia in his family's mansion. Graves tries to summon up the demonic forces his father dabbled with, in hopes of gaining supernatural powers. Consequently, the little Ghoulies are summoned to descend on the manor and terrorize everyone who participated in the ritual. The film also stars Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, and Mariska Hargitay in her film debut.
Ghoulies was pitched as a one-location horror film by director Luca Bercovici and his writing partner Jefery Levy to Charles Band by Bercovici. [2] The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 18, 1985, and in New York on March 1.
According to stories that Charles Band tells on his Full Moon Horror Road Show, he was tasked to come up with a great campaign to promote the film. During a brainstorming session with Gary Allen, he came up with the idea to have the Ghoulie popping up from the toilet. Although Band has claimed that the scene with the Ghoulie popping out of the toilet was shot after the fact to mirror the poster image, Luca Bercovici says that it was part of the original shoot. [ citation needed ]
In the second installment, unrelated to the first movie, the Ghoulies hitch a ride with a carnival and end up hiding in an amusement park funhouse called "Satan's Den" which becomes a smash hit when visitors believe the little demons are part of the attraction – that is, until people start falling victim to the evil creatures. The film stars Damon Martin, Dale Wyatt, Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro and J. Downing.
The film was again produced by Empire Pictures and directed by Charles Band's father Albert Band. It was also the last entry to have any involvement from Charles Band, as he sold the rights to Vestron Pictures to save Empire Pictures, which was struggling financially at the time. Ghoulies and Ghoulies II were released as a double feature DVD from MGM Home Entertainment in 2003 and as a double feature Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 2015. While both releases include theatrical trailers, the Blu-ray special features include commentaries, interviews, and still galleries. In 2017 Austrian company NSM Records released Ghoulies II on Blu-ray in a fully uncut R-rated version, marking the first time the movie had been released uncut since the original cast and crew premiere.
In the third installment, the little demons are summoned at a college campus by Professor Ragnar (Kevin McCarthy), who is obsessed with the occult. Soon the creatures wreak havoc that is initially dismissed as elaborate pranks by the partying frat houses during the annual "Prank Week" - that is, until a couple at the school realize that the pranks are not so innocent this time.
The film also stars Eva LaRue and Patrick Labyorteaux. [3]
The third film saw Buechler step into the director's chair and was released straight-to-video in 1991 by Vestron Video after a theatrical release fell through. The film co-starred genre stalwart Kevin McCarthy and is the first film where the Ghoulies actually speak. The film was released on DVD by Lionsgate as part of an eight-horror movie DVD set. This is Matthew Lillard's film debut.
In the final installment, Jonathan Graves (Peter Liapis) returns, this time a retired-occultist-turned police officer. His latest assignment finds him battling his former girlfriend Alexandra (Stacie Randall), who has escaped an asylum and tries to summon forth the demonic forces Graves trifled with in the first film.
The film also stars Barbara Alyn Woods, was directed by Jim Wynorski, was made by CineTel Films, and also released straight-to-video in 1994 by Columbia TriStar Home Video. Instead of the puppet Ghoulies of the previous films, the movie cast little actors in costumes. Ghoulies IV was released on DVD in 2007 by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.
| Ghoulie | Ghoulies | Ghoulies II | Ghoulies III | Ghoulies IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Ghoulie | | | | Archival footage |
| Cat Ghoulie | ||||
| Rat Ghoulie | ||||
| Flying Ghoulie | | |||
| Clown Doll Ghoulie | | |||
| Other Fish Ghoulies | | |||
| Toad Ghoulie | | | ||
| Giant Ghoulie | ||||
| Lite Ghoulie | | | ||
| Dark Ghoulie |
A companion film book, The Complete History of Ghoulies, was released in 2021, containing cast and crew interviews and never before seen photos from the film series.
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine. The title is a cross between An American in Paris and Werewolf of London. The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while travelling in England, causing David to become a werewolf under the next full moon.
Doom is a 2005 science fiction film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Loosely based on the video game series of the same name by id Software, the film stars Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Razaaq Adoti, and Dwayne Johnson. In the film, marines are sent on a rescue mission to a facility on Mars, where they encounter demonic-like creatures.
The Gate is a 1987 supernatural horror film directed by Tibor Takács and starring Stephen Dorff in his film debut. The film follows two young boys who accidentally release a horde of demons from their backyard through a large hole in the ground.
