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Ghoulies II
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - America - MVD Visual Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (8th August 2024). |
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The Film
 A quintet of ghoulies stolen from a devil worshipping cult by a hapless priest (Anthony Dawson, the Blofeld guy from the early James Bonds, not the Italian director Antonio Margheriti) manage to survive a dunking in toxic solvent at an abandoned gas station and think they have found home when the Satan's Den spook show caravan – driven by old Ned (Messiah of Evil's Royal Dano) and his nephew Larry (Amityville 1992: It's About Time's Damon Martin) – stops for repairs on the way to Greenville. The latest engagement is not a happy one since the entire carnival is being taken over by Phillip Hardin (Robot Wars' J. Downing), the yuppie son of the parent corporation who wants to get rid of all acts that are not turning a profit. Ned and Larry learn from barker Sir Nigel Penneyweight (Troll's Phil Fondacaro) that Hardin wants to replace Satan's Den with mud-wrestling unless it turns a profit, Satan's Den gets some unexpected help from the ghoulies as they gleefully attack and mutilate obnoxious visitors – including punk teenagers William Butler (Buried Alive), Sasha Jenson (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers), Starr Andreeff (The Terror Within), and Dale Wyatt (From Beyond) – using the spook show's pendulums, guillotines, electric chairs, and wracks. The ravings of survivors (including Night of the Demons' Donnie Jeffcoat) drum up enough business that Hardin is unconcerned with the increasing disappearances. Made during the latter half of Charles Band's Empire Pictures period and helmed by his father Albert Band (Zoltan, Hound of Dracula), Ghoulies II got more value for its money its predecessor shooting in Italy on the former De Laurentiis sound stages with the production design of Giovanni Natalucci (Crawlspace), and the candy-colored lighting of Lucio Fulci favorite Sergio Salvati (House by the Cemetery). The love triangle between Larry, traumatized tightrope walker turned belly dancer Nicole (Pumpkinhead's Kerry Remsen), and Hardin fortunately takes a back seat to the antics of the Ghoulies (the same John Carl Buechler designs from the first film) who make cuter sounds while being meaner-spirited (their movement is also enhanced here by David Allen's stop-motion rather than the hand puppetry of the first film). Fuzzbee Morse (Dolls) contributes an atmospheric score that at times suggests a more serious tone. The mix of comedy and horror works better here in the first film, although the film really could have been more brutal during the climactic sequence in which the Ghoulies leave the haunted house attraction to terrorize the rest of the attractions. A clown loses an arm in a dunk tank and, unlike the first film, someone really does get it in the end from a Ghoulie lurking in a toilet seat. American expatriate actor Mickey Knox (Stage Fright) turns up as the barker for the belly dancers. 
Video
Released theatrically by Empire and on video and laserdisc by Vestron Video, Ghoulies II had an R-rating theatrically but was trimmed for a wider release on the video market, and the PG-13 edition has persisted even up to MGM's double feature DVD and Shout! Factory's Blu-ray upgrade. The latter edition included the R-rated footage as a separate extra, but did not allow Shout! Factory to reintegrate the footage despite it being in HD and looking as good as the feature transfer, and the same was true of the British and Australian Blu-ray releases (either Austria's NSM Records was not so restricted or they ignored this stipulation for their edition which includes both cuts). MVD was unable to obtain a 4K master for Ghoulies II when they released it on it as part of the MVD Rewind Collection as a companion to their concurrent release of the "4K LaserVision Collection" 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray combo and "Rewind Collection" Blu-ray of the first film in 2023. They had stated that they were committed to releasing the film in 4K and had reserved the number three spot in the 4K LaserVision Collection Ghoulies II but it seemed unlikely. Their 2023 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray came from the same HD master as the earlier Shout! Factory Blu-ray and MGM DVDs which looked better than the first film due to the slightly higher budget and shooting more of the film under the controlled conditions of sound stages apart from a few scratches and dings here and there.  Fast forward to 2024 and MVD have made good on their commitment with a new 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 widescreen 4K UltraHD featuring not only a brand new scan of the PG-13 version of the film (89:47) but also the R-rated version of the film (91:19) reconstructed from the new master as well as a new scan of the deleted scenes. Framing is virtually-identical to the previous HD master with additional margins along all four sides of the frame to little difference, suggesting that MGM knew what they were doing the first time around. While the original HD master looked quite good for the time, however, the candy color scheme of Salvati's photography and Natalucci's production design looks duller and muted by comparison. This is not just an effect of the Dolby Vision HDR as even with HDR switched off the colors pop far more than before giving the ghoulies an additional sheen of slime and more texture as well as exposing the downy facial hairs of the human actors in close-up that once blended in with foundation make-up. The R-rated version is a particular highlight since the footage was available before but gives the once blackly-comic film a brutal edge not only presenting the violent footage in context but also with the additional pop of the new grade. There is still one severely-scratched shot during the climax but we presume that this was part of the assembly and that Empire chose to include it out of a lack of additional coverage. Although the final razor slashing of Patty (Ames Morton) was always elided by a cut to the next scene, the once humorous shots of the ghoulies gumming her wrists and ankles are quite harrowing here with the more indulgent views of the prosthetic effects and the pop of the blood as well as the extended duration of the scene. Unfortunately, for future-proofing fans, only the 4K UltraHD disc features the remastered transfers of both cuts of the film. The included Blu-ray is identical to the 2023 release (screen shots are derived from the Blu-ray for illustrative purposes only). 
