The Ghouligans! Mini-Series!

THE GHOULIGANS! MINI-SERIES!
Writers/Directors/Stars: Pete Bune, Sean King, Michael Koscik
Availability: DVD Available at www.shop.slackpackproductions.com/
Rating:

  The Ghouligans! are a new discovery for me.  They are a group of monsters who happen to be the hosts of their own strange little variety show.  There's Boris, the shows's version of Frankenstein's monster, Void, the show's zombie figure, and Wolfgang W. Wolfgang, the werewolf of the group.  I just spent nearly three hours with these guys, and I can safely say one thing.  The fact that these guys don't have their own fucking television series is nothing short of criminal.

    The mini-series mixes a lot of plot-driven material mixed in with elements of sketch comedy.  The humor is broad, campy, with an occasional edge, and felt so in tune with the sort of crazy monster television that used to air in the 70s.  It's definitely better than any sketch comedy I've seen on television lately.  It's a hard thing to pull off, and these guys do it smashingly.  There was hardly a gag or joke that didn't at least make me smile.

    A lot of the parodies were spot on as well.  There's tributes to Rebel Without A Cause, Godzilla, Phantom of the Opera, Night of the Living Dead, and in what was probably the best parody in the series, Scarface.  That parody also gets the best line in the series, with "How the hell you gonna get a scar like this from eating sushi?"  It's a lot funnier in context, I promise.  There are so many great sequences here.  An episode where they hire an ancient mummy to build their castle, but is only able to build pyramids was a particularly clever one.

    Just watching this series gave me an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia.  The production values were quite good.  The comic timing from everyone involved was impeccable.  The character designs were fun and creative.  What these guys have accomplished is quite remarkable, and I am in a bit of shock that these guys don't have a wider following among the underground circles I frequent around here.  They speak to the child in me who grew up on a buffet of Monty Python, Creature Feature, and MST3K.

    I strongly suggest going to their website and picking up this set.  Work like this deserves to be supported.  These guys have the potential to be big.  They have such a great presence.  Even some of the side characters, like the obnoxious Count Fleming all add their own unique personalities, and are all equally important to the ensemble as a whole.  These guys seem like they've spent a lot of time perfecting their craft, and if it turns out they haven't, they certainly fake it well.

    This won't appeal to everyone.  You have to have a little innocence left it you, and want to experience something that's more concerned with being offbeat than being anything truly subversive or terrifying.  This is pure entertainment, and I can't wait to check out the rest of their stuff.  A fantastic time!

    Until next time, my fellow freaks and weirdos...