Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991) Vestron/Comedy-Horror RT: 94 minutes Rated R (nudity, sexual content, language, comic violence, partying and alcohol consumption) Director: John Carl Buechler Screenplay: Brent Olson Music: Michael Lloyd and Reg Powell Cinematography: Ronn Schmidt Release date: September 18, 1991 (US, video) Cast: Evan MacKenzie, Kevin McCarthy, Eva La Rue, John Johnston, Patrick Labyorteaux, Billy Morrissette, Hope Marie Carlton, Andrew Barach, Jason Scott Lee, Griffin O’Neal, Marcia Wallace, Stephen Lee, Dan Shor, Sherrie Wills, Patrick Ryan, Thom Adcox, Matthew Lillard [as “Matthew Lynn”], Kathy Benson, Nicole Picard, Sandy Maschmeyer, Bob Bergen, Patrick Pinney, Richard Kind, Kane Hodder. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
Perhaps the makers of Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College should have taken a cue from the cinema history playbook when marketing the third entry of the series. The 1930 drama Anna Christie came with the tagline “Garbo Talks!” as it was the first time lead actress Greta Garbo spoke on film. Why not take a similar route with the three-quel? I can see it now. At the top of the poster in big, bold letters- “For the First Time, Hear the Ghoulies Talk!” That might get a few butts in the seats. It might have even made the studio not cancel its theatrical release.
In another first, Ghoulies III is the first of the series to bypass theaters and go straight to video. It was supposed to come out in 1990, but the deal fell through and it debuted in video stores instead of cinemas in ’91. It’s also the first Ghoulies movie NOT to be released by Empire Pictures. Sadly, the film company founded by Charles Band went under in ’88 and he sold the rights to the Ghoulies franchise to Vestron. Ghoulies III was to be released by Taurus Entertainment, the outfit behind titles like The Invisible Kid (1988), Mortuary Academy (1988), Fist Fighter (1989), Best of the Best (1989) and Class of 1999 (1990). Oh, and let’s forget the infamous John Belushi biopic Wired (1989). But like I said, it didn’t happen. Taurus bowed out and Vestron took over.
Makeup artist John Carl Buechler, who did the makeup effects for the first two films, performs double duty for Ghoulies III. He also serves as director. It’s not his first time as top dog. He also helmed Troll (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Cellar Dweller (1988). He was also one of the seven directors who worked on The Dungeonmaster (1985). Working from a screenplay by one-time non-wonder Brent Olson, Buechler does a pretty good job with the horror comedy…. or is it a comedy horror? Either way, the emphasis is on comedy (and toilets) in this enjoyable third outing that places the titular demonic creatures in an Animal House setting.
Remember the poster for the first Ghoulies, the one showing a Ghoulie popping out of a toilet? Remember how it turned out to be a two-second shot from the movie added post-production after Charles Band came up with the idea for the poster for purposes of promotion (“They’ll Get You in the End!”). Ghoulies II also had a scene involving a toilet and a character literally getting it in the end. Toilets figure prominently in Ghoulies III. The tagline even reads “Out Of the Bowl…. and Totally Out of Control!” It’s where the Ghoulies rise from after they’re summoned by a deranged humanities professor. It’s also how the little monsters do away with one victim. I never heard of death by flushing, but okay.
The action of Ghoulies III is set at fictional Glazier College during “Prank Week”. Two rival fraternities, good guys Beta Zeta Theta and bad guys Gamma House, are vying for a tin foil crown, a prize awarded to the frat who outpranks the other. BZT head Skip Carter (MacKenzie, Scanner Cop II) would like to win it back from Gamma, but the whole Prank War thing is causing him problems with his girlfriend Erin (La Rue, The Barbarians). She breaks up with him to go out with Gamma head Jeremy Heilman (Johnston, Loving), a hateful creep who looks like a member of Hitler Youth.
Professor Ragnar (McCarthy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) hates all fraternities. If it was up to him, they’d all be expelled. He hates Prank Week just as badly. Then he gets hold of the Ghoulish Tales comic book which actually contains the incantation needed to bring the Ghoulies into our realm. Ragnar, of course, speaks the words. They arrive via the toilet and immediately start causing chaos on campus as per their new master’s orders. Naturally, his new power causes the already nutty professor to go even madder. Skip, in danger of being kicked out of school, has to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to it.
I just thought of something else that makes Ghoulies III stand out. It’s the first installment to carry an R rating. Surprisingly, it’s not for graphic violence and gore. In fact, it has no gore at all. The violence is of the comic variety. The university librarian (Wallace, The Simpsons) gets strangled with her own tongue. A really hot girl (Carlton, Slumber Party Massacre III) gets it in the face with a plunger. Then there’s the dude that gets flushed down the toilet. There are some gross effects like when somebody transforms into a big Ghoulie. None of that is why Ghoulies III is R. It’s for the nudity. There are plenty of naked boobs to be found here. There’s also some sexual content that’s a little too hot for PG-13. I have a feeling this was a popular rental among teens in the 90s.
What is there to say about the acting in Ghoulies III? It’s as campy as the movie itself. McCarthy hams it up nicely as the increasingly unhinged professor controlling the Ghoulies. Wallace is funny as the librarian. Johnston, with an obvious blonde dye job, makes a comedically hateful nemesis. The late Stephen Lee, best known for playing The Big Bopper in the Richie Valens biopic La Bamba (1987), is a riot as the most incompetent college rent-a-cop ever. Carlton is FREAKING HOT!
The cast also includes Patrick Labyorteaux (Heathers), Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) and Matthew Lillard (Scream) as Skip’s fraternity brothers, Griffin O’Neal (The Wraith) as one of the Gammas and Sherrie Willis (The Exorcist III) as Erin’s sorority sister Buffy. Kane Hodder, aka Jason Voorhees in four Friday the 13th flicks (Parts VII, VIII, IX and X), makes a quick cameo as the victim of a runaway bucket.
I love how openly Ghoulies III borrows from Animal House. It takes scenes directly from it like when the Ghoulies peep through a window while a girl undresses. There’s a topless pillow fight. Hell, one of Skip’s frat brothers is named Stork. He even wears glasses. The Ghoulies take to college life quite well, wreaking havoc and guzzling 2001 cans of beer.
The creature effects in Ghoulies III are very good. It’s from 1991 so we’re talking about practical effects here- puppetry, animatronics and grotesque makeup. I love that they get to speak this time. Alas, Frank Welker isn’t on hand to lend his voice. Those are provided by Bob Bergen, Patrick Pinney and Richard Kind. They do great! This is exactly the kind of special effects magic I like to see. There are actual artists at work here, not computer jockeys pounding away at keys or whatever.
I saw Ghoulies III once before in ’91 when a friend who operated a video store loaned me a screener copy. I thought it was a blast. I still do. I love the purity in form it represents. It’s a B-movie through and through and never pretends otherwise. It’s made to be enjoyed on a Friday night or a weekend afternoon. It’s my idea of pure bliss.
