Ghoulies stands as not only one of the more rewarding and well-realized Gremlins rip-offs, but it’s also a prime example of cheesy 'n' camp 80’s fantasy/ horror.  We have everything you need- silly satanic shenanigans, rubbery bulging-eyed & teethy creatures, some neat effects, and a selection of cliched-if-quirky characters. Here as part of MVD's Rewind series is a Blu-Ray release of the film taking in a new 4k scan, and a good selection of archive extras.

Ghoulies appeared in the year 1985, and it was released by Charles Band’s Empire Studios. It was directed and co-written by New York-born Luca Bercovici- this was his first feature, and he went on to have eight other credits to his name. These went from vampire comedy musical Rockula (1990), tongue-in-cheek comedy The Granny (1995), and crime thriller Luck Of The Draw(2000) which featured the likes of Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen, and Eric Roberts.

Like most of Empire’s output, Ghoulies is pacy with zero padding, with a short ‘n’ sharp runtime of one hour & twenty minutes. We begin with a pre-credits flashback- where a group of gowned figures are gathered for a ritual in a large mansion. Leading the whole thing from an altar is the glowing green-eyed Malcolm (Michael Des Barres). He asks for a baby to be brought forward for sacrifice- with him seemingly mind-controlling the mother to bring the child to the altar. He’s just about to bring the knife- when in rushes Wolfgang- played by the wonderful Jack Nance- who appeared in more than a few David Lynch films/ projects. He takes the baby outside with a quick voice over- roll credits.

The film then kicks off in the present time- as we see the rather dark-haired & brooding Jonathan (Peter Liapis), and his frizzy red-haired girlfriend(Lisa Pelikan) taking possession of the house. He’s been left it in a will, and we presume he is the baby from the pre-credits.

After not being in the house very long they decide to invite a selection of their college buddies to a party at the house- taking in a few memorable enough characters- there’s big collared & quaffed haired ladies’ man Dick(Keith Joe Dick), and shades & cargo trouser wearing bad break dancer Mike( Scott Tompson). Instead of doing the normal type of party activity- Jonathan suggests they all head into the basement to do a ritual- it doesn’t seem to work, but after everyone has left the room a small teethy & jabbering demon appears.

As the weeks go by Jonathan declares he’s quitting college- saying he wants to spend time sorting out the house. Instead, he seems to get deeper and deeper into doing rituals- all moving towards a second party- where all manner of things alive & dead are raised.

The film features two or three different types of small demons- we have the already mentioned teethy & jabbing ones, there’s a bold and green variety which features in the film’s iconic poster art, and a rolling-eyed & dripping mouth type. Along the way we get a long tongue kill, demented back from the dead evil wizard, two bickering  & bumbling little people familiars, lots of dry ice, glowing pentagrams & green glowing eyes.

Sure, it doesn’t have much sense or logic about it, the acting is highly mixed, and it’s often deeply camp/ silly- but as switch your brain off & have fun horror/ fantasy Ghoulies is a great romp.

This new Blu-Ray takes in a new 4k scan of the film- this is crystal clear and well-defined in its 80s colourings. It looks as good as the film ever has- so it's a real treat for those who still vaguely recall the original VHS prints of the film.

On the extras side- it’s all archive- but it’s a good/ worthy selection of things. Two commentary tracks with director Luca Bercovici - one on his own, then one with Jason Andreasen of Terror Transmission. Video Introduction by Luca Bercovici . Editing an Empire: Interview with Ted Nicolau (27:30).The Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Waste: Interview with Scott Thomson (22:02). Just For The Chick Man” interview with Luca Bercovici (33:46). 'From Toilets to Terror:' The Making of Ghoulies ( 29:49). A photo gallery, theatrical trailer, and four TV Spots.

I’ve always had more than a bit of a soft spot for Ghoulies- so it’s certainly great to have this new Blu-ray from the fine folks at MVD. With the clean & crisp print, and a wonderful selection of archive extras.