Hobgoblins (1988)

Waste of time

Redundant and unnecessary.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Hobgoblins is an almost incalculably awful Gremlins ripoff conceived and directed by porno director Rick Sloane. The whiny childlike "Kevin" enlists his loathsome friends, including an old guy with bushbaby eyebrows and a woman who has apparently slept with every male in L.A., in a quest to defeat the monstrous HOBGOBLINS, a race of remarkably inanimate Muppets with reptile faces superglued on. Featuring such compelling scenes as a RAKE-FU FIGHT between Kevin and an "Army guy" and the destruction of the cherished nightclub "Club Scum", Hobgoblins features 99 ways to kill your libido with sleaze and brainlessness. However, it still looks better than that stupid Baywatch remake with The Rock and the High School Musical Kid, so it gets one bonus star. Be sure to tip Roadrash and the Joel Grey looking guy at the bar for me!

I wish it were possible to give minus stars. This is possibly the worst thing to come from that decade. The only thing that made it bearable was watching it on MST3K. The acting is wooden and the script is ridiculous. I wouldn't be surprised if the actors changed their names and moved out of the country.

Hobgoblins (1988) * 1/2 (out of 4)A group of young adults are doing young adult things when they must battle a group of small alien creatures known as hobgoblins. It turns out that these hobgoblins lure their victims by making their fantasies come to life and then they kill them. HOBGOBLINS was just one of many GREMLINS rip-offs that took place during the 80s and it's rather amazing to think that there was an actual market for stuff like this, TROLL and GHOULIES. This film here got more attention than it probably deserved after appearing on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 but this film has enough bad laughs on its own to where you don't have to watch it with the show.If you're going to watch this movie then you should obviously know that you're not getting some sort of masterpiece. The film can certainly fit into the "so bad it's good" style of picture because there's really nothing overly good here, although the entire idea is just campy. I mean, you've got a phone sex addict whose fantasy comes to life when the girl of his dreams knocks on the door. What follows is what you'd expect from an 80s film like this.The performances are decent for the most part but at least the cast are interesting and keep you entertained. The special effects are certainly laughable as the hobgoblins are just hairy little creatures that are certainly never scary. It seems whenever they attack someone the actor just wiggles them around ala Bela Lugosi and the octopus in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER. Still, HOBGOBLINS has some mild charm as long as you don't take it too serious.

Remember Gremlins? Wasn't that a fun movie? And Gremlins 2: Electric Gremlinpoo? Or whatever? Wasn't that one fun, too? Well here comes a movie from some people who hoped you saw Gremlins 1 & 2, Ghoulies 1 through 4, Troll 1 & 2, and even some of the lesser Muppet movies, and yet still crave more!!!! Somehow, a bunch of hobgoblins have been locked up in a film vault in a film studio (coincidence? I don't think so...), and they must be kept in there or the mayhem they cause will destroy the earth.So, someone is constantly leaving the door open.No, seriously. Every time they go towards the vault, the door is already open.The hobgoblins mostly do things to your mind, that way they don't have to actually interact with people, because....Well that stuff's expensive! There's also about five people in the movie, and all of about five sets. Not much happens. Perfect for riffing. I saw this as part of Elvira's 13 Nights of Halloween on Hulu, but MST3K did a much better job. Either way, don't watch it without a guide. It could be dangerous to your mental health.