''Hobgoblins'' is a 1988 American

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

comedy horror film directed, written, and produced by Rick Sloane, who also served as cinematographer and editor. The plot concerns small, often considered cheaply designed and made

hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nig ...

s (small demon-like mythical and

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

-like creatures). Often seen as a

rip-off ''Rip Off'' is a multidirectional shooter with black and white vector graphics written by Tim Skelly and released in arcades by Cinematronics in 1980. It was the first shooter with cooperative gameplay and an early game to exhibit flocking b ...

of "every small monster movie," but mainly ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice ...

'', the film is generally considered to be of exceptionally poor quality, and has come to be regarded as one of the worst films ever made. It has become a cult film because of its poor quality, and earned infamy after it was featured on '' Mystery Science Theater 3000''.

Plot

The film opens with a security guard named Dennis investigating a deserted film vault at an old movie studio. While inside, his fantasy of being a rock star comes to life, but he dies while performing on stage. His boss, Mr. McCreedy (Jeffrey Culver), closes the door upon discovering the body. A young man named Kevin (Tom Bartlett) takes the now-vacant job so that he can impress his girlfriend, Amy (Paige Sullivan). Upon arriving home after his first shift, he finds that his two friends, the sex-crazed Daphne (Kelley Palmer) and the dorky Kyle (Steven Boggs), are waiting for him along with Amy. Daphne's

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

boyfriend Nick (Billy Frank) also arrives. Nick and Kevin spar with a rake and a garden hoe in a long, protracted, repetitive scene. After Kevin loses horribly, Amy berates him for his weaknesses while Daphne and Nick have sex in Nick's van. While in pursuit of a

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

the next evening, Kevin stumbles across the vault, which is revealed to contain a small group of hairy, demonic little aliens — the hobgoblins, who subsequently escape, leaving Kevin stunned. His boss, the elderly Mr. McCreedy, explains that the hobgoblins crash-landed on the studio lot decades earlier, and he has been closely guarding them ever since. The hobgoblins have the hypnotic power to make a person's wildest fantasies come true; however, they also kill their victims in the process when people's fantasies turn against them. The hobgoblins go straight to Kevin's house, where his friends are partying, as they are attracted by the bright lights. The hobgoblins quickly make their fantasies come true, but with dire consequences. The quiet, prudish Amy's fantasy leads her to the sleazy

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

, Club Scum, where it turns out that Amy's deepest fantasy is to lose her sexual inhibitions and be a stripper. Kevin and the others follow her there. The nightclub erupts into chaos while Kevin and his friends try to kill the rampaging hobgoblins. Nick is given a fantasy in which he leads a commando raid. In the melee, Nick is set on fire by a hand grenade thrown by his commanding officer and is apparently killed (again, his fantasy goes to extremes and turns against him), though he returns later in the movie, bandaged and on crutches, but otherwise unharmed. Kevin kills the hobgoblin in control of Amy before she can have sex with the scruffy

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

, Roadrash (

Duane Whitaker Nathan Duane Whitaker Jr. (born June 23, 1959) is an American character actor. Early life Whitaker was born in Abilene, Texas, the oldest child of Nathan Duane Whitaker Sr. and Barbara Ella Hudson, a nurse. He has two younger sisters, both bo ...

). Although Amy is restored to her original personality, her experience leaves her less sexually repressed than she was before. Thinking that all the hobgoblins are dead, Kevin, Amy, Kyle, and Daphne return to the studio lot to report back to Mr. McCreedy. Kevin is confronted by the burglar from earlier that night, and beats him in a fight, finally proving his bravery to Amy. Kevin's victory, however, is short-lived, as the burglar is revealed as yet another phantom created by the hobgoblins. As he pulls a gun from an ankle holster and aims it at Kevin, Mr. McCreedy shoots the controlling hobgoblin, thus saving Kevin's life. The remaining hobgoblins run back into the vault, which McCreedy has filled with explosives. The hobgoblins are then blown to pieces. Amy promises to have sex with Kevin, Nick returns to have sex with Daphne, and Kyle, the odd man out, asks to use McCreedy's phone, presumably for more phone sex.

Cast

*Tom Bartlett as Kevin *Paige Sullivan as Amy *Steven Boggs as Kyle *Kelley Palmer as Daphne *Billy Frank as Nick *Tamara Clatterbuck as Fantazia *

as Roadrash *Jeffrey Culver as McCreedy *Kevin Kildow as Dennis *Kari French as Pixie *

Daran Norris Daran Morrison Nordland (born ), known professionally as Daran Norris, is an American actor. He has appeared or voiced characters in more than 400 films, video games, and television programs, including: Gordy in ''Ned's Declassified School Surviv ...

as Club Scum M.C *James Mayberry as Sergeant Parker *Ken Abraham as Thug *Don Barrett as Comstock

Release

Home media

* First released on VHS in early 1988. * The ''MST3K'' version of the film was released by

Rhino Home Video Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

as part of the ''Collection, Volume 8'' DVD set which was re-released by

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

. * The original ''Hobgoblins'' cast members reunited for the MicroWerks DVD of ''Hobgoblins'' and '' Hobgoblins 2'', released June 23, 2009. The 20th Anniversary interviews are given by Tom Bartlett (Kevin), Kelley Palmer (Daphne), Steven Boggs (Kyle), Billy Frank (Nick), Tami Clatterbuck (Fantazia),

(Club Scum MC), Kenneth J. Hall (creator of the original Hobgoblin puppets), and Rick Sloane (writer/director). * ''Hobgoblins'' was also hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark in 2014, as part of 13 Nights of Elvira, an all-new series produced for Hulu by Brainstorm Media. * Released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on October 25, 2016.

Reception and legacy

''Hobgoblins'' is perhaps best known for being shown on episode #907 of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. While talking to Dread Central in a 2009 interview, Sloane was asked about the movie's position on the

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Bottom 100. He said he was "surprised it slipped down to #25. While the film was airing on the Sci Fi Channel, ''Hobgoblins'' had climbed to the #2 spot, right behind ''

Gigli ''Gigli'' ( ) is a 2003 American romantic comedy crime film written and directed by Martin Brest and starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan. Despite popular media giving attention a ...

''. My biggest fear is that it may drop below #100 and become forgotten." It was also mocked by

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

live on October 15, 2021.RiffTrax Live: Hobgoblins (HD Trailer) on official YouTube channel
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References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0762424, Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hobgoblins
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'': "Hobgoblins" (episode 907)
at Satellite News
Official trailer
1988 films 1988 horror films 1980s comedy horror films 1988 fantasy films 1988 independent films 1980s science fiction films American comedy horror films American science fiction comedy films American fantasy comedy films American science fiction horror films 1980s English-language films Films about legendary creatures Films directed by Rick Sloane Films about hypnosis Puppet films Films set in studio lots Goblin films 1988 comedy films 1980s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1980s American films