Spookies

{{Short description|1986 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Spookies | image = Poster of the movie Spookies.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Brendan Faulkner Thomas Doran Eugenie Joseph | producer = Brendan Faulkner Thomas Doran Frank Farel Eugenie Joseph | writer = Thomas Doran Brendan Faulkner Frank Farel Ann Burgund (additional material) | narrator = | starring = Felix Ward Dan Scott Alec Nemser Maria Pechukas | music = James Calabrese Kenneth Higgins | cinematography = [[Ken Kelsch]] Robert Chappel | editing = Eugenie Joseph | distributor = [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Sony Video Software Company]] | released = {{Film date|1986|05|14|France|1987|03|08|Hong Kong|1988|01|22|U.S.}} | runtime = 85 minutes | country = United States | language = English | gross = $17,785 }}

'''''Spookies''''' is a 1986 American [[Independent film|independent]] [[horror film]] directed by Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran, with additional footage directed by Eugenie Joseph. It stars Felix Ward, Dan Scott, Alec Nemser, and Maria Pechukas, and follows a group of partying adults who find an abandoned mansion and become trapped inside as a [[warlock]] tries to sacrifice the group with the intention of using their vitality to keep his wife alive.

The film was given a limited theatrical release in 1987, with a more widespread video release in the latter year, and also aired on [[cable television]]'s [[USA Network]] multiple times between 1988 and 1991. Despite its limited release, modest box office haul and scarce availability, it has achieved a [[cult following]] since its release.

== Plot == A 13-year-old boy named Billy runs away from home after his parents forget his birthday. Making his way through thick woods, he encounters a drifter who is violently slashed to death after Billy leaves him. Billy stumbles upon an old mansion where a room is decorated for birthday celebrations. Thinking it is a surprise from his parents, he opens a present to discover a laughing severed head. Running away, he is attacked by the drifter's killer, a [[werecat]] with a hook on one hand, and subsequently buried alive.

Meanwhile, a group of teenagers and some older adults come across the mansion intending to have a party, believing the mansion to be abandoned. However, a warlock named Kreon resides there, keeping watch over his bride, Isabelle, whom he has kept preserved for over 70 years using an unrevealed method, but it is known that he needs human victims to do it. He possesses one of the teenagers in the group to use a [[Ouija]] board and summons a variety of monsters to kill the group one by one. These include muck men, small reptilian demons, giant spiders, an arachnid woman, an octopus-like creature with electric tentacles, a skeletal witch, a [[Grim Reaper]] statue, a vampiric boy in a monk's habit, and a large group of zombies.

Eventually, the monsters kill the entire group, and Kreon hopes to preserve his bride for longer, but she escapes by killing him and trying to outrun the zombie horde surrounding the mansion. The bride is eventually saved by a man who drives her away in his car. Kreon regenerates out of a tomb, as it is revealed that the man in the car is actually the werecat. The camera freezes on Kreon's laughing face, and the credits roll.

== Cast == {{Cast list | * Felix Ward as Kreon * Maria Pechukas as Isabelle * Dan Scott as Kreon's Servant * Alec Nemser as Billy * A.J. Lowenthal as Korda / Son of Kreon & Isabelle * Pat Wesley Bryan as Drifter * Peter Dain as Peter * Nick Gionta as Duke * Lisa Friede as Carol * Joan Ellen Delaney as Linda * Peter Iasillo Jr. as Rich * Kim Merrill as Meegan * [[Charlotte Alexandra]] as Adrienne{{Efn|Credited as Charlotte Seeley}} * Anthony Valbiro as Dave * Soo Paek as The Spider Woman * Al Magliochetti as Lewis Wilson * James M. Glenn as The Grim Reaper * Gabriel Bartalos, Peter Delynn and John Beatty as Muck Men * Robert Epstein as Graveyard Zombie }}

