Hobgoblins | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Rick Sloane |
Produced by | Rick Sloane |
Written by | Rick Sloane |
Starring |
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Music by | Alan DerMarderosian |
Cinematography | Rick Sloane |
Edited by | Rick Sloane |
Distributed by | American Cinema Marketing |
Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15,000 |
Hobgoblins is a 1988 American low-budget independent comedy horror film directed, written, and produced by Rick Sloane, who also served as cinematographer and editor. The plot concerns small, often considered cheaply designed and made hobgoblins (small demon like mythical and goblin-like creatures).
Often seen as a rip-off of "every small monster movie," but mainly Gremlins, the film is generally considered to be of exceptionally poor quality, and has come to be regarded as one of the worst films ever made. It has become a cult film because of its poor quality, and earned infamy after it was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The film opens with a security guard named Dennis investigating a deserted film vault at an old movie studio. While inside, his fantasy of being a rock star comes to life, but he dies while performing on stage. His boss, Mr. McCreedy (Jeffrey Culver), closes the door upon discovering the body.
A young man named Kevin (Tom Bartlett) takes the vacant job so that he can impress his girlfriend Amy (Paige Sullivan). After his first shift, he drives home to Amy, finding that his two friends, the sex-crazed Daphne (Kelley Palmer) and the dorky Kyle (Steven Boggs), waiting for him, and Daphne's Army boyfriend Nick (Billy Frank) arrives. Nick and Kevin spar with rakes in a long, protracted, repetitive scene. After Kevin loses horribly, Amy berates him for his weaknesses while Daphne and Nick have sex in Nick's van in the background of the scene.
While in pursuit of a burglar the next evening, Kevin stumbles across the vault, which contains a small group of hairy, demonic little aliens — the hobgoblins. They escape, leaving Kevin stunned. His boss, the elderly Mr. McCreedy, explains that the hobgoblins crash landed on the studio lot decades earlier, and he has been closely guarding them ever since. The hobgoblins have the hypnotic power to make a person's wildest fantasies come true; however, they also kill their victims in the process when people's fantasies turn against them.