GHOULIES II (1987)
2-Disc Collector's Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: MVD Rewind Collection / MVD 4K LaserVision Collection
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13 & R (4K UHD), PG-13 (Blu-ray)
Duration: 89 Minutes 47 Seconds (PG-13 Version), 91 Minutes 19 Seconds (R-rated)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles (4K UHD) , English LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English, French and Spanish Subtitles (Blu-ray)
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Albert Band
Cast: Sasha Jenson, Kerry Remsen, J. Downing, Phil Fondacaro, Royal Dano, Damon Martin
Ghoulies II (1987) first popped-up on my radar as a teenager because of shock-rockers W.A.S.P. being included on the soundtrack, a tasty little tune called "Scream Until You Like It", and Blackie Lawless and company were among my favorite metal bands at that time - it was an easy sell for a sixteen year old metal-kid who already loved horror movies. At the time I do not think I had watched the original Ghoulies, but I since have seen it many times, and this is the superior flick in my opinion. This time around the setting has changed from a musty mansion to a dilapidated carnival roadshow that's on its last legs, in particular the "Satan's Den" house of horrors attraction. It's a terrifically hokey setting with a built-in atmosphere which makes for a great backdrop for a post-Gremlins pint-sized terror creature-feature. There's no Jack Nance this time around, but we do get b-movie royalty by way of Royal Dano (Killer Klowns from Outer Space) as Uncle Ned, the alcoholic proprietor of the fright house, who along with his nephew Larry (Damon Martin, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) and the diminutive Sir Nigel Penneyweight (Phil Fondacaro, The Creeps), must fight to keep the attraction open when smarmy 80's douche-nozzle P. Harding (J. Downing, Robot Wars), a corporate financial backer who only cares about profitability, arrives on the carnival with plans to close down the attractions that are not profitable, and Satan's Den has seemingly not been a lucrative attraction the past few years.
The opening of the film features the ghoulies hitching a ride on the semi truck carrying the attraction and taking up residence inside the Satan's Den, adding some actual demonic menace to the otherwise hokey spook-show. The ghouls drive up ticket sales when word gets around how scary the attraction is, which befuddles Ned who does not understand why it's become so popular suddenly, but when he discovers the tiny terrors he attempts to put a stop them, but his nephew Larry and the crew assume he just suffering from alcoholic hallucinations and is talking crazy. Things kick into gear on the first night they open the attraction, particularly for two jaded kids and a group of trouble-making teens who wanna cause a ruckus after the ghoulies break their beloved boom box. Also figuring into the equation are a former tightrope walker (with a fear of heights) turned burlesque dancer named Maggie (Kerry Remsen, Pumpkinhead) as the love interest of Larry.
While I enjoyed the first film well enough the sequel is far and away the superior film with the added benefit that it amps up the creature effects, the ghoulies are front and center this time around, with more articulation and a more proactive role in the storyline. The effects by Anthony Allen Barlow (Total Recall) and John Carl Buechler (From Beyond) look pretty fantastic, the slime-covered ghoulies are well-served by tastily-lit Sergio Salvati (City of the Living Dead) lensing, and I love the giant Ghoulie that is summoned from Hell during the robust rubber-creature heavy finale. We also get some cool stop-motion animation courtesy of the late stop-motion legend David Allen (Robot Jox). The carnival setting adds plenty of lower-tier carnival charm, we get a sideshow with a she-male, a bearded lady, a firebreather, strong man, etc., burlesque dancers, and carnival midway with plenty of rides for the ghoulies to sabotage when things kick into high-gear at the finale. It's a solid '80s creature feature and this sequel remedies my issues with the first film with more screen time for the pint-sized terrors and a fun carnival setting, plus a rockin' tune from metallers W.A.S.P. certainly doesn't hurt.
Audio/Video: Both the R-rated and PG-13 versions of Ghoulies II (1987) arrive on 4K Ultra HD from MVD Rewind Collection with brand new 2024 4K (2160p) restorations, sourced from a 16-bit scan of the Original Camera Negative, presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision HDR enhancement. Like MVD's restoration of Ghoulies (1985) this new 2023 refinement in 4K looks wonderful, an easy advancement over the previous Blu-ray releases in all the expected areas. This is a simply phenomenal looking presentation in both the PG-13 and R-rated versions. The source is in immaculate shape, gone are the nicks and scratches of the 2023 Blu-ray, and the fine film grain is uniform throughout. The 4K resolution offers a wonderful array of fine detail and filmic textures that are sure to be revelatory, the previous Blu-ray is pretty trash by comparison. The Dolby Vision/HDR color-grading is certainly a highlight of this new UHD, with deeper more nuanced black levels, and the WGC color-grading also highlights the terrifically atmospheric cinematography by the late-great Sergio Salvati (The House by the Cemetery), the colored gel lighting looks radiant, the ghoulish skin of the pint-sized demons are nicely suffused, and skin tones look warm and natural. The image is quite crisp with much improved depth and clarity, it's a banger of a transfer, this sequel has never looked better on home video.
Audio on the UHD comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Dialogue, effects and the Fuzzbee Morse (Dolls) soundtrack all sound clean and well-balanced. Notably it does not have the uncompressed 5.1 audio track from the Scream Factory release which was also absent on the 2023 MVD Blu-ray release.
The only extras on the UHD are the the brief Introduction by Screenwriter Dennis Paoli and the Original Theatrical Trailer, saving those extras digital bits for the A/V. All other extras are found the second disc, a Blu-ray.