Audio
Whereas the first film was mixed in mono, Ghoulies II had an UltraStereo track which gave the offscreen and onscreen antics of the ghoulies a directional quality and also boasted a forceful original score and highlighted the presence of heavy metal track by W.A.S.P. "Scream Until You Like It" and MVD again dropped the not too dynamic 5.1 upmix of the Shout! Factory release in favor of the stereo mix in LPCM 2.0 for the Blu-ray while the new 4K UltraHD includes DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo tracks for both films sounding no different from the LPCM track. The Blu-ray features optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided while the 4K UltraHD only features an English SDH track.
Extras
Apart from the R-rated cut on the 4K UltraHD, all of the film's extras are on the included Blu-ray and identical to the previous edition. There are no commentaries for the film but it can be watched with or without an optional introduction by screenwriter Dennis Paoli (1:15) as well as the interview "Under a Magic Moon" (33:36) from the Austrian Blu-ray. Paoli recalls going to high school with Stuart Gordon (Castle Freak) and sharing a mutual interest in stand-up comedy and writers like H.P. Lovecraft, and they founded a professional comedy group while still in school. He went into theater in college, noting a notorious "naked Peter Pan" play staged by actors/students who spent their days getting beaten and harassed while protesting the war, and subsequently teaching Gothic fiction when Gordon contacted him about working on Re-Animator. In describing how he and Gordon worked with "ideas man" Band, he reveals that he had entirely rewritten Spellcaster in a week and Ghoulies II in two weeks (the former from someone else's earlier draft and the latter from a list of elements Band wanted in a film). While it may have been a quick writing job, he talks about the themes he wanted to explore in the film and about his conception of the characters, making the film worth rewatching for those of us who thought the film was just a higher-budgeted attempt to cash-in on the success of the first film.  Ported from the Shout! Factory Blu-ray is "More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies II" (16:50) featuring Band, Remsen, and Jeffcoat as well as effects artist Gino Crognale (Pumpkinhead II). Band recalls the idea of letting the ghoulies loose in a circus and building the entire circus on Empire's largest sound stage (while lamenting that these days they would have to find an actual working circus to shoot at). Jeffcoat recalls the film being his first feature role and having to demonstrate his beginner martial arts skills for the audition (he runs a karate school now) and getting to go to Italy for his first film (the tutor hired for him on the production had him keep a journal of his experiences and field trips rather than the traditional curriculum). Remsen also recalls excitement about shooting overseas and trying to keep a straight face while acting afraid of the giant ghoulie during the climax. Crognale recalls refurbishing the ghoulies from the first film with perhaps less money than the first film for effects. The aforementioned R-rated alternate scenes (2:43) are also included here along with the film's theatrical trailer (1:23), a still gallery and trailers for other MVD releases. 
Packaging
The disc comes packaged with a reversible cover, slipcover and foldout poster.
Overall
Ghoulies II got more value for its money than its predecessor thanks to Empire Pictures' move to Italy (and acquisition of the derelict Dino De Laurentiis studios) - as well as a more balanced blend of horror and comedy - while MVD Visual's 4K provides an appreciable upgrade over their Blu-ray from last year.
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