Empire Ghouls

 

 (imdb)

GHOULIES ll-1987-In this sequel, mean little monsters, the spawn of Satan, hitch a ride with a traveling circus after a priest fails to kill them. They cause death and destruction. The circus is run by an old guy (Royal Dano) and his nephew Larry (Damon Martin). After the old man is killed, a yuppie co-owner name Hardin (J. Downing) hangs around wanting to close down the circus. With the help of Nicole (Kerry Remsen), a belly dancer and Nigel (Phil Fondacaro), a little person, the nephew conjures up a giant demon that eats the ghoulies. But then they have to contend with the demon. 

Tasteless, useless sequel from Richard Band's Empire Pics filmed in Italy by Band's father Albert (I BURY THE LIVING (1958)). Somehow, 2 more sequels followed.

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The Original Harry Potter

TROLL-1986-An ugly troll (Phil Fontacaro) pretends to be a little girl and terrorizes her dysfunctional family (Michael Moriarty and Shelly Hack) and the idiot tenants in their apartment building. After turning Pete (Sonny Bono) into a plant, the troll turns the apartment into a breeding ground for other trolls. He turns a dwarf professor (also Fontacaro) into an elf and wants to rule the world. The landlady (June Lockhart) has a singing mushroom and knows magic. She becomes young (Junes's real life daughter Anne) but is turned into a tree sump. A kid named Harry Potter (Noah Hathaway from THE NEVER ENDING STORY) must fight a giant bat creature to save his sister and everyone else. 

Typical Empire production for the time, part fantasy, part horror film. Special effects artist John Carl Buechler also made CELLER DWELLER and FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE NEW BLOOD soon after this. It was followed by TROLL 2 and TROLL 3 which aren't sequels. 

Because of the name of the lead character and the fantasy elements some think this is where JK Rowling got her idea for her Harry Potter series.

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