Slaughter High is a 1986 slasher film written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra and Peter Litten, and starring Caroline Munro, Simon Scuddamore, Carmine Iannaconne, Donna Yeager, and Sally Cross. An international co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom, the film follows a group of adults responsible for a prank gone wrong on April Fool's Day who are invited to a reunion at their defunct high school where a masked killer awaits inside.
Empire International Pictures was an American independent small-scale theatrical distribution company. Charles Band formed Empire in 1983, prompted by his dissatisfaction with distributors' handling of films made by his previous business, Charles Band International Productions. Empire produced and distributed a number of low-budget horror and fantasy feature films, including Re-Animator, Troll, Ghoulies, Trancers, and From Beyond.
Class Reunion is a 1982 American black comedy film produced by National Lampoon as the third film from the magazine. It was the second film released; although National Lampoon Goes to the Movies was filmed in 1981, it was delayed and not released until 1982.
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Parasite is a 1982 American science fiction horror film produced and directed by Charles Band. The film is set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future in which the United States has been taken over by a criminal organization which unwittingly creates an uncontrollable deadly parasite and sets it loose on the population. The film received negative reviews from film critics, who viewed it as a poorly written B movie with unconvincing special effects. The film features actress Demi Moore in her first major film role.
Terror-Creatures from the Grave is a 1965 horror film directed by Domenico Massimo Pupillo. The film was an international co-production between Italy and the United States through M.B.S. Cinematografica, G.I.A. Cinematografica and International Entertainment Corp.
Full Moon Features is an American independent motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series Puppet Master, Trancers, and Subspecies, as well as the film Castle Freak and the VideoZone featurette through 1989 to 2013.
Waxwork is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Anthony Hickox in his directorial film debut and starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee. It is partially inspired by the 1924 German silent film Waxworks.
Blood Diner is a 1987 American horror comedy directed by Jackie Kong and starring Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer, LaNette LaFrance, and Lisa Guggenheim. It was written by Michael Sonye. The plot follows two brothers setting up a vegetarian restaurant as a front for them to kill women and collect their severed body-parts to resurrect the Lumerian goddess Sheetar.
Frightmare is a 1983 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane. It stars Ferdy Mayne, Luca Bercovici, Jennifer Starrett, Nita Talbot and Barbara Pilavin, along with Jeffrey Combs in his horror film acting debut. The film's plot follows a group of drama students who decide to kidnap the corpse of a recently deceased horror movie star. By disrupting his tomb, they unwittingly release an ancient black magic that begins consuming them one by one.
The Unholy is a 1988 American horror film directed by Camilo Vila and starring Ben Cross, Ned Beatty, Hal Holbrook, and Trevor Howard in his final role. The film follows a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans who finds himself battling a demonic force after being appointed to a new parish.
Death Weekend is a 1976 Canadian horror/thriller film. It stars Brenda Vaccaro and Don Stroud and was one of the first films from Canadian director William Fruet. The low-budget production was shot in rural Canada and at a studio in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada.
Kerry Remsen is an American actress. She is the daughter of actor Bert Remsen and casting director Barbara Joyce Dodd, sister of Ann Remsen Manners and has been married to Ron Cates since 2006. She attended the U.S. Grant High School in Van Nuys, California. She has appeared in well over twenty different films and television programs. She was a regular and prominent cast member of Leah Laiman's 1990s soap opera, Tribes. She is also most remembered by horror fans for her small part in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, and supporting and co-starring roles in Pumpkinhead and Ghoulies II.
Remote Control is a 1988 American science fiction romantic comedy film written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, and starring Kevin Dillon as a Los Angeles video rental clerk who discovers that his store is circulating a VHS tape of a 1950s sci-fi film programmed by aliens to brainwash viewers, causing them to commit murders.
Luca Bercovici is an American filmmaker, writer, producer and actor.
Ghoulies is a 1985 American horror film, directed by Luca Bercovici in his directorial debut. The film was co-written with producer Jefery Levy. It stars Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Scott Thomson, and Mariska Hargitay in her film debut. The film follows a young man named Jonathan Graves who, after inheriting his satanic father's estate, becomes seduced by its occult secrets. It is the first film in the Ghoulies film series.
