To me, this movie is perfection.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Absolutely Fantastic

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I have actually never heard of "Hobgoblins" before 2016, when I happened to stumble across the movie by sheer random luck. And being a fan of creature features and horror movies in general, of course I gave "Hobgoblins" a chance, well knowing that I most likely wasn't in for something grand.And I should have taken heed to the low rating of "Hobgoblins" on IMDb and stayed well clear of the movie. Yes, this movie is every bit as to be expected given the synopsis and the rating it has received.The story is about some aliens who are confined to a facility, where they are accidentally released from captivity as a new security guard opens a vault that is supposed to be off limits.This is from the late 1980's, so of course expectations should be set accordingly. But even for a movie from this age then "Hobgoblins" was pathetic.The acting in the movie was amateurish at best. I am not sure if it was because of the lack of having a proper script to work with, or if it was because they had opted to go with talents not really up for the task of acting.And the creatures, well let's just take a moment here to talk about them. While they did have some good conceptual ideas for their appearances, then the creatures just didn't work out so well on the screen, especially since it was so obviously clear that they were just puppets without movable parts. It was embarrassing to witness.Before I forget, I should also mention the editing and cutting of "Hobgoblins". Wow, that was just abysmal to watch. This was probably some of the worst movie editing that I have ever seen.I didn't last through the entire movie here, because I just gave up on it before even reaching the half way point. And I have no interest in finishing the movie. And I just found out that there apparently is a sequel to this abysmal movie; but again, I have no interest in watching that, not after having seen enough of part one to see what it was.I can't find any reason for why anyone should take the time to sit down and watch "Hobgoblins", much less actually invest any money or time in doing so.

At first a held certain reservations against watching a film with what appears to be a no-brainer title for a film about the very same beasts, but sometimes the direct option is the best.Starring Tom Bartlett as Kevin, a young and brave assistant security guard, and Jeffrey Culver as McCreedy, the wizened old security guard who has seen too much, "HOBGOBLINS" takes us on a horrifying journey to the realm of the darker aspects of human consciousness made flesh. After a lengthy but suspenseful tour through the corridors of a mysterious storage facility, a group of frightening creatures known as 'hobgoblins' are released from a wicked bank vault within the facility. These demonic beings posses the ability to take the lives of humans by making their innermost wishes come true, hover at human shoulder height at will, and drive golf carts. What follows is a twisted ride into the psyche, as a gang of hormone-laden teenagers witness the horror of the hobgoblins, and their own inner selves.Writer/Director/Director of Photography/Editor/Producer Rick Sloane allows the audience no pause from the terror of the sickening creatures, and the atmosphere and execution is overall spot on. Forgivably Freudian, the movie posits that when the primitive urges of the id infect the aspirations of the superego, what wishes we hope to fulfill will inevitably doom the self, but through the use of rationality and technology, even the most misguided soul can be retrieved from apparent demise.Unfortunately, the film is held back from inducing true insight in its audience due to some unfortunate use of prosthetic eyebrows on Mr. Culver. This distracting little mishap did cost the film one star in this review.In the end, "HOBGOBLINS" left me with an optimistic view of humanity. For if we can successfully survive the onslaught of such abominations that attempt to let our darker selves consume us, what else is there that could truly destroy us? I found the title ultimately an impeccable choice, since as we all know: hobgoblins are more introspective than regular goblins.*********/10 stars.

Once upon a time, back in the 50s, a young security guard named McCready is working the night shift at a movie studio when a spaceship lands off-screen. Through the fog produced by a machine, we see barely visible fishing wire pull back the top of the plastic spaceship. Inside are two Gremlin-like puppets. Flash forward 30 years, McCready is now an old man. He's saddled with one irresponsible partner after another. Unfortunately, none of them last too long. Why? Because the Hobgoblins are still around, living in an old film vault. See what the Hobgoblins do is tap into their minds and create their wildest fantasies. But once the fantasy ends, the victim dies. One night, his current whiny young partner Kevin lets the monsters out. Now, Kevin must find a way to stop them. To sum up in seven words: HOBGOBLINS is a cheap rip-off of GREMLINS. And not an overly good one at that. The filmmakers even stole the growls of those beloved disgusting, yet hilarious creatures. Sure, you could tell everyone was just having fun making it, but sometimes a movie needs more than that. What we have here is a group of not-so-gifted amateurs. Cinematography is pretty ho-hum, but I did like the lighting. We get a wild pastiche of blues, oranges, reds and greens. The title characters are obviously puppets. One of their heads even starts falling off in a scene. The humor usually rings hollow, like the characters are in on the joke but we're not. Most of the acting is pretty wooden. Though, I did like the actor who played Mr. McCready. He clearly has talent. Sadly like in most bad movies, a good actor is reduced to only a few scenes. Cool trivia note: Duane Whitaker, who plays Road Rash in here, later went on to mild success as one of the rapists in PULP FICTION. Logic is thrown right out the window. Case in point, it's just been established that the Hobgoblins are drawn to bright lights. In the very next sentence, we're told that all the Hobgoblins must be destroyed before dawn because once it's daylight, it's too late. When I heard that, I found myself scratching my head. Huh? The music rocks too, even if it's bargain basement material! MST3K showed this one and I think it's one of their best episodes. If you can, watch it with Mike and the Bots. If not, get together your funniest friends and have a blast!!!

The first time I ever saw this piece of dung heap was through Mst3k and I couldn't believe anything could be this bad!!! Worse than Manos?? Yes,it's true!! I don't know if I should talk about the so-called acting or the many mistakes this movie has because there's so many to pick.I read that the director did it on purpose in hopes that MST3K would do this,but who knows!! The whiny hero to his non-supportive girlfriend to the nerdy pervert to the over-sexed floozy that is called Daphne;each actor is annoying in their own way.Even the creatures weren't even scary or even cute,like the ones in Gremlins,but it doesn't matter..If you're curious about seeing this,please,please see the Mst3k version and that's it,OK?? You have been warned!!!!!