Ghoulies II: Collector's Edition – MVD Rewind Collection (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1987
Director: Albert Band
Writers: Charlie Dolan, Dennis Paoli, Luca Bercovici
Cast: Damon Martin, Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro, J. Downing, Kerry Remsen, Dale Wyatt, Mickey Knox, Romano Puppo, Anthony Dawson

Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 89 Minutes 47 Seconds (PG-13 Version), 91 Minutes 19 Seconds (R-Rated Director's Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: PG-13, NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $49.95

"The demonic, toilet-dwelling goblins are back! Stowed away in "Satan's Den," the traveling House of Horror operated by carnival workers Larry and Uncle Ned, the Ghoulies merrily devour the sideshow attraction's patrons... until Larry realizes his horror house is for real and tries to flee the scene!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD - Both Versions), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2024 4K (2160p) Restoration (16-Bit Scan of the Original Camera Negative)."

Ghoulies II comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 88.9 GB

Feature: 43.7 GB (R-Rated Director's Cut), 43 GB (PG-13 Version)

The 4K UHD includes the theatrical PG-13 cut and a restored R-rated director's cut, while the Blu-ray only comes with the theatrical PG-13 cut. This new transfer is a substantial improvement over MVD’s 2023 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones look healthy, color saturation is excellent, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K scan of interpositive overseen by MGM."

Ghoulies II comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.3 GB

Feature: 22.5 GB

This Blu-ray is the same disc that MVD released in 2023.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Stereo - Both Versions, LPCM Stereo - PG-13 Version (Blu-ray Only))

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. There are three removable subtitle options: English, French, and Spanish. The audio is clean, clear, balanced, and the ambient sound is well represented. That said, this release's DTS-HD stereo track sounds vastly superior to the DTS-HD 5.1 track that Scream Factory used for this Blu-ray release. The Blu-ray includes the LPCM stereo audio track rather than the DTS-HD stereo audio track. That said, the quality of this audio track is on par with the audio tracks on the 4K UHD.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an introduction by screenwriter Dennis Paoli (1 minute 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Extras on the Blu-ray include a photo gallery (stills/poster), a theatrical trailer (1 minute 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an introduction by Dennis Paoli (1 minute 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), deleted scenes  (2 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Dennis Paoli titled Under A Magic Moon (33 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival featurette tilted More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies 2 (16 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras on the Blu-ray disc include trailers for Ghoulies, Vampire's Kiss, Swamp Thing, and Return of the Swamp Thing.

Rounding out the extras are reversible cover art, a collectible mini-poster (limited to the first pressing), and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

In the mid- to late 1980s, Empire Pictures was a major player in the horror and fantasy film markets. They were only around for five years before they went bankrupt. Empire Pictures made some notable films like Trancers, Re-Animator, From Beyond, Trolls, and two Ghoulies films.

Ghoulies wreak havoc on customers at a carnival who think they're part of the show.

Whenever a film is successful, there is a good chance that there will be a sequel. Case in point: Ghoulies, a film that made seven times its budget. And with Ghoulies II, Empire Pictures took all of the things that made Ghoulies a success and tried to achieve that same success with Ghoulies II, albeit on a much smaller budget.

Fortunately, a reduced budget is not an obstacle for Ghoulies II, a film that does a superb job picking up where Ghoulies left off. And though Ghoulies II is a sequel, it can almost be seen as a low-budget remake of its predecessor. Both films mostly take place in one location: an old mansion in Ghoulies and a carnival in Ghoulies II. Of course, the ghoulies and the mayhem that followed them are the main attractions of both films.

The performances range from adequate to good. And though most performances fall into the former category, at least most of the performances are enthusiastic. The most memorable performance is Royal Dano (The Trouble with Harry) in the role of Uncle Ned, a drunk carnival performer who is in charge of an exhibit called Satan’s Den.

The thing that grabs me when watching Ghoulies is how well put together it is. Though Empire Pictures films are known for their budget limitations, the same cannot be said when it comes to those who worked on these films behind the scenes. Notably, when it comes to John Carl Buechler’s special effects, he was the designer who created the Ghoulies. That said, there is nothing better than practical special effects that are done right. Another key contributor to Ghoulies II is cinematographer Sergio Salvati, who is most known for his collaborations with Lucio Fulci. Ultimately, Ghoulies II is a highly entertaining sequel that is superior to its predecessor.

Ghoulies II gets a 4K upgrade from the MVD Rewind Collection that improves upon their previous releases, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer