Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991)

Lionsgate, the purveyor of Artisan's current catalog, has slipped under the radar an 8-pack of horror films which contains four out of eight titles so far unreleased to DVD. Theses are 976-EVIL 2, Ghoulies III, The Unholy and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud. Reportedly the included but already released Waxwork is the R-Rated version while the stand alone DVD version Lionsgate put out seemingly is the uncut version. What's made this release especially difficult to find is that so far it is a Wal-Mart exclusive with limited distribution. Not only that, Wal-Mart has decided nation wide to toss most of them in giant bargain bins while only a few sites have dedicated self space. The good news is that when you do find it this retails at only $5.00. After months and months of dumpster diving in Wal-Mart bargain bins Lionsgate will finally offer the disc set to the open market on September 4th. Here below lies the most overwrought blog posting about Ghoulies ever transcribed.

Ghoulies Go to College is admittedly my main goal in picking up this disc set. As a fan of Charles Band's work I seek out all that I can which includes the Ghoulies series. Band had little if any involvement in Ghoulies 3 but never the less this is a curiosity worth seeking out. The original Ghoulies from 1985 is an oddly accurate portrayal of medieval familiars in the guise of "ghoulies." Summoned by their occult master they perform tasks to assist in their master's witchcraft. Familiars could be portrayed as standard animals, the typical being a black cat, but they can look like nearly anything. So a coven of satanist brewing up a bunch of familiars isn't as goofy as modern audiences might imagine. This is especially the case with Ghoulies.

 

After Charles Band disbanded Empire Pictures the producers decided to take Ghoulies in a less serious manner. I say "manner" because Band's original approach to them was not all together serious but Charles Band has a knack for keeping the balance between effective horror and wide eyed fantasy with light comedy. Horror has a history of using comedy to balance out the gruesome and when done properly can actually strengthen effective horror. However this third entry in the series abandons any semblance of true horror for an entirely comedic tone. Normally you'd read the words "however" in such a paragraph and continue in dismay but in this instance the current producers made a wise choice. By sticking with what must have been their strengths they've produced a college comedy that plays it closer to the book than many of the standard college comedies glutting the market. The body count is low for horror, cartoonish in tone and all too brief to be considered horrific but that fits rather well in the overall tone of the film.

The film opens 21 years earlier in about 1970 (it's worth noting that Animal House is set in 1962) as a fraternity member calls forth the power of the ghoulies by reading out loud from a comic book. The character gives the impression of knowing full well what he is doing although is quickly assailed by the demons. Originally the first film used the sight gag of a ghoulie springing from a toilet bowl which was then heavily run in adverts and its use continued into Ghoulies II. Now in this third entry a toilet bowl is shown to be a caldron of ancient origin which is used to summon the familiars with the phrase, "open now the porcelain vessel." The filmmakers have incorporated the franchise's main selling point into a Gothic center piece which they showcase right away to slate the audience. The masterless familiars proceed to jam the would be sorcerer into the toilet "Super" bowl business end first. Before he can be disposed of our hapless victim manages to proclaim, "Transform me now into consuming fire!" Destroying the assailants and himself in the process. This is an effective opening sequence with an old school faux rain storm, model fraternity house, nod to EC Comics and jumps straight into the phantasmal fantasy of the film. It also quickly and handily establishes the crux of the story.

Ah... College.

Back to the present day, 1991, the film establishes right away that this is prank week here on campus. A little bit can go along with school age pranks and this over shoots the mark with a long drawn out series of episodic pranks during the opening credits much like Superman 3. Not a great way to follow up a smash opening and just dares its viewers to press the eject button.

Break away tiles for emergency reading material essential to any dorm.

Is this a toilet fetish or a fetish toilet?

After the credits have rolled through we are immediately teased with the ghouls when a fraternity member stumbles upon a secret cache in the bathroom concealing the comic book from the opening sequence. How it got there is a bit of an unanswered question but someone still alive in 1970 must have know its significance. Our frat boy reads a few incantations out loud causing the ancient toilet tomb in the stall next to him to boil and bubble. But alas he puts the comic tome away to read in the day during classes.

Hey Kev you've got li'l thing on your shoulders there...

No, no, Mr. McCarthy... It's just this li'l thing... there...

