Spookies (1986)

Strong and Moving!

best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely Fantastic

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Several youths get lost in the back roads while trying to find a party, and end up in an old dilapidated mansion in the middle of a graveyard. Inside, they discover a ouija board, through which it is foretold that they will never leave the premesis alive.A ghost, haunting the mansion, seeks to harvest their souls so he can entrap the woman of his dreams- in ghost form- for an eternity.The "kids" are attacked by all sorts of monsters, including... were-cats, sh*t demons, a bunch of fiji mermaids, a predator type thing with electro-shock tentacles, skeletor, a spiderwoman, some sort of demon that releases a pulsating field, from her brain, that causes the living to age at an incredibly fast rate, and a hoard of zombies (for good measure).This 80's comedy-horror is cheesy, low budget, and a masterpiece of cult cinema. And it almost never existed! After, originally, having been shot by a pair of directors, under the title Twisted Souls...the guy funding the project fired them...only to hire a porn actress/editor, as director, to finish shooting the film with an entirely different cast, and some additional scenes.You can actually feel the differences in the contributions from the 2 different groups: the original filmmakers, cast and crew; and a former porn star and her group of porn people.The latter would dismember the film from it's original form- so that she and her crew could insert their own additional scenes and special effects (like adding fart noises over the muck men scene, for example)- that are clearly inferior to the work of the original creators.Drama aside- in it's final form- Spookies owes a lot to earlier films like Evil Dead and Hausu...though, it has it's own lame charm that will surely win you over, by the end. It also seems to have influenced a bunch of later films and TV shows, like x-files (fiji mermaids) and possibly also Stephen King's sleepwalkers (among others).When all is said and done, it's the monsters and special effects that make this film so damn awesome. They are incredibly imaginative and extremely well done. There ain't no CGI bullsh*t employed here.And the deaths are badass too! Something else I like, is how all the characters are survivors. No one goes down easy- or without a fight in this. Which resonated with me...as, too often, characters act like a deer in headlights, just standing around waiting to die. Although no one makes it out alive in this film...at least they all go down swinging.Don't make the mistake of turning this off during the first 5 minutes- when it seems like it's going to be a low budget, schlock, piece of crap (during an additional scene added by the porn people)- because, by the end, I guarantee it will have won you over.The creatures and special effects in this are simply amazing, and it contains just the right amount of cheese. Though not perfect- considering it has been dismembered and reformed by lesser visionaries- it is still totally worth checking out this Halloween season (as it just received the limited edition bluray treatment).8 out of 10.

In a film deeply reminiscent of the myriad 1930s old dark house horror flicks – in which a group of diverse characters found themselves collected in a haunted mansion, only to die mysteriously one by one – but with the up-to-date addition of special effects and bloodshed, SPOOKIES is a surprisingly enjoyable movie that is difficult to criticise. Sure, it is a low brow film, with lots of annoying '80s style humour and overacting leads, but nevertheless the fast pacing of the movie and the plethora of weird and wonderful creations and effects is what makes it worthwhile. As part of an unfinished film was also edited into the proceedings, this is in addition a confusing watch in which the plotting is sometimes all over the place; no matter, because there are guaranteed chills and monsters just around the corner, so don't focus too much on the storyline.Production values are invariably low (with the exception of the super-quality effects work) whilst the acting leaves a lot to be desired – just the typical badly-dressed '80s crowd you always see in horror movies like this. The scripting is basic in the extreme, and, rather annoyingly, it rips off THE EVIL DEAD no end, including one female possession who looks just like a character in Raimi's film. The music is almost classic and weirdly suits the film – to much greater effect than the usual '80s pop/rock that you usually here in this sort of thing. Anyway, the best thing in this is the diverse range of monsters, ranging from squelchy muck-men in the basement to a real-life Grim Reaper, complete with sharp scythe; possessed people; an Asian spider-woman; little GREMLINS-style critters; and, at the frenetic, effective climax, a whole graveyard full of zombies. Mix in blood and lots of corpses (and, on one sour note, an exceptionally annoying demon henchman with a hook for a hand, who doesn't do a thing the whole movie except creep around) and you have the perfect ingredients for a chilled night's viewing.

