Hobgoblins (1988)

Director:

Rick Sloane

Writer:

Rick Sloane (writer)

Release Date:

14 July 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Be careful what you wish for... You just might get it!

Plot:

A young security guard must track down diminutive aliens who kill people even as they make their fantasies come true.

Plot Keywords:

Hobgoblin | Alien | Vault | Cult Favorite | Group Of Friends

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tom Bartlett	...	Kevin
Paige Sullivan	...	Amy
Steven Boggs	...	Kyle
Kelley Palmer	...	Daphne
Billy Frank	...	Nick
Tamara Clatterbuck	...	Fantazia (as Tami Bakke)
Duane Whitaker	...	Roadrash
Jeffrey Culver	...	McCreedy
Kevin Kildow	...	Dennis
Kari French	...	Pixie
Daran Norris	...	Club Scum M.C
James Mayberry	...	Sergeant Parker
Ken Abraham	...	Thug
Don Barrett	...	Comstock
David Teague	...	Lowlife

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

Rick Sloane Productions

Trivia:

During McCreedy's flashback, he can be seen looking at information for The Visitants (1986), a previous movie by director Rick Sloane, in which Jeffrey Culver, who plays McCreedy, also starred.

Goofs:

Continuity: The eyeshadow and glitter Amy wears around her eyes in Club Scum disappears in one shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
McCreedy: [Dennis is listening to his radio] Dennis. Dennis!
[takes off his headphones]
Dennis: Hey! What gives?
McCreedy: You're being paid to work around here, not just sit around and blast your eardrums!
Dennis: Hey, take it easy. I can do both.
[smiles]
McCreedy: [a phone rings, McCreedy answers] Hello? Hello?
[hangs up]
McCreedy: [to Dennis] Didn't you hear the phone ringing?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hobgoblins: The Making of a DisasterPiece (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Kiss Kicker '99

Big hair, spandex, "Hobgoblins" - 3 bad things about the '80s!

For starters, "Hobgoblins" tries to ape the more successful "Gremlins". That's bad enough but they don't even try to make anything that closely resembles a movie here. Instead, it's more like a bargain basement, everything-must-go clearance of embarrassing scenes, inappropriate sound FX, acting as bland as unflavored tapioca and a script that takes everything humans hold sacred in their motion pictures and throws 'em down the old tube-aroo.

The plot? Grrrr.... Meddling kids track down gremlin-like creatures from movie lot before they kill people by projecting their fantasies. Sound cool, does it? Well, see that wall on the other side of your room? Run right at it, top speed, face first. See, THAT is cooler than this movie.

You dare to doubt? Quick, name something else one of the leads has been in other than this. What other scripts have the writers done since "Hobgoblins"? Name another Rick Sloane directoral effort. How many "Hobgoblins" action figures do you have? See? THANK you.

I cannot believe I took so long to write about such a horrible film. I'd rather write about more important things; like the separation of church and state, economic restructuring in Europe, that kind of thing. But no, "Hobgoblins" it is and it is bad - bad like your grandparents' wallpaper, bad as pink flamingos on your lawn, bad like underwear that says "Home of the Whopper"...and I think we'll stop there.

Well, Mike and the robots fight valiantly but try as they might, they can do only so much with "Hobgoblins" before they realize that, yes, the director DOES need kicked in the shin.

Real, real hard.

One star for "Hobgoblins", seven stars for the MST3K version.