''Ghoulies'' is a 1985 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

, directed by

Luca Bercovici Luca Bercovici (born February 22, 1957) is an American filmmaker, writer, producer and actor. In 1979, as part of Bercovici's earliest involvements in filmmaking, he spent six months in Japan as a dialogue director for the miniseries, ''Shōg ...

in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. The film was co-written with producer

Jefery Levy Jefery Levy (born May 21, 1958) is an American film and television director, producer, and writer, based in Beverly Hills, California. Career In 1985, while a graduate student at UCLA, Levy wrote and produced the low-budget hit '' Ghoulies'', a ...

. It stars Peter Liapis,

Lisa Pelikan Lisa Pelikan (born July 12, 1954) is an American stage, film, and television actress. Born in Berkeley, California, Pelikan studied drama at the Juilliard School on a full scholarship. She subsequently made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut i ...

Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres, 26th Marquis Des Barres, (born 24 January 1948) is an English actor and pop singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original ''MacGyver'', Lenny Stoke in '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', and Murdoc's m ...

Jack Nance Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial debut '' Eraserhead'' (1977). He continued to work with Lynch th ...

Scott Thomson Scott Thomson may refer to: *L. Scott Thomson (born 1970), Canadian businessman * Scott A. Thomson, taxonomist and herpetologist * Scott Y. Thomson (born 1966), Scottish football goalkeeper * Scott M. Thomson (born 1972), Scottish footballer *Scott ...

, and

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay Mariska says her own first name and the name of her father; the interviewer, James Lipton, also says her full name near the start of the show. (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthrop ...

in her film debut. The film follows a young man named Jonathan Graves who, after inheriting his satanic father's estate, becomes seduced by its occult secrets. It is the first film in the ''Ghoulies'' film series.

Plot

Malcolm Graves, the leader of a satanic cult, is about to sacrifice his child Jonathan when his mother, Anastasia, places a protective

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

around Jonathan's neck. Malcolm orders a participant named Wolfgang to take the child away, and sacrifices her instead. Twenty-five years later, an adult Jonathan and his girlfriend Rebecca inherit his late father's estate, where they find several books on magic and a basement full of

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

paraphernalia. They throw a party. Jonathan recruits his friends to perform a

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

in the basement for fun. When he begins conducting the ritual, Jonathan abruptly becomes short-tempered. Everyone leaves when the ritual fails, but a small creature materializes in the basement. The next day, Jonathan tells Rebecca he is quitting college to work on the estate. She expresses concern, which grows when Jonathan refuses to eat, explaining that he is

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

. He conjures several creatures called Ghoulies, and proclaims himself their master, demanding they hide their existence from everyone but him. One day, Rebecca comes home to find Jonathan in the basement wearing a dripping wet robe. He explains that he was trying to learn about the parents which he never knew, and promises to stop his behavior. He gives her the protective talisman as a gift, urging her to never take it off. While they are having sex, a Ghoulie draws an occult diagram under the bed which prompts Jonathan to chant in another language. A furious Rebecca leaves him. Jonathan summons two dwarfs named Grizzel and Greedigut to his service, who promise to give him everything he desires. They explain that he must perform a dangerous ritual with seven other people to obtain the knowledge and power he seeks. Rebecca returns and asks Jonathan to leave with her, but he refuses and reveals he has green eyes. In a pique of anger, she tears off the talisman, unwittingly enabling Jonathan to hypnotize her, forcing her to do his bidding. He invites his friends and bewitches them to participate in the ritual. As Jonathan, Rebecca, their friends, Grizzel, and Greedigut all chant, Malcolm is resurrected from the grave. Oblivious to this, Jonathan invites his friends to stay the night. Malcolm proclaims himself the real master to the Ghoulies and dwarfs, and commands them to kill Jonathan's friends. Meanwhile, Jonathan apologizes to Rebecca and breaks the spell by placing the talisman around her neck, but she falls into a deep sleep. She wakes up to see Jonathan in a trance, and runs away. After she removes the talisman around her neck, Jonathan and the Ghoulies attack her and she is magically shoved down a flight of stairs to her death. Jonathan brings her to the basement to resurrect her, where he finds the dead bodies of his friends underneath sheets. Malcolm appears with the dwarfs, revealing that he used Jonathan to resurrect him in order to capture his youth and sacrifice him. He also admits that it was he who killed Rebecca, not Jonathan. Malcolm resurrects Rebecca to distract Jonathan, but the dwarfs alert him of the trap. Wolfgang appears and fights Malcolm with his own magical powers. The house begins to crumble, and Wolfgang defeats Malcolm before they both disappear. Jonathan's friends are resurrected, and they drive away as Grizzel and Greedigut wave farewell. Mike asks what is happening. Jonathan assures him it is over, but Mike is unconvinced after he sees the Ghoulies in the car with them.