Spookies has enough weaknesses for two movies, which is fitting given that it is really two movies edited together into one. Although the resulting "film" is far from the worst example of this type of project (e.g. anything by Godfrey Ho), it highlights the weakest aspect of both films.One plot line follows a group of friends who get caught in a haunted house populated by nightmarish demons. This plot thread is the better of the two, as it boasts some impressive make up effects and creature puppetry. A spider creature represents a particular highlight.However, none of the characters are really fleshed out, and no protagonist emerges. Furthermore, the characters are so disparate that it is hard to imagine why they associate with one another. The group boasts a middle aged man and what appears to be a fifties juvenile delinquent.The second plot, tangentially related to the first through some dialogue, but never intersecting, involves a sorcerer trying to resurrect his wife with the help of his werecat and some human sacrifices. The special effects in these segments are much weaker, with make up on the level of a children's Halloween costume.The overall product is also weakened by mostly failed attempts at comedy, mostly consisting of the characters acting even more stupid than the typical horror victim. The film is worth watching, if at all, for some of the more interesting creature effects.

I just love this film to death! It's got such a great atmosphere, and I've never known another horror movie with so many different kinds of monsters packed into the story! The theme music isn't much but is nice enough and sets the tone, the smiling skull informing the audience that this romp is purely intended in the spirit of ghoulish fun, and is by no means meant to be taken too seriously! Although, it certainly has its grim moments and there's no shortage of death. The opening demise of the rather brainless Billy is a very chilling and nasty sequence. At first it seems like the drifter's gonna try something funny with Billy until he's killed by the lame gypsy/pirate/werecat who then, after the creepiest damn birthday party I've ever seen, chases down the helpless little boy, slashes his face and buries him alive! 13 was not a lucky number for Billy... ::: I thought Felix Ward as the deliciously sinister villain was great! And not one other acting credit for him ever.. The setup is so epic and cool! Ancient, evil corpse-wizard residing in his abode of the damned, summoning up a mad menagerie of freakish demons to seek out and kill the group of unfortunates that are trapped in his funhouse of doom, orchestrating the fates of victims and a symphony of horrors like a well-played game of chess, all for the sake of resurrecting the idealised lady love who poisoned herself to escape him in the first place! The magnificently Gothic old mansion was a truly excellent setting for classic '80's terror. All the gloomy dark hallways and decrepit rooms make for one superbly nightmarish tone that's spiced-up by the beasties that are constantly appearing out of nowhere, creating a feeling of the unknown around every corner. Most of the cast were admittedly annoying and forgettable, making you wish that they'd just hurry up and die, which in this case was probably a good thing! And that doesn't even matter in a movie like this. That kind of low-budget acting just adds to the charm. The wannabe comedian with the sock puppet especially deserved to die horribly - he really does! Fabulously disgusting and detailed effects in that sequence. I did like the oh-so British "Adrienne."(such a bitch!) Her droll bad attitude was really funny in the bit where she's smoking a cigarette and bossing around her wimpy husband! The music that plays during the scene where she's fighting the snake gremlins is so strange and dramatic. And a very eerie and poignant scene is the one of her gruesome, stop-motion animation death via the electric tentacles of a wailing abomination. And then its unspeakable heart of darkness beats anew... Ha! The muckmen were so easy to kill! They were the easiest out of all the monsters to defeat. I wonder why they 'farted?' Maybe it was swamp gas escaping because they were made outta mud! Even if it's not scary, the silly noises make that part a guilty pleasure. I love the finale with the rocking music blaring as the blushing bride is chased through deep dark woods by the demonic zombie horde! Totally goes on forever, but it was the perfect, over-the-top punchline to the whole movie - creatures of the night, put your claws together!!! ::: Half the film is kind of serious, and the other silly. It's a soup of various horror concepts that somehow to me, all blend together into a joyously macabre work of dark wonder. And regardless of its faults "Spookies" delivers where it counts, maintaining a menacing and surreal tone of dread that keeps the viewer creeped-out until the bitter end. And I do so adore that bad ending! Everybody's freaking dead and buried, the snake survives and the princess is his unwilling prize for all eternity, and his black victory is complete! This picture has something of the old E.C. Grand Guignol magic about it. Cheesy at points, but overall an awesome *spooky* blast to watch! Bloody brilliant!!!