Hello Fellow Monster Movie Fans,

I was recently treated to one of the most bizarre pieces of video I've watched in a long time. "The Ghouligans Super Show " is a new production from Slack Pack Productions. In all honesty, after watching this video, I'm really not sure what I've beheld, but I know I like it! Created and developed by Michael Koscik and Sean King, this program packs a wallop.

Part Classic Monster tribute, part comedy/variety show, this video seems to owe quite every bit as much to the conventions of 60's comedy classics as "Laugh in", and " the Benny Hill Show" as the great Universal Monster movies of the 40's and 50's. At different points in the show, I was reminded of classics such as "The Uncle Floyd Show", and more modern cult hits like "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job". Played against a backdrop of our favorite old time monsters dealing with modern day hang-ups, this anachronistic motley crew of ghouligans faces one hysterical misadventure after another.

As we move through the program, we are presented with various vignettes that put the usual monster archetypes (Frankenstein, Dracula,Wolfman, Zombie) through a series of hilarious (if somewhat absurdist) adventures. One of my favorites is a sketch where some typical 1950's horror movie teens (victims) sneak into a graveyard to resurrect a vicious zombie named Void (ala Candyman, speak his name 3 times out loud). The comedy plays out much like the aforementioned 60 television shows, but the kicker is, that here the punchlines are delivered by folks dressed up in monster costumes.

And boy, what costumes! Adding to the overall humor and mood, are the outrageous suits that the actors wear. In fact one of the most interesting and visually appealing parts of the program are the likenesses of the Zombie(Void, played by Sean King), and the Fish Creature(Krill Gill, Rick Maggio). Other featured monsters include Boris (Frankenstein's Monster), played by Michael Koscik, the hapless Count Farnham (Dracula), played by Justin Hertz, and the hysterical Elvis impersonating Wolfgang (Wolfman), played by Peter Bune. While they are designed to exaggerate, and perhaps lampoon the features of our monster friends, I must say that I find the suits very cool to look at. Overall I found the visuals of the show outstanding, the video quality, the sets, and last but not least the beautiful go-go girls who adorn many of the sketches in their 60's inspired attire. Yes, I'm a sucker for sexy scream queens, and this program has 'em to spare!

Overall, "The Ghouigans Super Show" was a sensational breath of fresh air for this die hard classic monster movie fan. I found that the performances of the monsters were all done with a fun, fresh spirit (My favorites being Void, and Wolfgang the Wolfman, played by Sean King and Peter Bune respectively), with enough sense to not take themselves too seriously. The only real room for improvement I see would be the need for a little bit more serious editing, and a bit of punching up in the sound effects department. Some of the bits tend to have some dead space in between the dialogue that could have been cut out, this coupled with the lack of more attractive sound effects to spruce up the action, tend to leave the viewer with a tendency to drift off from time to time.

The music is provided by Paul T. Laino, who does a great job of capturing the overall sixties feel that the show seems to really be trying to capture. My only regret here is that there tends to be a heavy reliance on drum machines which hinders the overall excitement of the tunes.

While I think that this show would be best suited for classic monster movie fans, I'm sure there would be plenty for anyone who likes a good laugh to sink their fangs into. Some of the themes may not be appropriate for small children, but I wouldn't think this would be offensive to anyone else.

In closing, I highly recommend this program for anyone looking for some offbeat, crazy monster fun.

AJ