Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991)

This movie is quite the spectacle. It has a cast full of recognizable names like Jason Scott Lee (Mowgli in Jungle Book), Kevin McCarthy (RJ Fletcher in UHF), Patrick Labyorteaux (Ram in Heathers), Eva La Rue (Natalia in CSI Miami) and 20 year old Matthew Lilard in his first movie. It is also amazing to me that all of these talented actors came together to work for writer director John Carl Beuchler who brought you gems like Troll and The Dungeonmaster. Either way that's all in the past now.

So Ghoulies 3, what is there to say about this ... uh ... film? It's not really a film as much as it is 94 minutes of on-screen magic seen through the eyes of a 12 year old. The very talented Kevin McCarthy plays Professor Ragnar, a crotchety old windbag of a dean who also teaches Humanities. One day he confiscates a comic book which he later reads aloud in his office, thereby conjuring the presence of the Ghoulies. One of whom is voiced by none other than Richard Kind? Really? The guy from Spin City? Anyway Prof Ragnar pits the Ghoulies against the frats during prank week and pretty soon all 2 frats on campus are at each others' throats.

This movie is really really juvenile. Like I said, basically it was made specifically for 12 year old boys. I think the 12 year old in me really liked it. I think the rest of me saw how awful it was. But I have a hard time judging this movie too harshly given the cast, director, and how much freak'n fun they must've had making this thing. This movie is the definition of guilty pleasure and I'm sure that whoever saw this in their youth is forever tainted by its strange allure. I however am not one of those, perhaps lucky, few. Instead I just kept looking away in disgust at the retarded parts, laughing at the stupid parts, and yelling "it's so and so from such and such" for the rest of the movie.

This movie is just too amazing to get anything less than a 2.5 out of 5. You simply don't see movies like this very often. There are good reasons for that but still, it's amazing that it ever was made in the first place. How do you get funding for something like this? How do you get so many great people excited about something like this? Why did this movie only get a region 2 DVD release? How did this pre-pubescent freak show get a sequel? How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? The world may never know. (I know, it's 3)

If you get a chance to see this, I say watch it. You'll never forget it.