Hobgoblins 2

The unexpected but totally welcome sequel to Hobgoblins turns out to be a masterpiece of finely toned cheeseball comedy. Rick Sloane outdoes himself, as do all the cast members, in lovingly recreating and perfecting upon all of the details that made the original Hobgoblins what it was, with a plethora of improvements that truly do justice to its predecessor as well as its audience.

Hobgoblins 2 proudly flaunts its facade of a cheap horror flick to turn out to be a top-notch comedy, particularly for lovers of obscure low-budget movies. However, this sequel seems to transcend the genre of its degeneratively exploitative former to take on a veiled yet outright humor context. This time, the cheap puppet monsters seem downplayed in favor of further character analysis and an even more suburban exploration of the characters' daily lives. In this sense, the movie expands upon reinventing the characters from the first movie while remaining true to their motivations and foibles with impeccably fumbled writing and a harshly unrealistic-realism that lampoons young adult romance.

The settings are down to earth, albeit limited to a rather suburban setting. Jumping between the characters' homes and the caricature hospital is a bit constrictive, but do not seem out of place to the story. It is the extras that help give the most character to the environs, with their bizarre, almost Twin Peaks-esquire peculiarities that make their cornball routine fresh and lovable. If there's one thing this movie lacks, it's incompetence. Of special note is the attention paid to the characters' relationships: Nick and Daphne's oversexed and rabid romance, perfectly countered by Kevin and Amy's frigid and unfulfilling polar opposite relationship, with both refracted by Kyle's lonesome and misled desire for something perhaps more transcendental. And while we may question how these characters ended up hanging out together, there is little doubt that the actors exude perfect chemistry with one another, be the relationship of the characters friendship or courtship.

Even this self-aware spoof does maintain some flaws, however. For one thing, I find myself wishing for just a bit more "suspense" and more puppet wrestling, as the aftertaste of the movie feels like the entire film's a bit heavy on snarky talky scenes. As a fan, I also recall Kyle being somewhat quieter in the first movie, and sometimes I wonder if he wasn't a bit too unsympathetic this time around, but this speculation is perhaps a moot point. However, a major flaw is the fact that for the most part Hobgoblins 1 may be required viewing before its sequel in order to better grasp the self-referential humor or even the point of view from which the film is coming from. While this last point remains a more significant negative of the film, on the whole Hobgoblins 2 is not devoid of its plus qualities.

As previously mentioned, Hobgoblins 2 is both funny and loyal to the first film, exceeding the previous film for sheer quality by at least a fair margin, although the first Hobgoblins doubtlessly remains a classic from being featured on the immortal Mystery Science Theater 3000. The second film by far requires no such riffing commentary, and such treatment would only be awkward if not redundant, as Hobgoblins 2 is keenly aware of itself without breaking the fourth wall too much. Hobgoblins 2 also features an outstanding balance, that perfect pitch it needs to succeed, as it is fully capable of being unflinching without crossing the self-destructive line of shamefulness.

As a whole, Hobgoblins 2 is a Quixotic embrace with conceptualizing old standards to be fresh and exciting again. To create this level of fan service requires such attentive duty and caring for the genre that the entire cast and crew ought to be commended for their work, even in an era where people seem to know where you're coming from too quickly. Forgetting any tired cynicism, this film certainly feels like it was an enjoyable experience to make, which is important in any cinema. The essential factor in quality is that the subject be true to itself, and true to its audience.

I feel no qualms about using the following phrase as I feel it accurately pertains to this movie: Thank you, Hobgoblins 2, for teaching us to laugh about love, again.

Hobgoblins 2 (2009)

1/2 (out of 4)

The original HOBGOBLINS was a rip-off of GREMLINS but somehow it made some cash but it became best known for how bad it is. The film gained a cult following throughout the VHS era and then MST3K did it a favor and gave it even more attention. Originally director Rick Sloane planned on making a sequel two years after the movie but it ended up taking him until 2009.