In no time flat the film establish its main protagonist Skip Carter who is the self claimed expert on pranking; called "yanking" on campus. This is of course a ghoulies' dream week for wreaking havoc and, while somewhat underutilized, carries all throughout the film rather well. From playing the hero in Invasion of the Body Snatchers to the villains for 90's horror Kevin McCarthy plays the curmudgeon dean of the school. McCarthy really seems to relish these roles as can be seen here and in UHF (1989). With his first breaths McCarthy threatens to expel our protagonist if he catches him trying to pull one more prank.

Ah... Never mind... Looking good. Sir!

Our hero is of course innocent of the latest accused yank pulled upon on the dean but was the victim of a rival fraternity looking to keep its unrightful hold on the yanking crown for yet another year. The wrong man motif is always a great way to quickly get the audience on the protagonist's side and was a favorite of Hitchcock. Within mere minutes our entire plot is well established and as cliche ridden as possible. The audience can spell out the words before even connecting the dots. This is a classic college hijinks plot that needed little explanation just set up. Such concise storytelling leaves plenty of room for our ghouls to yank the night away in our remaining running time.

K thru C doesn't change much.

Eva La Rue gives a nice nod to fantasy myths.

We're next introduced to the love interest of our protagonist Erin Riddle, played by brown sugah Eva La Rue. Some more short cuts are made for the audience by establishing their relationship only to break them apart when we first see them. Her desire to see him quit yanking so much and spending more time with her is a complaint I'm sure all the ladies out there can relate to. Naturally she's turned to the Aryan head of the rival fraternity to console her. Of course in the end Skip recants his yanking ways while Erin comes to love to yank with him.

"Class let us set aside a few moments to study in detail this exemplary body of work."

While Eva's role in CSI keeps her around dead bodies she's mostly strayed away from horror although she seems to have maintain a parallel distance with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the godmother of her daughter. It's nice to see siren sisters sticking together. Also Eva La Rue and Hope Marie Carlton not only shared a dorm room in this film but also shared screen time with Freddy Krueger as Hope appeared in Nightmare On Elm Street IV and Eva made a TV appearance on Freddy's Nightmares.

Tobin's Spirit Guide chapter on Ghoulies

Un-Holy Shit!

It doesn't take too long before our titular title characters enter the scene via the dean happening upon the occult comic with supernatural powers. McCarthy's made out to be a sadistic dean through and through. The years of taking abuse from the students has clearly taken its toll and the dean seeks his revenge. Using his knowledge of mythology he's able to unlock the secrets of the comic which was copied verbatim from a medieval text. The Ghoulies make for a fitting instrument for the dean's plans for revenge and this makes for a welcome twist on the stock evil dean character.

Even "Reindeer Games" takes on new meaning at college.

Hey babe why don't you Do-Re-Mi.

Our first set of victims are laid out before us when the freshly conceived ghouls immediately happen upon a copulating couple. It had been well established since John Carpenter's Halloween in 1978 and throughout the 80's that any fornication spells almost immediate doom for any students. The sex antics here are especially childish and immature with 20 minutes of foreplay amounting to ridding an exercise bike mixed with running on a tread mill. The inexperience but youthful playfulness is used to keep the comedic tone while maintaining an R-Rating. America cinema has a history of accepting sex and nudity only so long as it has little to actually do with sex and nudity. Violence on the other hand is given more of a free pass. This is a perplexing fact for Europeans who cut sex a lot of slack while toning down on violence.

Keeping with the comedic spirit our second murder sequence is a repeat of the pre-credits opening with our post-copulated male being dispatched first with a toilet bowl scrub brush to the testicles and then flushed down the toilet. This is inter-cut with a dissatisfied girlfriend working out while she frustratingly waits for him to return to bring her satisfaction. Once again exercise equipment substitutes for sexual coitus. Of the five murders in this film three of them take place in a bathroom. The toilet accessories are also later used again as a murder weapon. The combination of sex, genitals and bodily waste is rarely so intermixed in horror unless used for comedic effect.

"That's right ladies work it."

"Bend and Stretch. Bend and Stretch."

