Hobgoblins 2 (2009)
1/2 (out of 4)
The original HOBGOBLINS was a rip-off of GREMLINS but somehow it made some cash but it became best known for how bad it is. The film gained a cult following throughout the VHS era and then MST3K did it a favor and gave it even more attention. Originally director Rick Sloane planned on making a sequel two years after the movie but it ended up taking him until 2009.
This film follows the original screenplay that was written back then and we have the same characters returning, although they're being played by different actors. The film has the look of a film that was shot in the 1980s so I give the filmmaker credit for trying to stay true to his original version but there are so many problems with this thing that it's really hard to be entertained by any of it.
The basic plot has the hobgoblins coming back for revenge but the film is just a complete mess. The original movie, I'm sure, was made as a serious film but it just didn't work out and turned out rather campy, which is why it gained a cult following. This movie tries to be like that and it was purposely made bad to try and be cool or at least have the same campy feel of the original but it just doesn't work.
When movies started to be labeled "so bad they're good" many filmmakers went out and tried to make them on purpose. The problem is that these films are simply flat out bad where as a true "so bad it's good" movie was meant to be something serious and just turned out bad. When you try to make something bad on purpose it just doesn't have the same effect and HOBGOBLINS 2 is just a really awful movie that doesn't have any laughs, any scares and just isn't as charming as it thinks it is.
I give the filmmaker credit for trying to film the original screenplay (with a few updates) but it just doesn't work and in the end it's a very bad film without any entertainment value.