== Production == ''Spookies'' started out as a feature film entitled ''Twisted Souls'', written and produced by Frank Farel, Brendan Faulkner, and Thomas Doran and directed by Faulkner and Doran.<ref name="Regional Horror">{{cite book|title=Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews|isbn=9781476600420|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39jxgdy3IhcC&pg=PA269|access-date=July 10, 2025|last=Albright|first=Brian|date=November 8, 2012|publisher=McFarland|page=269}}</ref><ref name="Evry">{{cite web|last=Evry|first=Max|title=The strange saga of ''Spookies''|url=https://thedissolve.com/features/oral-history/788-the-strange-saga-of-spookies/|website=[[The Dissolve]]|date=October 15, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126211654/https://thedissolve.com/features/oral-history/788-the-strange-saga-of-spookies|archive-date=January 26, 2022|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Werewolf">{{cite book|title=The Werewolf Filmography: 300+ Movies|isbn=9780786479108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AScSDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA370|access-date=July 10, 2025|last=Senn|first=Bryan|date=February 20, 2017|publisher=McFarland|pages=370–371}}</ref> Principal photography for the film began at the [[Jay Estate]] in Rye, New York in late summer of 1984 and finished in October of that same year.<ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/> ''Twisted Souls'' was being edited when creative and legal issues between the producers and the financial backer, Michael Lee (founder of UK-based home video distributor [[Vipco]]<ref name="Nasty">{{cite book|title=Nasty Business: The Marketing and Distribution of the Video Nasties|isbn=9781474451109|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76MxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108|access-date=10 July 2025|last=McKenna|first=Mark|date=6 July 2020|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|page=108}}</ref>), prevented final post production work (editing, scoring, effects, etc.) from being carried out.<ref name="Regional Horror"/><ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/>

The original ''Twisted Souls'' footage directed by Faulkner and Doran consists of all the travelers who arrive in two cars and all the monsters and effects they encounter within the house. The monsters include: the demon Ouija girl, the muck men, the spider woman, the snake demons, the hallway demon, the Grim Reaper, and the first set of zombies seen outside earlier on in the film.<ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/>

In 1985, Lee hired Eugenie Joseph to direct more footage, which was pieced together with the finished footage from ''Twisted Souls'' to create ''Spookies''.<ref name="Regional Horror"/><ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/> The added scenes, written by Ann Burgund (under the name Joseph Burgund), feature an entirely different cast of characters, including Billy, the drifter, the werecat, Kreon, Isabelle, zombies (at the end of the film), the witch in the basement/cave and Korda.<ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/> The film originally had a scene with Joe Niola playing a tramp named Jakey, sitting on a tombstone and talking to an imaginary friend, but it was cut and replaced with the Billy scene.<ref name="Evry"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Joe Niola in Spookies|url=https://www.facebook.com/SpookiesMovie/posts/1732299113580043/|date=April 21, 2013|publisher=Facebook|access-date=July 14, 2025}}</ref> Brian O'Hara was hired by Lee to create flatulence sound effects for the muck men,<ref>{{cite web|last=Haberfelner|first=Mike|title=An Interview with Brian O'Hara, Director of The Prince of Porn|url=https://www.searchmytrash.com/cgi-bin/articlecreditsb.pl?brianohara(7-20)|date=July 1, 2020|publisher=(re)Search my Trash|access-date=July 14, 2025}}</ref> which Farel, Faulkner, Doran and the rest of the production crew disliked.<ref name="Evry"/><ref name="Werewolf"/>

The creature and makeup effects were created by Gabe Bartalos, Arnold Gargulio, Jennifer Aspinall, Al Magliochetti,<ref name="Evry"/> [[John Dods]],<ref name="Time Capsule">{{cite book|title=Time Capsule|isbn=9780595213368|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVn9_UYS5CgC&pg=PA224|access-date=July 10, 2025|last1=Harris|first1=Judy P.|last2=Anderson|first2=Lynn|date=January 20, 2002|publisher=Writers Club Press|pages=224–225}}</ref><ref name="Mondo Digital">{{cite web|title=Spookies|url=https://www.mondo-digital.com/spookies.html|date=November 28, 2019|publisher=MONDO DIGITAL|access-date=July 14, 2025}}</ref> Vincent Guastini,<ref name="Mondo Digital"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3837683/spookies-ii-special-effects-artists-gabe-bartalos-vincent-guastini-board-sequel-to-80s-cult-classic/|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|title='Spookies II' – Special Effects Artists Gabe Bartalos & Vincent Guastini Board Sequel to '80s Cult Classic|date=October 30, 2024|access-date=July 14, 2025|archive-date=October 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241030204355/https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3837683/spookies-ii-special-effects-artists-gabe-bartalos-vincent-guastini-board-sequel-to-80s-cult-classic/|url-status=live}}</ref> and others helping in various capacities. [[Richard Corben]] painted the cover art for the film.<ref name="Evry"/>

