I don’t think anyone is under any illusion that these Ghoulies movies aren’t cheesy and all around C-movie 1980s crap, yet for it’s cheap production and questionable acting, it’s got a certain charm and both films would make for a fun Saturday night double feature with friends; watch it alone and you’ll probably feel a bit silly…
Ghoulies/Ghoulies II
(1985/1987)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | PG13 – 81 min. / 89 min. – $24.97 | April 21, 2015
 |
MOVIE INFO (GHOULIES): Directed by: Luca Bercovici Writer(s): Luca Bercovici and Jeffrey Levy (written by) Cast: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikani, Scott Thomson, Keith Joe Dick, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance MOVIE INFO (GHOULIES II): DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Ghoulies/Ghoulies II on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIES
Ghoulies (1985)
Take a creepy old Hollywood mansion, a naïve young man and a pretty girl. Add an over-the-top orgy and some slimy, winged goblins who crawl out of toilets, and you have Ghoulies, a horrifying and hilarious ride into the darkest regions of hell! Conjured during a party thrown by the mansion’s new owner, the hairy, fanged demons waste no time wreaking havoc on the scene – and declaring the unsuspecting owner their new lord and master.
Ghoulies II (1987)
The demonic, toilet-dwelling goblins are back! Stowed away in “Satan’s Den,” the traveling House of Horror operated by carnival workers Larry (DAMON MARTIN) and Uncle Ned (ROYAL DANO), the Ghoulies merrily devour the sideshow attraction’s patrons…until Larry realizes his horror house is for real and tries to flee the scene!
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
Both films are contained on one disc.
Ghoulies (1985) — 3.0/5
Audio Commentary – The track with Co-Writer/Director Luca Bercovici is pretty basic but he provides a nice account of making the film and the challenges shooting certain scenes.
“From Toilet to Terror”: The Making of Ghoulies (29:49; HD) is a featurette with new interviews with members of the cast and crew including Executive Producer Charles Band, Composer Richard Band, Actor Michael Des Barres and Special Effects Makeup Artist John Vulich.
Theatrical Trailer (1:55; HD)
Still Gallery contains production photos and stills from the movie.
Ghoulies II (1987) — 2.25/5
“More Toilets, More Terror”: The Making of Ghoulies II (16:50; HD) contains new interviews with (again) Executive Producer Charles Band, Actress Kerry Remsen and Special Effects Artist Gino Crognale.
Alternate Scenes (2:43; HD) are some scenes cut down or removed.
Theatrical Trailer (1:23; HD)
Still Gallery
VIDEO – 3.25/5
Ghoulies (1985) — 3.0/5
The film is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. It’s not the prettiest looking flick to begin with, and presumably it was done on a shoe-string budget, taking that into consideration, I highly doubt this has ever looked better. Detail levels are OK but the film has a murky look to it while colors tend to be a bit faded.
Ghoulies II (1989) — 3.5/5
The transfer for the sequel comes across a bit better. The 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC – both films have this codec) offers sharp-ish detail levels and colors are somewhat brighter. This appears to be clean enough although I did notice some instances of dust marks but it’s nothing over abundant or distracting.
AUDIO – 3.0/5
Ghoulies (1985) — 2.75/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track is quite soft and even for a solo track isn’t exactly robust. Dialogue levels aren’t boisterous and at times hard to understand some of it while the music/score, ambient noises and other elements aren’t exactly dynamic.
Ghoulies II (1989) — 3.5/5
Like its predecessor, the 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track comes through well enough. Dialogue is clear enough and others aspects, like the score (by Frizzbee Morse) provide a bit more depth and clarity. It’s still nothing phenomenal yet effective enough.
OVERALL – 2.75/5
Overall, I don’t think anyone is under any illusion that these Ghoulies movies aren’t cheesy and all around C-movie 1980s crap, yet for it’s cheap production and questionable acting, it’s got a certain charm and both films would make for a fun Saturday night double feature with friends; watch it alone and you’ll probably feel a bit silly…
The Blu-ray released by Shout has so-so video and adequate lossless audio to go along with some new interviews and a commentary track and given the movies like these, it’s nice to get anything.
Published: 03/31/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.