 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. This is for the 1986 film Spookies, which if you want this Blu-ray get a good look at it get a good look at the back Get a good look at the inside Some good artwork on this So if you want this Blu-ray, it's available through vinegar syndrome I bought this just kind of on a whim because when I bought it was a new release And I had heard some rumblings in the kind of horror underground about Spookies and the kind of storied past that it had but I hadn't dug into that past until I sat down well a bit before I sat down to watch this movie in anticipation of this review and Very glad I own this very glad I've seen this especially glad I own this because there are two feature length Documentaries on here one is kind of the documentary of all the issues that went on with the film And then the other one is kind of like a making of documentary and their feature length Which is really cool. So I haven't watched those yet because I just watched the actual film for the first time So I do plan on watching the documentaries on here and their commentary tracks too for the documentaries and for the film There's a lot that I'm gonna want to dig into with this Blu-ray So this was well worth the purchase in my opinion now that said if you have not seen Spookies spoilers going on in this although It really won't spoil much because it's it's one of those movies that like there's no real point to it It's just like a movie to be a movie which you know in the 80s There were a lot of horror movies that were just made to because they were movies, you know for entertainment value now That said there is a good movie. Well good as an entertaining. There's a very cool entertaining movie Buried within this film Actually, it would be pretty easy to pull it out Basically, they need to take certain portions of the film just edit them out Have it be maybe about an hour long film and it would be way more succinct way more interesting It would hold your attention a lot better and just more cohesive and fun to be honest. So Real quick. Okay, so I'll get into the stuff directed by Jeannie Joseph Which by the way, what the hell? What the hell? What the hell Jeannie, that's all I got to say I'll get further into that so directed by Jeannie Joseph who also did the film Mindbenders Thomas Doran and Brennan Faulkner who did Killer Dead now Thomas Thomas Doran and Brennan Faulkner were the original directors for this film. They did the stuff. I liked Jeannie Joseph did the stuff that is garbage. So what the hell Jeannie? And I'll talk a little bit more about why that happened. Although I can't do all of it Written by Doran and Faulkner who also wrote Killer Dead and Burgund What the hell and Burgund? That's another person. What the hell? She wrote the stuff for like the new stuff put in so bad She went on to be a producer for the Jim Carrey film The Mask by the way, which is interesting and Frank Ferrell who ended up becoming the producer on Street Trash which man, I need to watch Street Trash and do a review for that. I Special place in my heart for that film. It's terrible, but it's awesome. I love it So this actually ended up having a limited theatrical release And then it was also it went to video and then it was also shown a few times on the USA Network, which Is the USA Network even still around? I don't know It was originally called Twisted Souls, but the financier for this film actually the financier Probably the biggest problem with this film He thought that he wanted the this the name to be something similar to the Goonies because hey that worked for the Goonies Which is weird. So they came up with spookies, which you know what? I'm fine I'm fine with spookies twisted souls spookies. It didn't really matter to me But the financier was the biggest problem because he hired a cast and crew They did almost 90% of the film and then he fired them and then got another cast and crew Who was supposed to finish the film now when that new cast and crew got it? It was like 90% done anyway. So when you watch the film, it definitely feels like there are pieces just like Shoehorned into it all throughout the film and that's literally what happened Like there was another concept for the film there and then the new people came in they used some of that Actually, I mean they used a good amount of like that initial concept But they added a lot of stuff that didn't need to be there a lot of stuff. That's very distracting a lot of stuff that's idiotic and just pure stupidity and That's what bogs the film down. That's what takes you out of things that that's what's garbage about this Now apparently this financier is kind of an eccentric weird type person And this goes to one of the issues the lot of people end up having with especially independent film when they need to find People to fund it their filmmaking is that you can end up with people who aren't happy with being like here Here's the money do your creative thing you they they want to get too involved They're like that's my money. So I want to tell you how to do the film even though I'm not a filmmaker They just want to feel like they're a filmmaker They just don't want the money funding your vision and your creativity to be enough Like they just want to stick their hands in there and do stuff So apparently that's the way this financier was and it ended up leading to a series of arguments and then that's when things just came to a head and he just Fired everyone and then apparently found some people who were in the porn industry to talk to who are like hey, we could you know take care of the rest of this and they Convinced him and yeah Now I will say that those the additional stuff that was added to the film There's like one thing in particular in particular. I actually like that was added to the film Which was the the witch the witch portion in like the basement cave. That was actually cool. That was really cool but Other than that, I thought it was all terrible, but it looked good Like they did a good job actually shooting their stuff they put in it But the story was terrible the acting was I mean none of the acting in this overall is all that great But the story was terrible. It felt like they shoehorned in a lot of stuff and the Catman like Anand Jeanie what the hell with this flamboyantly Dressed Catman with a freaking hook for one of its hands the majority of what that character does throughout the film and excessively is Walk around and listen at doors and like just touch the door handle and just just like creeps around this house The entire film means nothing pretty much to the film until the very end, which still means nothing It's a character for no reason someone had a crazy hard on for the concept of this Catman And it makes no sense. It's awful. It's horrible and That's the thing I hate the most about this film I hate the sorcerer and his bride that whole concept. That's terrible But it's not annoying like the flamboyantly dressed hook-handed Catman dude who keeps making purring noises and little like cat noises It's off-putting it's terrible. It's well genie and Anne You suck You suck Terrible terrible and the financier I forget what his name is also sucks that would because The original stuff like you can see what the original stuff was you see the original concept and a lot of the original concept was Putting a lot of cool practical effects stuff in there and just basically having it be a bunch of people who show up at a house and There's creepy weird stuff going on and they kind of realize at some point that there was a sorcerer in the house And it's not so much about that. It's light on story, but the whole concept is just Exploring the house and having these crazy things come up with cool practical effects. That's enough like for the entertainment value That's enough, but then it gets bogged down by all that garbage that was added after the fact and it's just it's a shame It really is a shame and that's why I say they should do like a definitive cut of this that was just the original stuff Because it would be a lot better even though it would only be like an hour long, maybe it would still be a lot better Anyway, I went off on a diatrap. So I haven't seen the documentary about like the issues with it yet, but I did read Like interviews an article and interviews with a bunch of people involved with the film on both crews Through this website called the dissolve. It's just the dissolve comm so go to that website and read that It's something You should definitely read it it gives you a lot of backstory on all the crazy stuff that went on with that with that film so I'll tell you exactly what portions were added by the new casting crew after it was taken from the original the Kid looking for his birthday party who later on becomes that the blue Kid with like the druid outfit. So same thing So both of those were added the man in the tree, which is like real Weird real weird the cat man obviously the sorcerer the girl in the coffin The zombies and the only good thing that which in like the basement cave thing Which looked good and was cool, but shouldn't have been there cuz you know none of that stuff should have been there Just saying so in the beat so going through the events of the film the pulsating Stone coffin in the beginning is really cool looking and a really awesome way to kind of start the film It kind of gives this kind of creepy vibe this foreboding and it's a cool visual Just because of like how it's moving and the ground moves around it as well. So I quite like that I Did dig how they kind of just like walk right into things with the film initially Even with the newer stuff added like it felt random and weird But it was like in a fun way, but then as that kind of random weird stuff just kept happening throughout the film It then felt annoying which was all those things that were added after the fact The dialogue seems kind of disconnected from the actual film a lot of the times and Most of it ends up being the stuff that had been added to the film Some of it ends up being original to it. So overall dialogue a little bit rough, but Yeah, mainly a problem with the newer stuff Once again, what the hell with the Catman what the hell Like it's a dumb concept in the first place when you just say it and then when you start working on it and Legitimately do it. It's an even worse concept. I just cannot stress how bad this Catman is The dude with the puppet may have been my actual favorite character Although the puppet didn't have as much of a role in it as I wanted to I think the whole time They were going through the house when he was going through the house He should have had the puppet and been doing things with it that would have been fun But I understand for some people would just spend a little too over the top a little too goofy. So There are a bunch of quick cuts in this film that feel really odd and disorienting that happens quite a few times And it really like it gets disorienting because it's like quick-cut quick-cut quick-cut quick-cut and you're just like What am I seeing like what are the what is happening right now? Can we focus for a little bit here? And from what I understand from that article I read that had a lot to do with the finance here He was really big into doing like let's get to this quicker Let's let's cut the time down and and get to this quicker get to that quicker Like he loved the idea of quick cuts and really forced that issue which is is dumb Obviously this person's not a director not a director The headstone popping up and then the name being like emblazoned on it for that dude Louis Wilson outside in the beginning that was cool. I really like that Lots of fun. There's gonna be a lot of me just pointing out. I like that. I like that because there's really no story here There's no subtext. It's just a crazy film if you keep here's a great quote if you keep talking I'm gonna fix your ass What does that even mean? That's just another thing about like the dialogue and then to that because it's from the character Duke Why is Duke so immediately hostile in this film? He's hostile towards everything and every one from the get-go like this guy just has a bad day every day Is what it seems like so it just makes him like this wacky over-the-top weird character and then that's what ends up Eventually going to the part where I think it's Dave is the other character He gets into a fistfight with which seems like it's kind of out of nowhere, but hey, whatever um, whatever So one of the one of the scenes I really liked was were the dirt creatures that emerged from the basement And then how they took care of them with you know, opening that giant wine cask and then kind of like dissolving Which looked cool The dissolving looked really cool and the dirt creatures looked really cool And I really like that scene But all the farts that were going on actually made me laugh I kind of you know on a rewatch. I think I'll appreciate the fart aspect of it more Apparently that's another thing that the financier Insisted on being in the film where all these farts going on during that scene They said that um, one of the I think it was one of the directors original directors Was quoted as saying that like he just had this thing about like this base toilet humor that he loved So he really wanted to work in like farts into the film So random who is this dude? But I like that scene Uh, what's with the characters multiple characters deciding to just Attempt to drink booze while they're trying to explore this house like duke does it and then Another guy was that billy? I can't remember all their names He he does it too and both of them like they drink it and then they spit it out It's so weird Uh The part where linda and duke are arguing okay, there there's a part where linda and duke are arguing And uh duke is on the right side of the screen and linda's on the left side of the screen And then all of a sudden it cuts real quick and it switches And duke's on the left and linda's on the right and it's this moment of like What like what just happened? So I literally stopped and rewound and sure enough. That's what happens is like they just switched sides That's a continuity issue. That's an editing error like It's so weird like It's jarring and it just like having all those quick cuts It's like this jarring disorienting thing that happens with the film and you're just like what the hell just happened I love the scene with the little green creature that attacks adrian in like that bedroom Although that's one of those scenes where they keep doing a bunch of these quick cuts And that kind of like disorient you and kind of messes up the scene had it been kind of longer takes It would have been a lot better, but overall I like to look at that creature I like the idea of that creature I like that scene and how she ends up like crushing it under the boudoir and the blood coming out That's a fun one Like I just wrote to just they someone had a heart on for this cat man And they just shoehorned him in to every Area that they could they like literally all he does is creep around the house and like listen at doors I mean it's it's well Adrian's face melt scene really cool looked really good. It looked like it was kind of like a stop motion type deal I don't I like that one Uh, I already talked about liking the witch in the basement actually looked good The only good thing that those newer cast and crew actually did And then I was thinking why does the old sorcerer talking through carol's body when she's all like messed up looking Sound like he's talking through a pvc pipe Like that's literally what it sounds like. It's kind of weird like I understand it I guess I understand it to a degree That he's like speaking through a conduit basically So maybe it will sound different like that's okay ish But then when the new cast and crew came in With the actual actor who is the sorcerer They replicated that voice thing a little bit and it just doesn't make sense Like why would that just be his default voice? It makes sense if it's his voice like through someone because that's like a magical thing that could change his voice But why would he just sound like that? like Poor choice a lot of poor choices The grim reaper creature in this looks really good and I love the touch of those red glowing eyes And as you can see he's featured on there Uh prominently and also that green the green creature. I was talking about back there. Yeah, really cool dig it The work they put into the giant spider woman and the guy getting drained of his insides is really impressive And actually I think that might be my favorite scene of the whole film That's really cool when she starts like having the legs come out of her and her face is changing And then she like jams her like sucker thing into the guy and it just like he just like implodes like everything just like Shrinks shrinks down Really good. I was very impressed with that scene and that's what I'm saying Like there's some really cool entertaining stuff in here that but The financier just killed this film It could have been so much better And I understand that like he ended up getting kind of mad because it was a situation where They ended up needing more money than they originally asked for it It ended up taking more time to shoot than they had originally said and things just kept getting like bump bump bump But I mean you have to understand if you're going to be a financier like do you want a good product or do you want it done? Based on what people said initially I don't know The explosion of the grim reaper creature when he falls off the building Was overkill like I I I understand like cool have an explosion But it was like way too big of an explosion. It just felt like okay. That's very overstated. What the heck The shot of the guy's shadow carrying the axe. I think that was the character dave Where he's like upstairs and it's like the shot of like the staircase and the wall And it shows like his shadow like coming out of a door with the axe and then like turning and coming down the steps That shot looked really good. It was very well composed very well lit looked really cool that shadow shot amazing Um, so basically what's going on in here. This is where dawned on me when I was watching the film that carol is possessed by the sorcerer So why do we then have these added scenes of the actual sorcerer there? It feels so disconnected, you know like The whole concept of him possessing carol is that he's not there like it's from beyond the grave basically So then to have him physically be there Which is like where is he in the house and why is stuff happening with his bride? At the same time like it's also disconnected. It doesn't make sense. It should have been left alone. It just doesn't work Uh, the zombie scene at the end which was all from the new cast and crew At times was okay, but for the most part it was it just took too long It was way too long and drawn out it got very very boring very fast And then um, it just you know goes to an ending That's just not good like it it just ends with this severe flop especially when The bride gets picked up by this random dude in a car and is trying to get away and then realizes Oh my gosh, it's the cat man. And I was just like for someone like me, of course Of course, that's how we end the film. It's the cat man because it's always the damn cat man Uh, I like cats. Look, I love cats. I have a cat. I'm all about cats. I have a shirt that says best cat dad ever I hate this cat man. I don't like everything cats just saying So once again, the original concept seems like what would have really worked for this this film A simple story of a group exploring a creepy weird house and creatures showing up. They should have just put a one hour film out The night they said it was like 90 done They should have just gone with the 90 done and just put it out as was it would have been fine It would have been better than what we ended up getting here And I really think that vinegar syndrome should have put that cut on here because they didn't But i'm not mad at them because you know, they have the documentaries and the commentary on there Which i'm gonna dig into i'm very excited about So the strength of the film obviously just really lies in the practical effects The practical effects moments are what you're really looking forward to and other than that which in the basement cave It's all from the original cast and crew Damn this financier and damn you genie and an you dipshits Terrible god It just makes me so mad because like there's a good fun entertaining film here and I don't Like I don't think I can watch it again as it is because There's just too too much of that added crap. That's just that it's crap and I can't sit through it It's so distracting. I guess I could just like you know fast forward and watch it that way I feel like I need to cut this myself Just for my personal viewing like put it on my computer and like put it in iMovie or something and cut pieces out of it Just just for me Just saying Anyway, that's all I have to say about it I would love to talk to some other people down in the comments about their feelings on spookies and what they didn't didn't like And you know differing opinions because maybe people love it as is that's fine. You know, we can talk about that so uh, this is one I have to rate two ways obviously so as A film in the pantheon of all films. I mean this is obviously like a I'm gonna one star because the practical effects are pretty good. So and I won't go half I'm gonna go one star on it In the sense of so bad. It's good film It's hard. I got to put it at 2.5 I I would put it higher if it wasn't for all this stuff that was added by the second cast and crew If it wasn't for that, I think I could go as high as like a three and a half or something Because man, those practical effects. It's just fun. But um, yeah, so two and a half on that But anyway, uh, thanks everyone for checking this out. I really appreciate it. Do me a really quick favor. I would really really appreciate it Hit that subscribe button. Um, I Really Really appreciate every single time someone does that it means a lot to me and it takes you literally a second So if you like anything I've ever done on this channel, that's your way to repay me Also, hit the notification bell if you're gonna do that because then that way You know when I'm putting up new videos or when I'm doing live streams all that stuff Uh, but regardless, thank you and another thing real quick if people could, um Tweet at email, whatever you need to do. Um, joe bob Briggs and Darcy the male girl and tell them that they should cover spookies because I think the last drive-in could do a bang-up job Showing and dissecting and talking about the backstory on spookies. That would be a lot of fun. So Do that. But anyway, thanks for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal Thank you