Cast

* Peter Liapis as Jonathan Graves ** Jamie Bronow as Jonathan Graves as a child *

as Rebecca *

as Mike * Ralph Seymour as Mark "Toad Boy" *

as Donna * Keith Joe Dick as Dick * David Dayan as Eddie *

Victoria Catlin Victoria Catlin (née Shechter, September 23, 1952 – February 28, 2024) was an American actress best known for her roles as Blackie O'Reilly in the television series ''Twin Peaks,'' and in films as Anastasia in '' Ghoulies'' (1985), Ellen For ...

as Anastasia * Charene Cathleen as Robin *

Tamara De Treaux Tamara Detro (October 21, 1959 – November 28, 1990), known by the stage name Tamara De Treaux, was an American stage and screen actress. She was best known for her role in film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She stood 31 inches tall and had ...

as Greedigut * Peter Risch as Grizzel *

as Malcolm Graves *

as Wolfgang * Bobbie Bresee as Temptress * Brian Connolly as Ghoulie (voice) * Annie Stocking as Ghoulie (voice) * Craig Talmy as Ghoulie (voice)

Production

''Ghoulies'' originated as a one-location horror film by Luca Bercovici and his writing partner Jefery Levy. The concept was pitched by Bercovici to executive producer

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

, with whom he previously worked as an actor on the film ''

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

'' (1982). Band was originally slated to direct ''Ghoulies'', reuniting the pairing of Band as director and

Stan Winston Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the ''Terminator'' series, the first three '' Jurassic Park'' films, '' Aliens'', '' The Thing'', ...

as makeup and effects supervisor from ''Parasite''. However, after Winston dropped out of the project, Band decided to step back into a producer role and chose Bercovici to direct. Principal photography began on January 30, 1984, at the Wattles Mansion, which served as the film's main location, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, after being in pre-production for five months. During its fifth week of filming,

Hemdale Film Corporation Hemdale Film Corporation (known as Hemdale Communications after 1992) was an independent American-British film production company and Film distributor, distributor. The company was founded in London in 1967 as the Hemdale Company by actor David He ...

was set to handle the film's domestic distribution. However, the company remained uncredited when they later filed a lawsuit against Charles Band and Ghoulies Productions, citing "misrepresentation" after Band allegedly misled the company regarding the home video sales and distribution. The film was in production at the same time as

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

's film ''

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 voic ...

'' (1984).

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

sued to stop Ghoulies Productions from using the title, but lost. Halfway through shooting, Band ran out of money, so the filmmakers spent months searching for funding, which allowed ''Gremlins'' to be released first.

Release

The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 18, 1985, opening in 350 theaters before premiering in New York on March 1.

Critical response

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' dismissed the film as "a cut-rate 'Gremlins'" with "unexceptional performances" and "a lot of badly simulated gore". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that the film "has a quaint corniness about it, as if it were a cheapie horror movie from the 1950s ... Special effects and production values are mediocre, which in this case is part of the fun". Michael Wilmington of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote: "Cinematographer Mac Ahlberg contributes eerily lit camera work that occasionally achieves surprising atmosphere and delicacy, and John Carl Buechler's creations, the ghoulies themselves—foul, reptilian little beings coated with some obscene glittering, mucous-like moisture—have a certain nauseating charm. From there, however, it's a steep slide downhill".

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...

of ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' called it "an unashamed rip-off which contrives to ignore its obvious inspiration (''Gremlins'') and comes up with yet another prime example of the comic book-ish vitality, wit and simplicity which has become Band's trademark". On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an 7% approval rating, based on 14 reviews.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, ghoulies
Ghoulies Unflushed Podcast

Ghoulies Movies Website

The Complete History of Ghoulies
1985 comedy horror films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s monster movies 1985 directorial debut films 1985 films 1985 independent films 1980s dark fantasy films 1980s supernatural horror films American comedy horror films American dark fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American independent films American monster movies American supernatural horror films Demons in film Empire International Pictures films Fictional humanoids Films about cults Films about Satanism Films about witchcraft Puppet films Films scored by Richard Band Films scored by Shirley Walker Films set in country houses Ghoulies (film series) American supernatural comedy films Supernatural fantasy films Films about uxoricide Films directed by Luca Bercovici 1980s English-language films 1980s American films Films about inheritances American religious horror films English-language comedy horror films English-language independent films English-language fantasy comedy films