Ghoulies II

a few of the little nasties stow away on an amusement park ride and bring big bucks to a dying fair. The creatures are mad after an attempt to kill them, so the creatures go on a rampage through the fairgrounds. We have director Albert Band (with son Charlie producing) working under the Empire Studios banner, an era when good films were produced. And one of the best writers at the time -- working again here -- was Dennis Paoli. Through in horror veteran Bill Butler and Band favorite Phil Fondacaro, and you have a film. Maybe not a great film, mind you. This is one of those countless puppet films the band family made (and continues to make). Oddly enough, the best parts of this film are when there are no ghoulies on screen -- the direction and acting are quite decent and the puppets just sort of bring the mood down.

Ghoulies 2 is by far better than the first part. You can't judge it compared to masterpieces like Apocalypse now, but for a crappy little 80's monster movie, it's a lot of fun. Great laugh's especially when they are hanging out in the haunting house causing trouble. The first part tried to take itself a little too seriously with the occult store background and was fairly irritating to watch. This one is a brain dead monster attacks type movie, and I love it for that. It's much more fun than the Critters franchise, albeit, Ghoulies part 1 is far worse than any of the first 3 Critters movies. I have never seen Ghoulies 3 or 4, or number two is definitely worth a rent from your local video store.

A man tries to destroy a ghoulie in a drum of solvents at a gas station and is killed. Larry and Uncle Ned stop the Satan's Den truck at the gas station and several ghoulies sneak on. They arrive at the Hardin Family Carnival. Business man Phillip Hardin audits his late father's money-losing amusement park threatening to close it down. He gives them one week to turn their fortune around. He tells Sir Nigel Penneyweight that he's turning Satan's Den into a mud wrestling show. Larry and Uncle Ned set up Satan's Den. The ghoulies start their killings and become part of the attraction. This is slightly better than the original. The most important reason being that any cheesiness is excused by being a carnival setting. It makes everything including the ghoulies more reasonable. The carnival is supposed to be cheesy. This one is also more fun. It's less amateurish in both the scale and the acting. This is simply better.

A paper-thin plot: Ghoulies II picks up a short time after the first movie, a few of the little nasties stow away on an amusement park ride and bring big bucks to a dying fair. The creatures are mad after an attempt to kill them, so the creatures go on a rampage through the fairgrounds, ultimately leading to an explosive conclusion. Sounds corny? No matter what anyone says, this is utterly fantastic. I refuse to totally dismiss this, because I find it quite engaging, in a guilty pleasure sense. I have to say it blew me away! This might all sound corny, like a bad B-movie, but that is not the case. My rating: 7/10.