SPOOKIES (1986)

 

Directed By: Eugenie Joseph, Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Duran

Written By: Brendan Faulkner, Frank M. Farel, Thomas Duran and Ann Burgund

Cinematography: Robert Chappell & Ken Kelsch 

Edited By: Eugenie Joseph 

Cast: Felix Ward, Maria Pechukas, Dan Scott, Alec Nesmer, A.J. Lowenthal, Pat Wesley Bryan, Peter Dain, Nick Gionta, Lisa Friede, Joan Ellen Delaney 

A wicked sorcerer tries to sacrifice a group of people inside his house to use their vitality to keep his wife alive.

This film is nothing that makes any sense story and watching it. It has a basic plot line of unlikeable characters coming together in a haunted house and being picked apart one by one by various monsters.

This emphasizes the practical special effects of the movie and shows that there was a passion behind the film before the behind-the-scenes battle for control of the film between the producer and the filmmakers. Which resulted in neither getting exactly what they wanted nor a film that was damaged at best. 

So you can look at the film as typical of the era with practical effects, or you can look at it as a disjointed mess. 

Watching the film half the time It’s hard to follow and can be random. Where you barely know what’s going on, but it keeps you interested and never boring in trying to find out how it will end, or what it all means. 

It’s Not some damaged masterpiece but feels like Something that could have been somewhat noteworthy if everything came together the way it was supposed to. Instead of us having farting monsters in the basement 

whereas the behind the scenes story is far more entertaining than anything on the screen. So much so that there was a documentary named TWISTER TALE: THE UNMAKING OF SPOOKIES  that tells you all about it.

Grade: B-