== Reception == === Box office === ''Spookies'' was given a limited theatrical release in the [[United States]] by Sony Video Software Company in January 1987 and grossed $17,785 at the box office. It was also released theatrically in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spookies.htm|title=Spookies - Box Office Mojo|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=March 29, 2011|archive-date=February 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202091950/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spookies.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Critical response === A contemporary review in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' referred to ''Spookies'' as "a silly horror picture which contains some interesting special makeup effects, along with very amateurish ones".<ref>{{cite book|title=Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986 |year=1988|publisher=[[R.R. Bowker]]|isbn=978-0835227995}}</ref> In his book ''The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s'', Scott Aaron Stine gave the film a negative review, criticizing the "inept actors", "hackneyed script", and "hideous make-up effects".<ref name=stine>{{cite book|last=Stine|first=Scott Aaron|year=2003|title=The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|page=300|isbn=978-0786415328}}</ref>

In a retrospective review of the film, Meagan Navarro of [[Bloody Disgusting]] called it "nonsensical", but referred to Gabriel Bartalos' special effects work on the film as "impressive", writing: "There aren't a lot of horror films so daring as to cram as many weird rubber-suited monsters into one movie".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3496478/came-80s-mad-monster-party-spookies/|title=[It Came From the '80s] The Mad Monster Party of 'Spookies'|last=Navarro|first=Meagan|date=May 4, 2018|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202040325/https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3496478/came-80s-mad-monster-party-spookies/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jay Bauman]] of [[Red Letter Media]] called the film a "boring ''[[The Evil Dead|Evil Dead]]''".<ref name=redlettermedia>{{cite AV media|people=Bauman, Jay (Editor)|date=March 23, 2019|title=Best of the Worst: Spookies, Action USA, and Alien Private Eye|medium=|language=en|url=https://redlettermedia.com/best-of-the-worst-spookies-action-usa-and-alien-private-eye/|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-url=|archive-date=|format=|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin|publisher=[[Red Letter Media]]}}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> However, fellow member [[Rich Evans III|Rich Evans]] commended the "creative, different monsters" featured in the film, and fellow member [[Jack Packard]] similarly praised said creatures as "shockingly interesting".<ref name=redlettermedia />

=== Awards === In 1986, the film received the Delirium Award at the 15th Annual International Science Fiction & Film Fantasy Festival.<ref name=stine /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://drafthouse.com/show/spookies|title=Spookies|publisher=[[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]]|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202040326/https://drafthouse.com/show/spookies|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Home media == The film was released on [[VHS]] in the U.S. by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Sony Video]] but eventually went out of print. ''Spookies'' was also released on VHS in the UK by Palace Video, alongside ''[[Evil Dead II|Evil Dead 2]]'', featuring artwork by Graham Humphries.

In 2003, Vipco released a Region 2 PAL DVD as part of their ''Vipco's Screamtime Collection'' series.

In 2017, the film was released on DVD by French company Intercontinental Film and Video under the title ''Les Spookie''. Despite its French title, the audio language is English and the disc claims to be sourced from a new HD interpositive 2K scan. This DVD is playable in regions 1, 2 and 5.

