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Celebrating ‘Ghoulies’ and Its Surprising Queerness at 35

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Low budget creature feature Ghoulies is many things to many people: a crass and brazen rip-off of Gremlins, a second-tier franchise from prolific schlock producer/director Charles Band, and a mid-80s guilty pleasure that brings to mind popular children’s toy Boglins.

Revisiting the film for its 35th anniversary, Ghoulies is all of this and so much more. As Meagan discussed in her It Came From The 80s column, this is a franchise that lured prospective horror audiences in with its ridiculous cover art of a little green monster, dripping ooze, as it pops out of a toilet (the image was not even originally in the film and was added following reshoots). What audiences may not remember is that the goopy puppets barely even appear in the film, and they’re not even the main antagonists!

Ghoulies is actually about a cult headed by Malcolm Graves (Michael Des Barres), who opens the film attempting to sacrifice his son during a satanic ritual. When its mother protects it with a magical amulet, the child is saved and both parents die. 21 years later, the boy  – Jonathan (Peter Liapis, aged 35 at the time of filming) – inherits the family’s palatial estate and slowly succumbs to his late father’s demonic influence. Much of the film focuses on Jonathan’s disintegrating relationship with girlfriend Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan), whom he ultimately resorts to controlling using his newfound powers. The entire last act is dedicated to an out of control dinner party wherein Jonathan and Rebecca’s friends are slaughtered by the Ghoulies in order to resurrect Malcolm, who is revealed to be the mastermind behind Jonathan’s obsession.

In many ways, Ghoulies is an unsuccessful film. The script from Jefery Levy, co-written by director Luca Bercovici, is filled with unusual narrative choices: voice over from Jonathan’s secret guardian Wolfgang (Jack Nance) that only appears at the beginning and end of the film, random appearances from bickering dwarves in medieval armour, and the early introduction of a half dozen of Jonathan and Rebecca’s friends before they are sidelined for 2/3 of the runtime.

Despite all of these issues, the film is eminently watchable. The creature design of the ghoulies – most of which have their own distinct visual aesthetic – is equal parts cute and gross. Accusations of stealing from Gremlins are unwarranted since the two films were in production at the same time (Ghoulies’ exhibition was delayed due to Band’s financial issues, which allowed the Joe Dante film to be released first). The reality is that Ghoulies is much more liberally stealing from 1982’s Poltergeist with its killer clown sequence.

What makes the film fascinating is its prescient underlying elements. Yes, the film is a lowbrow riff on escalating fears of satanism in the 80s, but it also features a significant amount of relationship abuse and, surprisingly enough, a healthy dose of not-so-subtle queerness.

The whole film is secretly predicated upon Malcolm gaslighting his son, Jonathan. Initially the College student is presented as a decent guy with an affection for his girlfriend and friends, but over the course of the film he becomes increasingly worse as he is corrupted by his father’s spell book. Rebecca gets the worst of it: initially Jonathan forgets her, then he begins to ignore her. The couple breaks up when he initiates sex in order to impregnate her with his own demon heir and, although he attempts to protect her with his mother’s amulet, he and the dwarves eventually hypnotize her to be his servant.

Alas Ghoulies doesn’t satisfactorily address these issues and the resolution is too simplistic and pat. Jonathan and Rebecca naturally wind up back together and Jonathan’s complicity is waved away because he was under the influence and not himself. Still, until the film’s overly cheerful ending, Ghoulies clearly empathizes with Rebecca and paints Jonathan as a toxic, entitled asshole whose desire for power literally kills every healthy relationship in his life.

One of the film’s relationships is between Jonathan’s friends Mike (Scott Thomson), whose defining trait is that he always wears sunglasses, and pretty boy Eddie (David Dayan). The pair are constantly at each other’s side, such that they rarely appear in a scene alone (except to die). Eddie, in particular, is very hands-on with Mike, touching and jumping on his “friend” regularly. The most telling sign that this is, in fact, a queer relationship occurs in the last act: all of the partygoers naturally brand off into couples, including Mark (Ralph Seymour) and Donna (Mariska Hargitay!), Dick (Keith Joe Dick) and Robin (Charlene Cathleen)…and Eddie and Mike.

This pairing, as the boys laugh and smoke a joint while intimately leaning against each other, is visually and narratively coded as a relationship on par with the heterosexual coupling of the other friends. Throw in the iconic scene where meathead Dick is lured into a deep kiss by Malcolm (in disguise as a seductive topless woman) and Ghoulies winds up being surprisingly queer.

Naturally the film doesn’t dig into any of the emotional fall-out of these events and even suggesting that Levy and Bercovici considered these issues when writing the screenplay is probably giving Ghoulies too much credit. Still, it is intriguing that all of these components found their way into a charming little B movie about demon puppets. Back in 1985, Ghoulies may have seemed like little more than a cheap rip-off of Gremlins, but 35 years later, this bizarre creature feature has a little more substance than viewers might expect.

Plus, you know, a demon in a toilet.

Joe is a TV addict with a background in Film Studies. He co-created TV/Film Fest blog QueerHorrorMovies and writes for Bloody Disgusting, Anatomy of a Scream, That Shelf, The Spool and Grim Magazine. He enjoys graphic novels, dark beer and plays multiple sports (adequately, never exceptionally). While he loves all horror, if given a choice, Joe always opts for slashers and creature features.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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