The accompanying Blu-ray disc is a a recycle of the 2023 Blu-ray disc from MVD, having the same catalog number as that previous release, and as such only presents the PG-13 version of the film in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1), sourced from a 2K scan of interpositive overseen by MGM, which was the same HD master previously licensed to Scream Factory for their double-feature release in 2015. Grain is not as well-resolved as the newer 4K scan, but it's serviceable, with nice detail in the close-ups of faces and clothing textures. The source in pretty good shape, except for a scene of the amphibious ghoulie emerging from a dunk tank at the 69:47 minute mark - see the screenshots at the bottom of the review of the 2023 Blu-ray HERE - which has quite a bit of damage a couple of frames lasting about a second, that damage is not found on the 4K restoration, other than that blemishes are relegated to some white speckling and minor nicks and grit. The colors are also pleasing, the green skin of the creatures and the garish carnival lighting looks solid, but pales in comparison to the UHD. Audio comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Dialogue, effects and the Fuzzbee Morse (Dolls) soundtrack all sound clean and well-balanced. Notably it does not have the uncompressed 5.1 audio track from the Scream Factory release.
While the 4K disc features on the intro and trailer the Blu-ray carries over the full arsenal of extras that accompanies the 2015 Scream Factory double-feature of Ghoulies and Ghoulies II, plus a couple of other archival extras. The extras carried over from from the Scream Factory set include the 17-min More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies 2 featurette with interviews from Executive Producer Charles Band, Actors Kerry Remsen And Donnie Jeffcoat, and Special Effects Artist Gino Crognale. The actors discuss how exciting it was to be filming in Rome and touring Italy while Crognale has some great anecdotes about creating the effects for the film. Also carried over are 3-min collection of Deleted Scenes, these are alternate R-rated gore scenes that were originally included during the theatrical release of the film but have been missing since it made it's debut on home video, until this release, which restores the R-rated cut in 4K!
Archival extras that were not present on the previous Scream Factory Blu-ray include a brief 1-min Introduction by Screenwriter Dennis Paoli who speaks of how practical effects are a better kind of movie magic than digital CGI, plus a 34-min Under A Magic Moon: Interview with Dennis Paoli, who discusses his process of writing, meeting Stuart Gordon in high school, performing as a comedy duo with him, and how Chicago is the epicenter of American comedy, his love of theater, and getting into Lovecraft, writing Re-Animator for Gordon, and working for Charles Band on Ghoulies II. Both of these appeared on the Australian Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment alongside a couple of other exclusive extras that are not present here; the Umbrella extras which are not found here include Shop Talk: Archival BTS Creature FX footage, Ghoulies Unflushed: Audio Only Interview with Actor Phil Fondacaro, and Ghoulies Unflushed: Audio Only Interview with Creature FX artist Kenneth J. Hall. The last of the extras are a Theatrical Trailer and a Still Gallery of promotional images and stills from the movie. I do wish we would have gotten the video for the W.A.S.P. tune "Scream Until You Like It".
The 2-disc UHD/BD arrives in a dual-hubbed black keepcase, the Double-Sided Wrap, both options featuring the same original Ghoulies II theatrical artwork, but we get the option of having the MVD Rewind Collection of 4K LaserVision Collection branding on it, with differently numbered spines. There's also a First-Pressing Only Slipcover with the same theatrical artwork artwork, but with a fun twist, the slipcover artwork looks like a CED Video Disc with a water damaged or warped label, which is just a nice touch. Inside there's a Fold-Out Poster featuring the same CED Video Disc style artwork but slightly expanded upon so that you actually see the CED Video Disc Cartridge - I absolutely love this attention to detail for this doomed home video format! Both the slip and wrap have a numbered spine, one side of the wrap and slipcover displays #2 of the MVD Rewind's 4K LaserVision Collection, and the other side features #53 of the MVD Rewind Collection.
Special Features:
Disc 1: 4K UHD: Features + Special Features - 2024 4K (2160p) Restoration (16-Bit Scan of the Original Camera Negative) of the film presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio in Dolby Vision / HDR
- Includes both the 90 minute Theatrical PG-13 cut and the restored 91 minute R-Rated Director's Cut of the film.
- Optional English Subtitles
- LPCM 2.0 Stereo Audio
- Introduction by Screenwriter Dennis Paoli (1:15)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:23)
Disc 2: Blu-ray: Features + Special Features
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1:85.1 aspect ratio (2K scan of the Interpositive overseen by MGM)
- LPCM 2.0 Stereo Audio
- Optional English, French and Spanish Subtitles
- Introduction by Screenwriter Dennis Paoli (HD, 1:15)
- More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies 2 (HD, 16:50)
- Under A Magic Moon: Interview with Dennis Paoli (HD, 33:36)
-Deleted Scenes (HD, 2:43)
- Photo Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:23)
- Collectible "4K LaserVision" Mini-Poster
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
Sales Points
- Written by Dennis Paoli (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Body Snatchers, The Dentist, Dagon)
- Features a soundtrack that includes “Scream Until You like It” by 80’s metal band W.A.S.P.
- Special effects and make-up by the legendary John Carl Buechler (Hatchet, Re-Animator, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
- Produced and Directed by Albert Band (Robot Wars, Prehysteria, Prehysteria 2)
- Stars Damon Martin (Night of the Demons), Royal Dano (Killer Klowns From Outer Space), Phil Fondacaro (Return of the Jedi), J. Downing (Robot Wars), Kerry Remsen (Pumpkinhead) and Sasha Jenson (Dazed and Confused)
-Sequel to the cult smash “Ghoulies”, also available from MVD Rewind Collection!