''Goblin'' is a 2010 television film directed by Jeffery Scott Lando and written by Raul Inglis. The movie was released on the

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

channel on July 7, 2010. Filming for ''Goblin'' took place in

Pitt Meadows Pitt Meadows is a municipality of Metro Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Incorporated in 1914, it has a land area of and a population of 19,146 as of 2021. The municipality received its name from the Pitt River and Pitt Lake ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada.

Plot

In 1831 a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

holds a yearly ritual to cleanse their home of anything they view as unclean. As a result, the deformed infant of a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

is thrown into a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

, which enrages her. She curses the town, saying that every

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

will come to the town and try to take its children. Anyone attempting to stand in its way will be killed brutally. Years later in modern day, Neil Perkins (

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadians, Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie ''The Shawshank Redemption'', Billy Thomas in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox televi ...

) travels to the hamlet (now called Hollowglen) with the intent of developing the town. With him are his wife Kate (

Camille Sullivan Camille Sullivan (born July 7, 1975) is a Canadian actress. She has starred in various films and television series. Among her notable television appearances are ''Rookie Blue'', ''Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''Intelligence'' and '' Shattered''. She won ...

), their two children, teenager Nikki (

Tracy Spiridakos Tracy Spiridakos ( gr, Τρέισι Σπυριδάκος) is a Canadian actress. She starred as Becky Richards on the Teletoon children's comedy series ''Majority Rules!'' from 2009–2010. She then starred as Charlotte "Charlie" Matheson on th ...

) and the infant Nathan, as well as Nikki's best friend. They're warned of the town's curse and that as they are arriving on Halloween eve, Nathan's life is in danger. The Perkins ignore the threat, only to find themselves in mortal danger.

Cast

as Neil Perkins *

as Nikki Perkins *

as Kate Perkins *

Donnelly Rhodes Henry Donnelly Rhodes (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor, known professionally as Donnelly Rhodes. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convic ...

as Charlie * Reilly Dolman as Kyle * Andrew Wheeler as Sheriff Milgreen *

Colin Cunningham Colin Alexander Cunningham (born 1966) is an American television and film actor. Cunningham is best known for his roles as John Pope in the TNT science fiction series ''Falling Skies'' and as Major Paul Davis on ''Stargate SG-1''. Career Cun ...

as Owen * Erin Boyes as Cammy * Jordan Moore as Nathan Perkins *

Brett Dier Brett Jordan Dier (; born February 14, 1990) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Michael Cordero Jr. on ''Jane the Virgin''. He is also known for his recurring roles on the Canadian TV shows ''Bomb Girls'' and '' The L.A. Complex ...

as Matt * Ryan Grantham as Ben

Reception

Critical reception for ''Goblin'' was mostly negative. Dread Central gave the film 1 1/2 blades, calling it an "entirely unfulfilling piece of strictly by-the-numbers Syfy filler".

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

gave a similarly themed review, stating that it should be "avoided at all costs". HorrorNews.net gave a slightly more positive review, criticizing it while also stating that it would best appeal to people who have "a certain affinity for these kinds of movies". A staff member for HorrorTalk gave an overall positive review for ''Goblin'', calling it a "guilty pleasure".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goblin 2010 television films 2010 films Canadian horror television films 2010s supernatural horror films Goblin films Films shot in British Columbia English-language Canadian films CineTel Films films 2010s monster movies Canadian supernatural horror films Canadian monster movies Syfy original films Films directed by Jeffery Scott Lando 2010s American films 2010s Canadian films