Ghoulies IV

...but it is pretty awful. A beefy (fat) cop is sent to investigate a break in at a warehouse unaware that a leather clad devil worshipper is trying to summon some demon or other using a red diamond, which she has lost due to her own stupidity. The cop has a similar diamond around his neck, for reasons that become brain-damagingly clear later, and is followed by two demon type things that appeared through a pentagram at the start of the film. Sprinkle in some footage from Ghoulies, some bad acting, daft optical effects and some comedy and you've got a film that you'll only watch when completely lost for anything else.

It's bad, this one, but not totally worthless. The cheapness keeps it going and it's directed by the guy who made the great Chopping Mall and the not-bad 967-Evil 2. The leather clad chick eases the pain a lot, as well as the bad acting. Very little blood and gore for a film of this type though.

Ghoulies IV (1994)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Detective Jonathan Graves (Pete Liapis) is investigating a warehouse robbery and he's convinced that things aren't adding up. It turns out that a dark secret from his past is now taking form. You see, previously he practiced black magic with a girlfriend who is now connected to Faust and she plans on getting Jonathan back into the darkness so that Faust can come to life.

Yes, that plot belongs to GHOULIES IV, although, as you can tell, it almost seems like this was originally meant to be a completely different film but the producers decided to try and cash in on the GHOULIES name. There are a couple ghoulie creatures thrown in but these here are basically just very minor supporting characters who are there for comic relief.

Director Jim Wynorski has created some very fun "B" pictures and for my money I enjoy watching his films because he seems to know what fans want. This here isn't a CITIZEN KANE type of film so one shouldn't be expecting that. What the director does offer up are some funny situations, a decent low-rent story and he at least makes it fun throughout. Yes, this isn't really a GHOULIES movie but I still found plenty to enjoy here.

I thought the whole banter between the Detective and his new partner/former lover was a lot of fun. I thought Liapis and Barbara Alyn Woods had some fun chemistry that added to some entertainment. I also thought the ghoulies themselves were fun here. There are only two of them and they're basically playing an Abbott and Costello like performance where they back talk each other and slap each other around like The Three Stooges. There's even a funny spoof of The Honeymooners with a couple other characters who are only here because it made for a funny homage.

As I said, it's somewhat hard to count this as a GOULIES film but it's certainly better than the previous three movies. The film moves at a nice pace, contains some fun straight-to-VHS type of action and the story is decent enough for this type of movie.

Terence Malick. Stanley Kubrick. Stephen Speilberg. Great directors all, and yet none have come close to the genius that is Ghoulies IV. The man by the name of Jim Winorski, created this masterpiece that deserves a place alongside the great films of our time. And I thought no movie could be worse than Troll 2. Well let me tell you, Troll 2 is to Ghooulies IV what Gone with the Wind is to Heaven's Gate. There are no actors, only people trying to act. And their attempts are beyond the pathetic. The creature on the box isn't even the same as in the movie!! Absolutely the most amateurish film I've ever seen - I could do better with a videocamera and no script. Ugh. I didn't even find it bad enough to be able to enjoy it for camp (like Ed Wood) - it's JUST BAD. The worst film I've ever seen.

Ghoulies IV is one of the most terribly campy sequels ever made. Peter Liapis of the original returns but no Ghoulies are to be found (except in flashbacks to the older films). This really isn't a Ghoulies movie. What it is, is your usual Jim Wynorski flick chock full of stupid antics and half naked chicks. For instance, how did Liapis' character, who was a college student and warlock, become a police detective? It's just too ridiculous. Not that I expected anything else from director Wynorski. He consistently makes campy crap. This is a poor excuse for a Ghoulies film and they're not exactly prizes themselves. They should have just called the movie Little Demon Dudes. Stay far away.

"Look for us in the sequel: Ghoulies IV, Part 2."

This fourth instalment in the Ghoulies saga keeps the greatness of the series alive. This film is funny (both intentionally and unintentionally), Cheesy, and just plain FUN! It involves a sexy Satan-worshiping babe trying to invoke the evil side of her goody-goody ex-boyfriend in the flesh by killing innocent people in strange black-magic rituals (if that makes sense).

Her ex just happens to be the hero from part 1. During one of her rituals, she accidently raises a pair of Ghoulies (named "Lite" and "Dark"). These two have the same wise-cracking personas of the Ghoulies from part 3, but there is a little twist here. In Ghoulies 4, the Ghoulies are the good guys, and they set out to stop the Satan-Worshiping babe's evil plans.