Ghosthouse (1988) [Rifftrax Review]

I love watching bad movies. They really make you appreciate the average mediocre drivel that comes out of Hollywood. Thankfully, there is a tried and true method to watching bad movies. It was created in 1988 by Joel Hodgeson and it is called Mystery Science Theater 3000, which celebrated it's 25th anniversary this past November. There are two modern sucessors to MST3K's legacy, Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax.

Today's review is a Rifftrax riff of Ghosthouse (1988), a horror movie so bad that it's actually funny.



This movie gets two separate ratings. The first rating is the the film by itself.

1.0 stars

The second rating is for the Rifftrax of the film.

3.5 stars

I see you have an axe, I'll just wait till you axe me something.

Some movies have a plot, Ghosthouse does not.
Some movies have real actors, Ghosthouse does not.
Some movies have appropriate musical scores, Ghosthouse does not.
Some movies are edited properly, Ghosthouse was not.
Some movies have special effects that fool the eyes, Ghosthouse does not.

There are lots of things that movies should be, and Ghosthouse is not any of those. It is perhaps the worst kind of bad movie, the unintentionally bad.

Children are Creepy.

What does Ghosthouse have that I can actually applaud it for? Nothing. But it does have creepy children, clowns (pure nightmare fuel), ham-radio operators, driving, screaming (lots of screaming), and a man swimming in a pool of thick white liquid that is either milk or... 'milk.' Oh, and the milk is filled with plastic skulls.  

The movie's dialogue is peppered with nonsensical phrases, and people asking meaningless questions like "Who is more popular in Denver, Kim Basinger or Kelly LeBrock?" We learn about the ham-radio operators code of ethics too.

Clown's are also creepy.

Absolutely. Riveting.

Thankfully, you do not have to go it alone. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbet (all three from MST3K), are there to help you get through the movie. They constantly riff the film. 

Movie [man asks child]: "What do you want?"
Rifftrax: Chicken-finger Happy meal!

Movie: "He was hit by the bus."
Rifftrax: "The ugly bus."

Child + Clown. I'm not sure anything is more creepy.

That's a small sample. And I've included the preview video for Rifftrax below. They sell the film and commentary in a package so you do not have to shell out for the movie by itself.Which is a very good thing, it is a bad movie.

Thankfully Rifftrax is there to make bad films much much better.

If you love MST3K or enjoy Rifftrax, this is a VOD / DVD worth getting. I'm looking forward to their next DVD release myself. I can always use more bad movies with mocking commentary as background noise.

Keep on riffing!