This film follows the original screenplay that was written back then and we have the same characters returning, although they're being played by different actors. The film has the look of a film that was shot in the 1980s so I give the filmmaker credit for trying to stay true to his original version but there are so many problems with this thing that it's really hard to be entertained by any of it.

The basic plot has the hobgoblins coming back for revenge but the film is just a complete mess. The original movie, I'm sure, was made as a serious film but it just didn't work out and turned out rather campy, which is why it gained a cult following. This movie tries to be like that and it was purposely made bad to try and be cool or at least have the same campy feel of the original but it just doesn't work.

When movies started to be labeled "so bad they're good" many filmmakers went out and tried to make them on purpose. The problem is that these films are simply flat out bad where as a true "so bad it's good" movie was meant to be something serious and just turned out bad. When you try to make something bad on purpose it just doesn't have the same effect and HOBGOBLINS 2 is just a really awful movie that doesn't have any laughs, any scares and just isn't as charming as it thinks it is.

I give the filmmaker credit for trying to film the original screenplay (with a few updates) but it just doesn't work and in the end it's a very bad film without any entertainment value.

What do you do if your career has remained stagnant for a decade? When the demand for films about hooker cops have dried up because the USA Network doesn't have "Up All Night" anymore? Well if you're Rick Sloan you make a remake/sequel to your (in)famous other film that only got ANY acknowledgement whatsoever by being featured on MST3K. But this time out, instead of being the butt of the joke, you'd seek to be in on the joke and make the movie intentionally campy. But you'd try way too hard & once again it would all end up in (predictable) disaster.

There's no point in describing the plot here, as if you've seen the first one, you've pretty much seen this. Oh the hobgoblins pray on peoples' fears instead of their fantasies and it's set a bit later then the first, but otherwise it's the same thing. Only somewhere worse because the movie's self-aware how bad it is the time out. Needless to say I didn't care for the movie in the least.

Eye Candy: None in the actual movie, but there are some topless babes in the trailer for "Mind, Body & Soul"

My Grade: D-

DVD Extras: Commentary with director Rick Sloan; 'Hobgoblins 2: what were they thinking?' (a 9 minute 50 second featurette on why Rick made the movie as well as the cast from the first one reacting to watching it); nearly 5 minutes (it seems longer) of worthless deleted scene; stills gallery; deathly unfunny fake trailers for Chainsaw Chicks, Nightmare of the lost whores, & Amputee Hookers; and sadly all-too real trailers for this film, as well as, "Hobgoblins", "the Visitants", "Blood Theater", "Good Girls Don't", & "Mind, Body & Soul"

Hey, i know everybody thinx they're an expert on horror nowadays, and i'm no exception. I live for horror VHS - i don't even really care or like DVD re-releases (which i thought this was). Okay, the whole time i'm watching this movie, i'm thinking this was made in '87/'88 (hob 2) becuz it was soO 87/88 no flinching - the hardcore over/under-done acting, the lighting - i thought the internet jokes were about the early internet - i still can't believe this wuz done in 2007! Awesome job pulling that off! and the director's a really nice John Waters fan. kudos need to be given. I met the director when he was signing at Spudic's Movie Empire in Van Nuys.

Hobgoblin 2 (2009) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows McCreedy from the first film locked up in an asylumn for his hobgoblins claim from 10 years ago. When another outbreak occurs that resemble his stories authorities may need his help to stop the hobgoblins.

This movie is directed by Rick Sloane (Blood Theatre) and stars Josh Mills (Death House), Chanel Ryan (BASEketball), Dan Glenn (Castle), Matthew Mahaney (Eraser) and Karen Knotts (Vice Academy 5).

This is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously in any way. This is more a comedy than horror. The comedic content is even more miss than hit than the first one. I will say the nurse in this is an A+. The girl scout was pretty random as were the commercials. The hobgoblins puppets make you roll you eyes and laugh at the same time.

Overall this is a bad horror movie that's still worth a watch. I would score this a 4/10 and recommend seeing it once.