GHOULIES II (1987) (MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray Review)

GHOULIES II (1987) 

Label: MVD Rewind Collection

Region Code: A

Rating: PG-13 

Duration: 89 Minutes 44 Seconds  

Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English, French and Spanish Subtitles

Video: 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 teen 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 it's last legs, in particular the "Satan's Den" house of horrors attractant. It's a great 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 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 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, arrives on the scene with plans to close down the attractions that are bleeding profits, and Satan's Dennis apparently has not been lucrative the past few years. 

When the ghoulies taken up residence inside the Satan's Den adding some actual menace to the otherwise hokey spook-show it drives up ticket sales, but when Ned 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. 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 Segio 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 David Allen (Robot Jox).  The carnival setting adds plenty of charms, 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: Ghoulies II (1987) arrives on Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1), sourced from a 2K scan of interpositive overseen by MGM. This looks to be the same HD master provided to Scream Factory for their double-feature release in 2015. Grain is not as well-resolved as what a new scan might provide, but it's serviceable, with nice detail in the close-ups of facesand clothing textures. The source in  n 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 -  which has quite a bit of damage a couple of frames lasting about a second, 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.. 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.  

Unfortunately there are no new extras here, but we do get the extras from the Scream Factory double-feature of Ghoulies/Ghoulies II, and a couple of other archival extras, and I am thankful that they are carried over. The extras from the Scream Factory 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. 

Also archival but new to me are 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 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". I had been hoping we would finally get R-rated cut on home video, but that was not to be. It does seem that MVD are working hard behind-the-scenes to get a future UHD release completed, so here's hoping that results in the R-rated cut landing on disc, and maybe some of those exclusive Umbrella extras as well. The single-disc release comes in a clear keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork, a first-pressing only Limited Edition Slipcover with faux-shelf wear and rental store stickers that has slightly faded artwork like a VHS that sat near a video store display window too long, plus and a Fold-out Poster featuring the theatrical artwork. 

Special Features: 
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1:85.1 aspect ratio (2K scan of interpositive overseen by MGM)
- Introduction by Screenwriter Dennis Paoli (1:15)
- More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies 2 (16:50)
- Under A Magic Moon: Interview with Dennis Paoli (33:36) 
- Deleted Scenes (2:43) 
- Photo Gallery (1:50) 
- Theatrical Trailer (1:23) 

- MVD Trailers: Once Bitten (2:05), Swamp Thing (1:31), Ghoulies (1:56), The Return of Swamp Thing (1:27), 
- 2-Sided Sleeve of Artwork
- Collectible Mini-Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)

Screenshots from the MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray: 

Extras: