Gremlins 3? Sure, I’m excited. But what I really want is Ghoulies 5! Where is it, and are we actually ever going to get more Ghoulies movies anytime in the near future? The answer is, “Yes.” Only, this isn’t going to be a legacy sequel. We’re getting a full-on reboot from the people who gave it to us in the first place.
Nothing else in 1985 got my buddies and me as excited as seeing that slimy little demonic creature popping out of the toilet on the VHS cover of Ghoulies. Not the teaser for Back to the Future. Not the Indiana Jones-lite poster for The Goonies. Not even Robert Redford in Out of Africa or Steven Spielberg taking on The Color Purple moved us quite the way a bunch of rubber critters scurrying around the bathroom did.
Even funnier, as a kid, there was a family connection between me and this obvious Gremlins ripoff, which became a huge source of playground bragging rights. I’ve always harbored a soft spot in my heart for this junky franchise. So when I saw that first tease for Gremlins 3, all I could think was, “Where’s my beloved Fish Ghoulie?”
The good news is, a new Ghoulies movie is on the way. The other good news? It’s not going to be Ghoulies 5. I only say that’s good news because this series went off the rails in those last couple sequels. The original creators reclaimed the domestic rights to the franchise and announced plans for a brand-new movie trilogy to reboot the series for a new generation. We’re not getting a legacy sequel, though having that slyly hinted at isn’t beyond the realm of possibility in this upcoming redo. Meta jokes are so in now.
Ghoulies arrived in 1985, and believe it or not, this creature feature did get a theatrical release. Considering its smaller budget, many considered it a big hit. Most of us didn’t see it until it hit VHS, though, and that’s where most of us caught up with the sequels, too.
There are four Ghoulies movies altogether. Following the popular first installment, we got Ghoulies II just two years later, and it, too, found its way to limited theaters across the country before becoming another behemoth seller on video tape. Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College was supposed to revitalize the franchise in the ’90s, but its theatrical deal fell through, and suddenly the series was a straight-to-video-only affair.
We’d get one more final film in 1994 called Ghoulies IV, another black-tape release. This one was a little odd, as it replaced the iconic puppets with people in costumes. Turning your furry hobby into a Ghoulies obsession seems like a really wild way to go.
Those later movies aren’t the pinnacle of cinema, but they hold some merit. As bad as they sometimes get, they’re never not watchable. And the constant presence of the Fish Ghoulie at most horror cons has kept this dead franchise alive in the minds of fans for years.
Now that Gremlins 3 is scheduled for its big debut in 2028, you can bet that Luca Bercovici, the director behind the first and best Gremlins homage, is dusting off Ghoulies for an all-new audience.
So why the heck did we never get a Ghoulies 5 back in the ’90s? Well, the franchise was running out of steam, and by the time Ghoulies IV rolled around in 1994, somebody apparently decided the best way to save a few bucks was to ditch the little rubber monsters that made these movies fun and replace them with people in goofy rubber masks. That went about as well as you’d expect, alienating fans who almost completely gave up on the series. It limped to a weak finish, and our favorite toilet-dwelling freaks disappeared from the screen.
The whole B-movie business was taking a beating around that time, too. Empire Pictures and Vestron Video, two names that helped keep this kind of low-budget monster madness alive, both went through major financial troubles. The direct-to-video market that had kept scrappy little franchises like Ghoulies chugging along wasn’t the sure thing it once was. The rights to the series eventually wound up in Sony Pictures’ catalog, and our slimy little friends were left sitting on the shelf for decades. That’s a pretty lousy fate for a bunch of creatures who made their name crawling out of the sewer.
The good news is that Ghoulies isn’t just being dragged out of the basement for another cheap sequel. Original director Luca Bercovici and writer Jefery Levy, along with Theo Lemasters, have officially reclaimed the franchise’s domestic rights from Sony Pictures, and they’ve got much bigger plans for our gritty little critters. The team is developing an entirely new Ghoulies trilogy aimed at a new generation, rather than picking up where the original movies left off. So, no, we’re not necessarily getting Ghoulies 5. At least not the way I was hoping. I’m still holding out for that Fish Ghoulie comeback, though.
In a 2024 update, the team reported that two of the scripts were already finished, with the third halfway there. There was no studio or streaming partner attached at the time, and no release date had been announced, so we’ll have to wait and see when these little monsters actually make it back to the screen. In the meantime, the plan is to expand the Ghouliesuniverse with books and collectibles, including figures and apparel. There’s also a special Halloween one-shot comic, Ghoulies #1, published by American Mythology. Apparently, the Ghoulies are getting the full franchise treatment, and I can’t help wondering if one of those collectibles might finally give my beloved Fish Ghoulie the respect he deserves.
Every time we go to Monsterpalooza, I see that little Ghoulies statue on a merch table, and I think about buying it. I never do. This has been going on for nearly ten years. As for my family connection to Ghoulies? My cousin’s cousin, R. Christopher Biggs (credited as Chris Biggs in the movie) played a crucial role in bringing these creatures to life in the original film. He worked primarily in the special effects makeup and creature mechanics department to execute the movie’s signature practical effects.
On my second birthday, Chrissy “accidentally” slammed my hand in a sliding glass window and nearly cut one of my fingers off. In 1984, I was so proud to hear that he’d helped craft an octopus for an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie called The Goonies. Believe me when I say I bragged about this all throughout fourth grade. Summer comes, we graduate elementary school, and to celebrate, I take a bunch of my little pals to see The Goonies. “Wait until you see the octopus that my cousin’s cousin made!” Well, I’m sure you know how that worked out for me.
One of the things I love most about Ghoulies is the little monsters. So I hope they bring Chris and his team back to give this some authenticity. Biggs executed designs spearheaded by legendary special effects master John Carl Buechler, who served as the lead Ghoulies designer. It’s those designs that we need to see back on the big screen, new and improved and better than ever. Sadly, legendary special effects master and director John Carl Buechler passed away on March 18, 2019, at the age of 66 following a battle with stage IV prostate cancer. Whoever comes in needs to carry the torch he lit.
So while I may not be getting my Ghoulies 5 just yet, it sounds like the little creeps are finally getting another shot at world domination. Along with the new trilogy, there’s a book series in the works, a growing line of figures and collectibles, and Ghoulies #1, a Halloween comic from American Mythology that’s helping set the tone for what’s to come. Even Michael Des Barres, who played the wonderfully rotten Malcolm Graves in the original 1985 movie, has teased a possible return. That’s enough to get this old Ghoulies fan excited. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to stand by the bathroom and wait for my Fish Ghoulie to come home.
