The Ghouligans - 
Super Show
(2008)
(Archaia Studios Press Comic Mini-Series)
review by Catwalk

The Ghouligans are back and this time, it's personal!

Wait, that's wrong, hold on.

The Ghouligans are back for the sweet taste of revenge!

Damn, not it either.

The Ghouligans are back for their senior year!

Oh forget it.

The Ghouligans are the comic creation of The Slack Pack, born out of Long Island public access TV.  (There's the name of your next great mixed cocktail, kids: The Long Island public access Iced Tea.  Hit the forums with your idea for the ingredients).  This crazy cast of B-movie dropouts includes Wolfgang, the party monster (literally), Boris, the burly creation from a mad scientist, Void, the flesh-eating zombie, and Count Farnham, the saddest vampire this side of Transylvania.

The "Ghouligans! Super Show" DVD features the crew's latest comedy TV show, breaking out the Creep-O-Vision to fill viewers with sight gags and goofy dialogue. Join the crew to see all sorts of bad puns and silly situations.  See Boris' foray into frozen seafood.  Watch the Count reminisce about his Fabio-riffic hair, and then break the myth that three chicks are always better than one.

The Ghouligans are never without their share of victims and go-go girls.  This time around, the crew is joined by Luchadors including "The Blue Flame". Drop-in's include fake trailers for films like "Fishing in Action 3".

While Count Farnham continues to degrade himself, Boris shows a naturally flare for cooking.  Void falls in love: "So, do you kill yourself here often?" and Wolfgang, the only Ghouligan with any style points, faces off with Krill Gill in the surf out. The scene is the rightful finale' to the show.

The Ghouligans is the kind of show that requires a love of cheesy horror, familiarity with the classics, and an appreciation for sight-gags and one-liners. The guys repeatedly come up with ways to put themselves into the craziest situations, from wrestlers to talk shows, beaches to bake shows.  Paul Laino's music makes an appropriate return.

Combine gore, go-go girls, and comedic violence, and you've got the perfect concoction for "The Ghouligans! Super Show"!

For info on The Ghouligans, check out www.theghouligans.com.

For a review of The Ghouligans first DVD, check out http://www.horrorview.com/Reviews/G/Ghouligans.htm.

Review from:  Creature Double Feature

http://www.creaturedoublefeature.org/reviews.htm

Hello Fellow Monster Movie Fans,

I was recently treated to one of the most bizarre pieces of video I've watched in a long time. "The Ghouligans Super Show " is a new production from Slack Pack Productions. In all honesty, after watching this video, I'm really not sure what I've beheld, but I know I like it! Created and developed by Michael Koscik and Sean King, this program packs a wallop.

Part Classic Monster tribute, part comedy/variety show, this video seems to owe quite every bit as much to the conventions of 60's comedy classics as "Laugh in", and " the Benny Hill Show" as the great Universal Monster movies of the 40's and 50's. At different points in the show, I was reminded of classics such as "The Uncle Floyd Show", and more modern cult hits like "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job". Played against a backdrop of our favorite old time monsters dealing with modern day hang-ups, this anachronistic motley crew of ghouligans faces one hysterical misadventure after another.

As we move through the program, we are presented with various vignettes that put the usual monster archetypes (Frankenstein, Dracula,Wolfman, Zombie) through a series of hilarious (if somewhat absurdist) adventures. One of my favorites is a sketch where some typical 1950's horror movie teens (victims) sneak into a graveyard to resurrect a vicious zombie named Void (ala Candyman, speak his name 3 times out loud). The comedy plays out much like the aforementioned 60 television shows, but the kicker is, that here the punchlines are delivered by folks dressed up in monster costumes.

And boy, what costumes! Adding to the overall humor and mood, are the outrageous suits that the actors wear. In fact one of the most interesting and visually appealing parts of the program are the likenesses of the Zombie(Void, played by Sean King), and the Fish Creature(Krill Gill, Rick Maggio). Other featured monsters include Boris (Frankenstein's Monster), played by Michael Koscik, the hapless Count Farnham (Dracula), played by Justin Hertz, and the hysterical Elvis impersonating Wolfgang (Wolfman), played by Peter Bune. While they are designed to exaggerate, and perhaps lampoon the features of our monster friends, I must say that I find the suits very cool to look at. Overall I found the visuals of the show outstanding, the video quality, the sets, and last but not least the beautiful go-go girls who adorn many of the sketches in their 60's inspired attire. Yes, I'm a sucker for sexy scream queens, and this program has 'em to spare!

Overall, "The Ghouigans Super Show" was a sensational breath of fresh air for this die hard classic monster movie fan. I found that the performances of the monsters were all done with a fun, fresh spirit (My favorites being Void, and Wolfgang the Wolfman, played by Sean King and Peter Bune respectively), with enough sense to not take themselves too seriously. The only real room for improvement I see would be the need for a little bit more serious editing, and a bit of punching up in the sound effects department. Some of the bits tend to have some dead space in between the dialogue that could have been cut out, this coupled with the lack of more attractive sound effects to spruce up the action, tend to leave the viewer with a tendency to drift off from time to time.

The music is provided by Paul T. Laino, who does a great job of capturing the overall sixties feel that the show seems to really be trying to capture. My only regret here is that there tends to be a heavy reliance on drum machines which hinders the overall excitement of the tunes.

While I think that this show would be best suited for classic monster movie fans, I'm sure there would be plenty for anyone who likes a good laugh to sink their fangs into. Some of the themes may not be appropriate for small children, but I wouldn't think this would be offensive to anyone else.

In closing, I highly recommend this program for anyone looking for some offbeat, crazy monster fun.

AJ

Review from: Dread Central

Ghouligans, The: Super Show! (DVD)

Reviewed by Kryten Syxx

Starring Justin Hertz, Sean King, Peter Bune, Michael Koscik, Rick Maggio, Jamie Joan Frevele, Theresa Koscik, Erica Curcio

Directed by Sean King

Distributed by The Slack Pack

Think back, way back! Let your mind wander to that era when variety shows were a dime a dozen, horror hosts cracked bad puns and Filmation was in its prime. That, my friends, is the amalgamation of good times that helped form Slack Pack's The Ghouligans! Super Show!. It helps bring back memories, but does this DVD create any of its own?

Coming it at just over 40 minutes, The Ghouligans! Super Show! introduces us to a motley crew of classic horror icons with a slight twist. The Wolf Man, the Count, Gillman, the Creature (affectingly named "Boris"), the Mummy and Void the Zombie all chip in for a laugh or two.

Being a mish-mash of all things '60s and '70s television had to offer, The Ghouligans! Super Show! shares the same strengths and weaknesses of the things that inspired its creation. The jokes are corny and the comedic timing is sometimes off, but at the same time you just can't pull yourself away to see what happens next.

Whether it be a random monster surf-off, commercial for blood tea or Boris boxing a giant squid, there's just something about this project hat keeps drawing us in. But not everything here hits the spot in a comedic sense. Ghouligans does an outstanding job of spoofing, but at times we wished there it tried to be a little more clever and less derivative.

What it lacks in pure comedy, Ghouligans makes up with great make-up and sets we didn't expect to see in an indie production. The Ghouligans is like a living cartoon, Groovie Ghoulies brought to life. Everything is vibrant with color and could easily be mistake for anthropomorphic personifications of Lou Scheimer's wet dreams.

While this may not have everyone rolling on the floor laughing, The Ghouligans! Super Show! does what so few independent films do. The filmmakers here made us feel like real time, effort, blood, sweat and slime were put into making The Ghouligans!.

Film

3 out of 5

08/27/2008