The bulk of the film now switches between Skip, the dean and the Ghoulies plotting and counter plotting yanks against each other. The well developed part of this script is the misunderstandings built up between all the characters. The dean thinks Skip is targeting him (he's not), Skip thinks the rival frats destroyed their house (they didn't), the rival frats think Skip destroyed their house (he didn't), Erin thinks Skip is yanking the dean, the rival frats and other girls on campus (he's mostly not), Skip thinks Erin is more than yanking a rival frat, etc, etc. Good comedy is based on misunderstandings and bad assumptions. When the audience is in the know they're able to both sympathize with the characters better and builds the anticipation which makes for easier laughs. An audience wants release so the key to good horror and comedy is creating the tension for release. This seemingly simple script is able to play multiple different characters against each other. The additional advantage of having so many players is that it makes a dense layer of plot lines from which you can cut between to keep the pace lively which is integral to good comedy.

Do mine eyes deceive me?

BEER!

To raise the stakes for our protagonist his ex-girlfriend stays out all night with her new bow; the alpha male of the rival fraternity. Her chastity is what's placed on the line as the audience knows Skip to have been faithful although teases Erin by having him appear compromised with other women. Her chastity is what's made important and becomes the focal point. There seems to be little need in leading the audience on as to Skip's fidelity and this feeds into the somewhat common belief that a man is expected to run around with other women while he still can. There is more need to show him has honest to the audience and keep the suspense on whether she's remained faithful.

 

 

The dean plans to pit the rival fraternity against each other by having the ghouls steal the yanking crown. There is a certain  jealousy for the dean; probably because short spans of  yearly stupidity is rewarded by this crown while his years of study and high position garners little respect from the student body. The dean put these years of study into good use to unlock the power of the Ghoulies and figures out that the comic book is linked to the familiars. Any harm to the book is harm to the Ghoulies. There is a certain amount of irony that all his volumes of texts cannot equal the power of a collection of funny pages. The dean also figures that if he were to merge with the Ghoulies he would become a powerful creature able weld their dark powers directly. In order to do this he plans to have the ghouls kill their summoning master; himself.

 

After killing his personal assistant Marcia Wallace, who really was on Bob Newhart, against his wishes the dean sends the familiars to the Greek sorority house. The specifics of why are not given but the implication is that by the killing his female assistant he somehow feels the need for revenge against the world by having his minions kill another female. His own nonacceptance by the younger opposite sex, who flocked to the younger boorish boys, must also have been a irksome notion as well that need to be reprimanded. The Ghoulies NSFW antics at the Greek house will follow after the jump.

"Let us pause in a moment of silence for our fallen comrades; the dead soldiers."

Batman: The Penguin's a Jinx (1966)

"Mmm... Something smells good. Uh-Oh!"

KIDS! It's been awhile and I actually had to re-visit this episode as I've continued watching the series since my last post. I'd just like to remark how much I love the dialog for the minor characters in all of these episodes. The much more subtle and nuanced moments come from many of the character actors in this series. When we left off Batman was trapped and ready for the barbeque. For you nearly a month has gone by. For our guised Gothamite merely seconds but for us nearly a month has gone by. But wait, the worst is yet to come.

Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel at the Penguin's lair.

Next Sunday A.D. as a matter of fact.

It's interesting that for the second cliff hanger of this show we have Bruce Wayne singularly in danger and not Batman or Robin. While the serialized nature was an obvious choice by the production team from the start (how else are you going to sell back to back two part episodes to a network?) neither the first nor the second episode really have an iconic comic book death trap. What Lorenzo did add was an inspired disconnect with this scene by having Penguin become a remote bystander watching events unfold on a TV screen. Penguin shares the experience with the audience and gives his own commentary to the events. His commentary of course will be the exact opposite of what's on the lips of the young audience gripped by the suspense at home. This taunting can help draw out the anticipation in the audience and in its own way fulfills the self mocking attitude of audience members who can appreciate the camp satire of the series. This moment taps into the audience the same way Mystery Science Theater 3000 latter did while riffing on their own viewings. This of course comes full circle on The Penguin as the relieved audience gets to see the villain befuddled by what's happening on the screen. A certain satisfaction is given to the audience as now they can see The Penguin suffer as they had just moments before.

"No Robin, I don't think a rainbow is the color for you."

Joel and the bots... Sorry wrong puppet show...

