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Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Peter Risch ... see more see more... , Tamara De Treaux , Scott Thomson , Ralph Seymour , Mariska Hargitay , Keith Joe Dick , David Dayan Fisher , Bobbi Bresee , Charene Cathleen , Victoria Catlin , Annie Stocking

Joe Dante's box-office fantasy Gremlins had barely left American cinemas before Charles Band's B-movie factory, Empire Pictures, rushed out this cheap knockoff. While Dante's film benefited from the d... read more read more...irector's wry sense of humor and the high-concept clout of executive producer Steven Spielberg, Band's tawdry little creature feature boasts lower production values than a high-school haunted-house fundraiser. The title monsters are a pack of obnoxious demons -- enacted by a handful of rubber dolls covered with KY jelly -- summoned up by the metaphysical shenanigans of college student Jonathan Graves (Peter Liapis) after he discovers his late father's occult paraphernalia at the family estate. Jonathan later invites a group of annoying friends to participate in an all-night party, during which he intends to perform an elaborate parlor trick -- actually a satanic ritual through which he hopes to acquire his father's supernatural powers. This doesn't sit well with Dad, who bursts violently from his grave (a nice touch) to have a chat with his wayward son while legions of ghoulies (well, four or five, anyway) descend upon the revelers. Considering the entire production revolves around the antics of the ghoulies themselves, the alleged puppetry involved is laughable -- the inarticulate puppets do little more than open drooling mouths full of pointy teeth before offscreen stagehands fling them at the heads of cast members. The film's main points of interest lie with the supporting cast, which includes Bobbi Bresee as a supernatural seductress (sporting an eight-foot tongue!) and Eraserhead's John Nance as a bizarre gardener. Somehow, this became one of Empire's top moneymakers, spawning no less than three sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Flixster Users

26% liked it

9,745 ratings

Critics

0% liked it

8 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Luca Bercovici, Albert Band

Release Date: June 1, 1985

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Stats: 389 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (389)

  • deano
    May 30, 2010
    deano
    This is pure trash. The special effects were horrible and the plot was dull.
    Ghoulies is not exactly a quality horror / comedy, but it didn't suck badly enough for me to actively hate it. In fact, I thought that it was goofy enough to be amusing. The title creatures are a... read more funny (if undeniably ugly) troupe of poorly manipulated puppets and unlike other films. Believe it, Gremlins is more successful, scary and funny than these ugly demons.
  • RossCollinsUK
    April 10, 2009
    RossCollinsUK
    A video rental classic from my 80s childhood when everyone was copying Gremlins...
  • RCCLBC
    October 10, 2008
    RCCLBC
    Bad writing, bad acting, bad special effects, good times!
  • Deano78
    September 6, 2008
    Deano78
    A weird comedy horror, not in te same league as Gremlins though.
  • puffchunk
    November 30, 2007
    puffchunk
    This movie sucks. Real bad.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 10, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A terrible movie! They looks so cute on the poster; I thought it would be a great Gremlins clone, but nope. It's a dumb story about slimey little creatures being created by a wizard, when a group of kids visit an inherited house. There wasn't a lot happening in this movie. I reme... read morember the actors being very cheesy and over the top. I couldn't get into it.
  • drblood
    June 24, 2007
    drblood
    The little creatures in this film were, like the equally silly "Critters", designed to cash in on the success of "Gremlins".
  • superclerk25
    February 27, 2007
    superclerk25
    Creepy and cheap.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 25, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    this film was terrible but fun to watch for 10 year olds who want to be freaked out
  • leekyle1968
    January 3, 2009
    leekyle1968
    absolute rubbish!

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Critic Reviews

Gerry Shamray
March 30, 2004
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

B movie trash.

David Nusair
August 20, 2003
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...they're not meant to inspire terror in viewers, as evidenced by the sequence featuring a ghoulie playing the piano... Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 27, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Low-rent "Gremlins" rip-off that exists only due to a clever VHS cover.

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
September 29, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Philip Martin
December 31, 2004
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Frank Swietek
June 11, 2004
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

Cory Cheney
January 28, 2004
Cory Cheney, Urban Tulsa Weekly

No review available.

Tony Toscano
October 25, 2002
Tony Toscano, Talking Pictures (U.S.)

No review available.

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Ghoulies Trivia

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