I can't review this without mentioning MST3K, since even a tenth of the reviews and responses this film has received would not be here if Hobgoblins hadn't been featured in their 9th season. As of this writing, it's still available on DVD in Rhino's MST3K volume 8 boxed set. While there's no official consensus, I believe that this it the only true "Maw of Hell" caliber film they did for Sci-fi channel (see the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide). While most movies in that category tend to come from the the mid 60s (the oily period), this one from the 80s was far more excruciating for me since that was the decade of my childhood. Nearly every positive memory of 80s pop culture was unearthed, beaten with garden tools, urinated on, and then reburied in a humorous position. And I wasn't even one of the badly scarred viewers.
Since there are already over 150 reviews of this film on this site, they probably don't need another synopsis of this movie. To explain just how bad this movie is, I need to tell a story of the second time I saw it with a group of people, in the spring of 2000. I'd already shown these three friends half of Rhino's then released tapes, including Manos, Eegah, and Red Zone Cuba, all Maw of Hell caliber. It was a Friday night, so we stopped after the first quarter to watch Space Ghost, and the second for Gundam Wing, so the wretchedness unfolded upon them slowly. With no show to pause for after the third quarter, I made to fast forward through the commercial, only to be halted by their cries, begging me to stop. The youngest among us was actually curled into a fetal position, shuddering. They implored me to just give them a few minutes to recover, to which I responded, "Oh, well I know it's bad, but I guess I may be a little desensitized since..." Now these people were close friends with whom I had shared much, like confessing attractions to various cartoon characters as 3:00 AM, and my most bizarre substitute for toilet paper I've ever resorted to story. So I had freaked them out routinely in the past, but when I finished that sentence with "...I've already seen this 3 or 4 times.", that was the only time in my life that I have looked into the faces of other human beings and seen genuine horror. If you were just going by their reactions, you'd have sworn I'd said something more along the lines of, "Well, I know live puppies SEEM hard to chew at fist, but after my dog had her third litter..." And this was the MSTed version. I shudder to think of the effects of the uncut version, especially for the MST crew themselves, who had to watch this 10 times in a week. I'm not sure the show completely recovered after this; a little of the love seemed to be gone.
So like I said: read other reviews for a synopsis. The point of mine was to warn all novices to watch as many other MST3K episodes as possible to soften the blow of this one. I've seen evidence of short-term mind-warping in viewers who made this their first MST, and long term trauma in those who actually watched the regular version. Follow these guidelines, and you'll find it a least as funny as it is painful.
Since there are already over 150 reviews of this film on this site, they probably don't need another synopsis of this movie. To explain just how bad this movie is, I need to tell a story of the second time I saw it with a group of people, in the spring of 2000. I'd already shown these three friends half of Rhino's then released tapes, including Manos, Eegah, and Red Zone Cuba, all Maw of Hell caliber. It was a Friday night, so we stopped after the first quarter to watch Space Ghost, and the second for Gundam Wing, so the wretchedness unfolded upon them slowly. With no show to pause for after the third quarter, I made to fast forward through the commercial, only to be halted by their cries, begging me to stop. The youngest among us was actually curled into a fetal position, shuddering. They implored me to just give them a few minutes to recover, to which I responded, "Oh, well I know it's bad, but I guess I may be a little desensitized since..." Now these people were close friends with whom I had shared much, like confessing attractions to various cartoon characters as 3:00 AM, and my most bizarre substitute for toilet paper I've ever resorted to story. So I had freaked them out routinely in the past, but when I finished that sentence with "...I've already seen this 3 or 4 times.", that was the only time in my life that I have looked into the faces of other human beings and seen genuine horror. If you were just going by their reactions, you'd have sworn I'd said something more along the lines of, "Well, I know live puppies SEEM hard to chew at fist, but after my dog had her third litter..." And this was the MSTed version. I shudder to think of the effects of the uncut version, especially for the MST crew themselves, who had to watch this 10 times in a week. I'm not sure the show completely recovered after this; a little of the love seemed to be gone.
So like I said: read other reviews for a synopsis. The point of mine was to warn all novices to watch as many other MST3K episodes as possible to soften the blow of this one. I've seen evidence of short-term mind-warping in viewers who made this their first MST, and long term trauma in those who actually watched the regular version. Follow these guidelines, and you'll find it a least as funny as it is painful.