Ghoulies 1/2

"GHOULIES" (1985)
Rating: ****

The one that started it all! A story about young Jonathan and his girlfriend, Rebecca who inherit a mansion which used to be used for an evil cult. After Jonathan finds a mysterious book about summoning demons, all hell breaks loose! (literally!) But soon the evil also corrupts Johnny and the little demons called Ghoulies obey his every command as their master. The original master of the Ghoulies rises from his grave (close to Jonathan and Rebecca's home coincidently) and from there the troublemaking, toilet gurgling monsters begin to kill all of Jonathan's guests! Regretting his actions after losing his one true love and friends, Jonathan does battle with the evil warlock.

OVERALL: Good! This one has some of the most cheesiest special effects in the WHOLE series considering all the Ghoulies are mostly puppets. There's also plenty of bad acting and ridiculous jokes involved so don't expect an academy award from this turkey except to have a good time watching it for it's grand entertainment. RATED: PG-13 for mild violence, drug use, brief sexuality, and some language.

"GHOULIES II" (1987)
Rating: *****

A LOT better than the original! The second installment picks up where the first left off. The Ghoulies are nearly destroyed by an old man but one of them is able to put him out quickly. After hitching a ride in the infamous 'Satan's Den', a travelling haunted house attraction owned by a young boy named Larry and his uncle Ned, they wind up at the local town carnival and from there, once again the demons start wreaking havoc! The attraction quickly makes a fortune, thanks to the efforts of the Ghoulies. (or "rats" as the tourists call them) However, some of the people who enter the hanuted house never come back out alive! When Uncle Ned is killed by them however, Larry vows to destroy them all before even more innocent people are killed!

OVERALL: Great! A VERY fun and exciting sequel with an even higher budget than that of the first. The Ghoulies effects in this one are simply amazing for its time and even the acting is well done at times. It's also a better black comedy than that of the first, and the Ghoulies are funny (but incredibly SCARY!) at the same time. Believe it or not, this one actually gave me nightmares! I especially enjoyed the climatic ending, where the Ghoulies run amok in the carnival and begin cooking up more of their mischief! The giant demon-eating Ghoulie is possibly the most cheesiest I've ever seen and looks almost as if it's a Halloween costume somebody's wearing. (Godzilla anyone?) I loved this one more than the original! RATED: R for graphic violence, sexual references, and some language. Well in this DVD, it got changed to PG-13, but I do agree with some of these reviewers here that it should've been R rated because there is plenty of shocking blood and gore to be found in this one.

All-in-all a fun trip back in time to one of the most popular 80s horror flicks and goes excellent with some soda (or beer) and popcorn! MGM did a good job with remastering these cult classics and both films are in their WIDESCREEN anamorphic format, giving the viewer a more theatrical feel to them. Sure they're not the best in the world, but for those of you starting up a horror collection (like me) they are worth owning and watching over and over again! Just be sure to check all the toilets in your house the next time you decide to use the bathroom! :)

Just a reminder before you decide to sit on the pot:

Turn on the light and flush the ghoulie before he eats you.

FLUSH! GOOOGAAAH! BLURP!