Last post we discussed the fact that The Penguin is shown as out of ideas; an odd way to introduce a new character to the audience. Both episodes also focus in on the fact that Batman, as a detective, is given clues bizarre as they are colorful clues by criminals from while he is able to deduce their mind bending plots. Here he is given by Penguin what are entirely senseless clues. Not only that, but The Penguin listens in on our costumed sleuths as they try to deduce the clues. Like before while he watched Bruce Wayne struggle on television to escape Penguin gives commentary all the while. This further reinforces the MST3k sense of riffing on the show to establish the comedic absurdity of what is happening on screen. In only the second episode Lorenzo is poking fun at a system of clues that hasn't even been established yet. This was a cunning ploy worthy of The Penguin himself as it establishes the silliness of these plot points throughout the rest of the series. Lorenzo is carefully spelling out the motifs of this series for the audience that's far ahead of anything any network writer would propose to do in a TV series.

Leslie Parrish strikes "The Pose."

Now it's looking less like a puppet show and more like a doll.

It's worth noting here with the introduction of Leslie Parrish as Dawn Robins that The Penguin is often found without the characteristic moll of the other villains. His character is a proud bachelor that we'll take a closer look at eventually. It is also worth noting that Leslie, a repeat guest, co-starred in Li'l Abner along with Julie Newmar some seven years earlier. Here she is introduced as posing for "Funboy Magazine," not in the all together I grant you, but an adult reference that would not have gone over the heads of many kids of the day. It is a somewhat shocking today to see a woman, who otherwise is a good egg, portrayed on a kids' show in the act of posing for a Playboy photo shoot. She even remarks, "I am a commodity" with her character's introduction. Her inflection shows her dislike of the situation but the rest of the plot's development does nothing to redeem the statement. Overall this moment re-enforces the world view that woman of the 60's are relegated to commodities. She further relegates herself to that position by fawning over Batman the moment he appears. A pattern continually repeated over the course of the series, and Batman's lifetime, with only the previous episode's Jill St. John seemingly able to control her flights of fancy enough to dispel Batman's viral charms.

With such commodities this should be CNBC!

"Are you interested in commodity trading?"

The Penguin sure is.

"That's right hug the wall Batman 'cause that's all the action you'll get tonight."

(rather nice Fay Wray-eqsue pose from Leslie)

The Penguin traps Batman and Robin here by placing a giant magnet on the other side of the wall to attract the dynamic duo's utility belts. Our white knights are helpless to prevent the black knight from taking flight you their young maiden from the top of her lofty tower. A commodity trade that happen quite frequently on this show. This should be on CNBC! The belt itself is of course a phallus that with a bat-buckle attracts the eyes to the groin. Ironically their greatest assets becomes their downfall in this confrontation with The Penguin. Batman and The Penguin both seem to share a diversion of women although Batman will visibly show emotional yearning that he himself has to keep in check. Batman has to beat back his desires to remain with Robin. The Penguin is unremitting with his emotional desire to keep his nest room for just one. Batman remarks of the magnet, "It's stronger than we are" as it pulls his belt against the wall and this reflects his own will verses the Penguin's regarding the fairer sex. Or hero's are so helplessly tied to their own utility belts that they cannot free themselves and are rescued later by a waiter. They cannot change their orientations any easier than they can change their belts it would seem. This is actually one of the more heterosexual underpinnings of the show.

"Did you just say Batman heterosexual? SQAUWK!"

"I'm a much more proficient swordsmen."

"Batman doesn't even know how to hold an umbrella."

Afterwards our crime fighters turn the tables on Penguin by trapping him in the end at his own lair. The Penguin however demonstrates one last time his proficiency by using his umbrella to out duel the dynamic duo; two against one. This is an interesting additive by Lorenzo in a scene where both Batman and Robin should simply come out on top during the finale. The umbrella itself is a rather phallic symbol and one tied forever with The Penguin. There's is also a somewhat bizarre moment were Robin shows giddy delight in seeing Batman physically harming his weak foes.

Robin gets as giddy as a school girl watching violence.

After having the Penguin show himself out matching Batman in his commitment to being a lone wolf, Bruce Wayne is shown throwing a party where he entertains three captivated women while being served by a myriad of french maids. However Bruce casts these three aside rather handily showing little interest in them. Robin himself enthusiastically remarks how "gorgeous" of a "girl" Robin Dawn is. But Leslie Parrish returns only to slight Bruce Wayne; revealing that after only glimpsing Batman for a moment she's fallen "hopelessly in love" with him. Adam West squeezes in the last say however as the credits begin to roll. He approaches Leslie in what can only be a second attempt to woe her fancy. Again it is reaffirmed that Batman is straight and won't take "No" for an answer.

Does Bruce Wayne lose when Batman wins?

@brucewayne #winning