The 1980s horror film Spookies was a notoriously troubled production. Filming began in 1984 with Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran at the helm… but then creative and legal issues arose during post-production, so that version of the film (which was going by the title Twisted Souls) was never completed. Instead, an investor hired Eugenie Joseph to shoot new footage – involving a different cast and a lot more monsters – that was then mixed together with the footage left over from Faulkner and Doran. This mish-mash was released under the title Spookies in 1987, and over the decades it has developed a cult following. That’s why producer/co-writer Frank Farel is now moving ahead with the sequel Spookies II: Spookier, and he has told our friends at Bloody Disgusting that FX artists Gabriel Bartalos and Vincent J. Guastini, who worked on the first movie, are coming back for the follow-up!

The first Spookies (which, by the way, was shown on a memorable episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs a few years ago) has the following synopsis: After their car breaks down, a group of travelers finds themselves stranded in a remote part of New England. When they take shelter in a spooky old mansion, complete with a graveyard, they discover a Ouija board and decide to spend the night attempting to summon some spirits. But the group soon learns that playing with the forces of black magic isn’t fun and games, and it’s not long before they’re head-to-head with all sorts of demonic creatures, shapeshifters, and other forms of evil, all of whom are more than happy to pick them off in the most gruesome of ways.

Doran passed away in 2016, but Spookies II: Spookier is working from an idea he put down on paper several years ago. Farel told Bloody Disgusting, “Tom’s concept utilized elements of the original — all the horror prerequisites, of course — to springboard to a thoughtful, high-stakes storyline that actually mattered, characters that engaged, some of the most unique and original high-concept monsters I’d ever imagined, and an attitude of irreverence toward the first movie I felt was hilarious and packed with potential. … I completed a Spookies II script draft in the more thoughtful, personally crafted vein of material [Doran and I] were turning out, together and separately, before and after the constricting circumstances of Spookies. Myself and especially Tom — always a tough audience — were the primary ones I had to please. I became convinced I really had something solid; equal parts fast-paced horror, comedy, and action. Feedback from other writers and filmmakers bolstered that confidence and set me off again on a well-traveled, usually harrowing path: let’s make a movie!“

Bartalos and Guastini will be co-producing the sequel, as well as designing the creature and makeup effects. Farel is currently seeking the funding that will allow him to get Spookies II: Spookier into production. He said he is “committed to making this movie as exciting, imaginative, funny and entertaining as humanly possible!“

Are you a fan of Spookies, and are you glad to hear that Spookies II: Spookier is in the works, with Gabriel Bartalos and Vincent J. Guastini coming back to provide the effects? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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