In 2019, the [[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]] label released ''Spookies'' on Blu-ray and DVD, marking the first time that ''Spookies'' has been released in the Blu-ray format.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3595936/vinegar-syndromes-black-friday-sales-live-including-surprise-blu-ray-debut-1986s-spookies/|title=Vinegar Syndrome's Black Friday Sales Are Live, Including Surprise Blu-ray Debut of 1986's 'Spookies'!|last=Squires|first=John|date=November 29, 2019|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref> This two-disc release includes a [[4K resolution|4K]] restoration of the film, along with two feature-length documentaries on the film and Vipco, and a number of other special features.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rue-morgue.com/spookies-2-blu-ray-special-edition-part-of-vinegar-syndromes-black-friday-announcement|title="Spookies" 2-Blu-ray Special Edition Part of Vinegar Syndrome's Black Friday Announcement|date=November 29, 2019|work=[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]]|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021011200/https://rue-morgue.com/spookies-2-blu-ray-special-edition-part-of-vinegar-syndromes-black-friday-announcement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1112377-cult-80s-horror-film-spookies-arrives-on-blu-ray|title=Cult 80's Horror Film Spookies Arrives on Blu-ray!|last=Evry|first=Max|date=November 29, 2019|website=ComingSoon.net|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202040323/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1112377-cult-80s-horror-film-spookies-arrives-on-blu-ray|url-status=live}}</ref> It received a standard edition release,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies?variant=31201385349162|title=Spookies (Standard Edition) – Vinegar Syndrome|publisher=[[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]]|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=May 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507122856/https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies?variant=31201385349162|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as two variant limited edition releases with [[Slipcase|slipcovers]]—one featuring artwork by Earl Kessler, and the other featuring art by Gary Pullin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies?variant=31201385283626|title=Spookies (Limited Edition Slipcover #1) – Vinegar Syndrome|publisher=[[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]]|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=November 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119093347/https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies?variant=31201385283626|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies?variant=31201385316394|title=Spookies (Limited Edition Slipcover #2) – Vinegar Syndrome|publisher=[[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]]|access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref> The Vinegar Syndrome website also offered a limited edition [[LP record]] of the film's soundtrack on colored [[Vinyl record|vinyl]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/spookies-vinyl-soundtrack-lp?variant=31206259818538|title=Spookies - Vinyl Soundtrack LP – Vinegar Syndrome|publisher=[[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]]|access-date=February 1, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

== Legacy == On September 19, 2015, the Hudson Horror Show festival held a [[35 mm movie film|35 mm]] screening of ''Spookies'' (as a double feature with the 1978 film ''[[The Toolbox Murders]]'') at the [[Alamo Drafthouse]] in Yonkers, New York, featuring appearances by stars Peter Iasillo Jr. and Anthony Valbiro in person.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drafthouse.com/show/hudson-horror-show-Sept2015|title=Hudson Horror Show: The Toolbox Murders and Spookies|publisher=[[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]]|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=November 24, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241124210508/https://drafthouse.com/show/hudson-horror-show-sept2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 35 mm print of the film was also screened by [[American Cinematheque]] on October 24 of that year at the 10th annual "[[Aero Theatre#Horrorthon|Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon]]", held at the [[Aero Theatre]] in Santa Monica, California.<ref>{{cite web|title=10th Annual Dusk-To-Dawn Horrothon|url=http://americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/10th-annual-dusk-to-dawn-horrothon|work=[[American Cinematheque]]|access-date=October 4, 2021|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118153520/http://americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/10th-annual-dusk-to-dawn-horrothon|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 17, 2022, Los Angeles film programmers [[Cinematic Void]], partners of the American Cinematheque, held a 35 mm screening of ''Spookies'' at the Los Feliz Theatre.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/cinematic-void-presents-spookies-10-17-22 |website=[[American Cinematheque]] |title=Cinematic Void Presents SPOOKIES - American Cinematheque |access-date=October 19, 2022 |archive-date=October 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022073437/https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/cinematic-void-presents-spookies-10-17-22/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In late 2023, the film was featured in the video game ''[[High on Life (video game)|High on Life]]'''s [[Downloadable content|DLC]], ''High on Knife'', where it is watchable in its entirety through the game's inter-dimensional cable feature. It was later featured again in the 2026 sequel, ''[[High on Life 2]]'', where commentary by characters played by the members of [[RedLetterMedia]] talk over it in the game's movie theater feature.

On August 12, 2024, original co-writer Frank Farel announced on ''The Barrens Hideout'' podcast that he is in the early phases of developing an "anti-sequel" to the original film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3825316/spookies-sequel-in-the-works-exclusive-report/|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|title=Original Writer Developing a Sequel to 1987 Cult Classic 'Spookies'|date=August 12, 2024|access-date=August 12, 2024|archive-date=August 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240812140754/https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3825316/spookies-sequel-in-the-works-exclusive-report/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb title|id=0090057}} * {{Rotten-tomatoes|id=spookies|title=Spookies}}

[[Category:1986 American films]] [[Category:1986 English-language films]] [[Category:1980s monster movies]] [[Category:1980s slasher films]] [[Category:1986 films]] [[Category:1986 horror films]] [[Category:1986 independent films]] [[Category:1986 science fiction films]] [[Category:American monster movies]] [[Category:Backwoods slasher films]] [[Category:Dutch slasher films]] [[Category:English-language horror films]] [[Category:English-language independent films]] [[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]] [[Category:Films set in country houses]] [[Category:Films shot in New York (state)]]