FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS: GHOULIES II (1988) “Have You Seen My Little Muffy?”
Before heading off to college in Part III (and apparently a Part IV that I only just found out about before writing this post but based on the trailer definitely looks like quite the bullet dodge), America’s favorite little toilet dwellers took over a carnival for the sequel. And In a departure from the original film and like many horror movie part two’s of the 1980’s, Ghoulies II takes a different route from the original installment; Leaning hard into the horror/comedy genre and playing it up for laughs. Not only that, but in this one quite the inspired and dare I say bold decision was made to pretty much make us root for these guys.
Yes, the first movie took this material very seriously.
Let’s just clear the air here, along with the likes of Critters and Munchies (and arguably the Puppet Master series), Ghoulies was a clear attempt by a lower budget studio to try and cash in on the whole Gremlins craze. The one thing that really made it stand out was that pretty brilliant ad campaign which did for sitting on the toilet what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean.
This is in my opinion what led to that initial installment being successful enough to give a follow up the greenlight. That being said, any hardcore fan will likely be of the same opinion: There’s really only one Ghoulies movie, and Part II is it. Even though I own that great Scream Factory Blu-ray from a few years back that features both of those first two installments on one disc, I can count the amount of times I’ve gone back and watched the original on one finger.
The story as is often the case with these movies, is a very simple premise to setup lots of creative kills. Due to various opening act hijinks, the Ghoulies find themselves aboard a truck carrying an amusement park dark ride called the “Satan’s Den.” It turns out that this traveling carnival hasn’t been doing so well financially and is in danger of shutting down for good, leaving everyone unemployed. That is until the funhouse these monsters now populate begin raking in the dough from customers who believe that they’re all part of the attraction. This is where a lot of the fun comes in: The various reactions from visitors who are having a great time witnessing what they believe to be elaborately staged and totally convincing mutilations. And then…well, you can probably see how the wheels are likely to fly off of the whole operation.
And look there people! Why if it isn’t the great Royal Dano, hot off the heels from his appearances in Killer Klowns From Outer Space earlier that same year and House II the year before! The fact that all three of those movies would make for a perfect marathon should give you an idea as to the kinda tone we’ve got going on here. A tone that is dare I say, kid friendly? Well at least 80’ kid kid friendly, y’know? Like if you were to tell me that there was a Ghoulies Saturday morning cartoon series back then sandwiched between Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake I wouldn’t bat an eyelash. Don’t forget, this was during the Garbage Pail Kid times, the My Pet Monster times, the Mad Balls times, and here we had a movie taking place in a carnival featuring monstrous puppets!
I mean come on *spoilers* there’s a giant ghoulie running rampant in the film’s climax eating people and other ghoulies, man. In fact I believe that’s exactly how his character is listed in the credits:
Giant Ghoulie Running Rampant in the Film’s Climax Eating People and Other Ghoulies Man Himself
There sure is a lot to like here.
Hey Ghoulies, I gotta say I really love this second installment and consider it the pinnacle of the entire saga! What do you guys think of it, huh?
Right on.
