Review: Ghoulies

Blu-ray: Ghoulies (1984)

I have fond memories of movies from the 80’s featuring malicious little beasts and monsters. Looking back there was a time when these films were all the rage with probably the most popular of all being the wonderful Gremlins. Critters was also a favourite of mine with its tale of deadly fur-ball beasts being pursued by intergalactic bounty hunters.

Ghoulies is another creature feature which I haven’t seen for years, but now, thanks to the good people at 101 Films, I’ve had the pleasure of re-watching this blast from the past. If I’m completely honest I didn’t remember much about Ghoulies except the wonderful VHS cover which featured a green demon poking out of the toilet. That is not a euphemism!

Jonathan and Rebecca move into their new home, yet little do they know that it used to be the site where devil worshippers performed their dark arts. Jonathan discovers a book whilst cleaning up and it’s not long before he is seduced by the house and performs a ritual which brings back the evil ones.

Watching Ghoulies now it’s better to look at it as a comedy rather than a horror film. That’s not meant in a disparaging way, but I think you’ll get more out of it if you’re willing to have a few giggles rather than being scared. The Ghoulies themselves are hilarious and look more cute then evil. They are obviously puppets as you never see their legs moving, but they are also completely charming and I couldn’t help but smile whenever they were on screen.

I also enjoyed the characters who made me laugh out loud like the 50’s style greaser who speaks the immortal dialogue, “you should have seen the quim I poked last night“. Jonathan also summons a couple of dwarves called Grizzel and Greedigut to assist him. No, I’m not making this up!

If like me you haven’t seen Ghoulies since you were a kid then I would throughly recommend you pick it up. Ghoulies is a perfect Friday night film best enjoyed with friends and a few beers.

Also featured is an introduction and audio commentary from the director Luca Bercovici

Review by Chris (co-host of 60 Minutes With and The Same Coin) from a disc kindly supplied by 101 Films.