From the moment that hard-partying friends arrive in two cars at an abandoned mansion, they are terrorized by undead zombies, a ouija board, mummified corpses, snake-like demons, a hungry tentacled beast, a giant spider monster, vampires, a possessed witch, and even the Grim Reaper. An old sorcerer will stop at nothing to sacrifice the lives of these visitors in order to resurrect his lovely bride, who has been lying preserved for the past 70 years. This ghostly plan spells doom for our unwitting protagonists. Scary monsters and super creeps keep them running, running scared.
The backstory for the 1986 independent horror film,
Spookies, which enjoyed success at movie rental stores party because of the fascinating cover art of the VHS tape edition, is just as interesting as the main feature itself. Directors Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran, along with screenwriter Frank Farel, began production on this project, originally titled
Twisted Souls, in 1984, and finished the principle photography that same year for a straightforward tale involving the friends who show up at the isolated house and are picked off one by one by multiple creatures who come from out of the woodwork. Due to creative differences during the editing stage, however, the film's financial backer, a British video distributor named Michael Lee, assumed control, and, with director Eugenie Joseph, padded 45 minutes of the original footage with newly-filmed sequences involving the nefarious sorcerer, the resurrected bride, a young vampirish son, an ill-fated 13 year-old runaway boy, a basement witch, and several zombies. The end result, much to the chagrin of the original creative team, is basically two separate movies entwined into one mystifying, yet oddly mesmerizing whole.
Faulkner, Forel, and the late Doran would probably not concur with my review, but I think that
Spookies, in its current crudely-assembled form, works as a wildly entertaining and amusing finished product, with Michael Lee's added scenes being just as engaging, albeit more technically amateurish, as the originally filmed narrative. The footage directed by Faulkner and Doran fares best in terms of inventive special effects, especially with regard to the monsters, and the acting, although nobody here is competing for Academy Awards. I have a soft spot, however, for the inserted scenes from Lee and Joseph, mostly because of the opening sequences involving the 13 year-old boy who encounters a nightmare after strolling into the mansion and because of the goth-like bride, played by the late Maria Pechukas, who resists the charms of her warlock partner before finally before running through a cemetery in her wedding dress and slingback heels from zombies who rise from their graves, in the style of Michael Jackson's “Thriller”, to the tune of nifty synth music.
Nothing about
Spookies makes any sense. I have no idea how the disparate protagonists, who come across as a more annoying incarnation of
The Breakfast Club, would be hanging out with one another in the first place. I have no idea how the sorcerer and his son plan to use the lives of the travelers to bring his bride back to life. I have no idea why the most memorable character, a hand puppet extraordinaire played by the late Peter Iasillo Jr., is wearing a T-shirt with a picture of himself. I have no idea why Michael Lee decided to use flatulence noises during the scene where mummified muck men attack a couple of the visitors. Thanks to the visuals of the monsters, all of which seem to come out of nowhere at the drop of a hat, the entire schizophrenic cacophony comes together. If, like me, you enjoy all things 1980s horror and makeup effects, then you should add this one to your queue.
Vinegar Syndrome did not take any shortcuts with this two-disc Blu-ray set. The main feature, with its myriad of sources, looks excellent. The Q&A feature on the first disc is a fun-spirited addition. I am still going through Disc Two, having just finished the background documentary on the film itself with many of the key players interviewed, and I am about to go through the piece on Lee's video nasties distribution company.
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