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Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins (1988) Movie Poster
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  •  USA  •    •  88m  •    •  Directed by: Rick Sloane.  •  Starring: Tom Bartlett, Paige Sullivan, Steven Boggs, Kelley Palmer, Billy Frank, Tamara Clatterbuck, Duane Whitaker, Jeffrey Culver, Kevin Kildow, Kari French, Daran Norris, James Mayberry, Ken Abraham.  •  Music by: Alan DerMarderosian.
        The hobgoblins are centuries-old creatures that kill their victims while simultaneously allowing them to live out their wildest dreams. When they escape from their film vault prison, security guard Kevin and his friends must do all they can to send the creatures back to the place they came from.

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   Length:  Languages:  Subtitles:
 2:06
 
 

Review:

Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
Image from: Hobgoblins (1988)
This plot is simple, complicated and full of holes at the same time. Basically after the opening scene where a young security guard is killed, the old security guard hires a replacement, our hero: Kevin. They secure an abandoned film studio. The vault is the forbidden area. No one is suppose to go in there. Apparently, 30 years prior (this is all explained in a flashback by the old dude), these things (could be aliens, could be demons) appeared and slowly killed everyone in the studio. The old dude captures them and puts them in a vault. One night during the middle of a break-in, the "Hobgoblins" escape. Let me rephrase that. Our hero, Kevin, "accidentally" releases them. Boredom and stupidity ensue.

This movie is full of new and interesting pain-inducing methods. From the dialog, to the setslocations (the inside of a warehouse, Reputation Road and Club Scum stick out in my mind), to the outfits, to the music, the fight choreography, innumerable scenes of cars parking or stopping and the special effects all scream out for a giant bowl of cyanide Kool-Aid. The first fight scene is a duel between Kevin and his "friend" returning from basic training, Nick. This involves a hoe and a rake (Battle of the Gardeners or something). Now think of the fight scene, in the original Star Trek series, where Kirk and Spock are locked in a duel to the death. It is nothing like that. If Shatner and Nimoy were drugged up on sleeping pills and bottles of alcohol maybe these two scenes might be similar. The fight choreography on Star Trek (being almost 20 years older than this movie) is far superior to anything this movie can muddle through. The nunchaku scene at the end (or as Crow likes to refer to it as flares tied with electrical tape) is the proverbial cherry arsenic on our anthrax cake.

The dialog does not help. It goes from worse to much worse. Classics lines such as: (Amy)-"You would never show me a rated X movie. Would you Kevin?"

The other characters are equally as inspired. Kevin's girlfriend, Amy, is a frigid, know-it-all. Nick is belligerent and a sex fiend. Nick's girl, Daphne, is also a sex fiend and wears different neon pants with different see through skirts. Kyle is the androgynous, useless 3rd and 5th wheel, accordingly. The old dude looks like he needs a change of adult diapers and some El Dope. Finally, there's the stars and name-sakes of the movie: the Hobgoblins. They appear to be hybrids of gremlins, ghoulies and critters. And by hybrids I mean cheap imitations. They literally look and act like dolls. The actors even have to pretend the "stuffed dolls" are trying to attack them. Their powers seem to consist of appearing out of nowhere and biting people, unless they're bored, in which case they telepathically project the desires of their victims. To what end?? I don't know, since no one seems to be hurt by their brain illusions. Just like gremlins, hobgoblins also have rules attached to them. Actually its just one rule: they are attracted to light.

Under no circumstances are you to watch the non-MST 3000 version. Also try to contain your desire to watch this movie alone.


Review by CelluloidRehab from the Internet Movie Database.

 
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