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Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost Review

2/8/2019

42 Comments

 
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Firstly, I would like to highlight that I would strongly recommend not reading this review if you have not yet watched the movie. There are spoilers ahead! You have been warned, so keep reading at your own risk if you haven't watched it.

After 33 years, the frightening tale of the 13 most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the Earth is solved...kind of.

The movie starts off with Vincent and his friend, Mortifer, fighting off the 13th ghost, who we finally discover is called Asmodeus. Asmodeus is captured and sucked into the chest, but the wandering spirits nearby in the woods attempt to get the chest from Vincent and Mortifer. Mortifer offers his life for the chest, and tells Vincent to run while he distracts the spirits (which sort of look like mini-Shadow Demons!). Vincent escapes, while Mortifer is consumed by the spirits. This was a very dark, promising setup to the movie which made me genuinely energized to see the rest of the film.

Then we have the intro. While I liked the nostalgic feel of the intro and Vincent's narration, there were a few major issues I had with it. All the demons were listed off, except for two demons which were oddly skipped over. Zomba and Nicara were never mentioned in the intro, which admittedly bugged me as those were two of my favorites. Additionally, though the other 10 demons were mentioned, two of them were sort of erroneously referred to. The Shadow Demon is said to be one of the 13 ghosts that the gang captured, which he's not. Queen Morbidia was the actual demon in that episode; the Shadow Demon was simply the ghost of someone's shadow who was actually not that evil at all. Also, instead of the ghost captain, which this movie finally confirmed to be one of the demons indirectly, the cyclone spirit was shown. The cyclone demon was not a separate ghost from the chest; it was actually the combination of Maldor, Morbidia, The Mirror Demon and Zomba when they were released from the chest. I did enjoy the intro other than that. The writers seemed to have good intentions when creating it, but they fell a bit short researching their facts and oddly leaving out two of the demons. That was a bit disappointing, as simply watching the two episodes would have prevented those major continuity errors with Morbidia and the ghost captain from happening.

We then have the scene shift to the gang chasing a person in the mall, who is quickly revealed not to be the perpetrator by a policeman. The man claims he was just running because he was "afraid of teenagers." Admittedly, I had a love-hate relationship with that joke. It was sort of funny and random, but also a bit annoying when they repeated it again at the end. The policeman tells the gang that they're out of their depth, and they should leave the crime-solving to the professionals. He also tells them Scooby needs to be on a leash due to the leash laws of the town. Feeling disgraced and humiliated, they listen to the policeman and hold a rummage sale for all of their stuff. Oddly, they didn't feel the need to listen to the policeman about the leash laws. 

At the rummage sale, we see a lot of cool references to old Scooby villains: The Black Knight's suit, The Ape Man's mask, The Ghost Clown's mask, The Space Kook suit and mask, The Witch Doctor's mask, The Werewolf's mask ("Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?"), The Shark God costume, The Abominable Snowman costume from Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! and The Black Samurai's mask. One man named Bernie Alan comes to the rummage sale and asks how much a crystal would cost. This panics Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby, who realize that it's Vincent Van Ghoul's old crystal ball. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but I can't help but wonder if the name Bernie is a reference to Bernie Gumpshure, the dog who replaced Scooby in "It's a Wonderful Scoob" after he quits solving mysteries. 

Daphne, Scooby and Shaggy accidentally contact Vincent Van Ghoul through the crystal. Vincent says that the 13th ghost that they never caught, Asmodeus, has been attacking his castle. Fred and Velma, who are rightly confused, ask Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby to explain what's going on. They explain about the "summer" where they captured all the 13 ghosts except one. It is also explained that Fred and Velma were at camp during that summer. Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby enlist Fred and Velma's assistance in going to help Vincent capture Asmodeus in the Chest of Demons. Then, in a very cringeworthy scene, Daphne pulls a thin sheet off the other red  Mystery Machine (called the Miss-tery Machine), which has apparently been in her garage the whole time but Fred and Velma never noticed. Such a stupid and unbelievable scene. How would Fred and Velma not have noticed that gigantic vehicle under a thin bedsheet for months? You can do better than that, WB.

Daphne takes back the unofficial role of leader, including driving the Miss-tery Machine, because Fred doesn't know how to drive a stick shift. I must admit I liked Daphne's new look in this film, definitely very empowering for her character. On the way there, in a scene very similar to what Rankor did in "Coast to Ghost," a phantom car chases the gang and runs them off the road. The Miss-tery Machine plunges off a cliff into a cold body of water, but luckily, their trusty rubber duck (a recurring gang from 13 Ghosts) breaks their fall. 

Thankfully, the gang safely makes it to Vincent Van Ghoul's castle. They don't see Vincent right away, so they walk around a bit, but quickly run into Asmodeus, the 13th ghost. Asmodeus chases them around for a while, until they eventually find Vincent. Vincent asks where the chest is, and Shaggy replies that he mailed it to Vincent. Vincent says he doesn't have it, because Shaggy sent it to the castle in the Himalayas which was apparently an "Air Boo 'n' Boo". This was quite possibly one of the worst scenes in the movie, as it makes so little sense. The joke wasn't even funny, and it definitely wasn't worth creating that huge continuity error. And additionally, why would Shaggy send it through the mail? He knows how dangerous the chest is, and especially with the 13th ghost still out there, why would he risk that? Why would Vincent not ask him if he had the chest to make sure it was still safe? This doesn't make any sense, people!

Because of Shaggy's error (or rather WB's error), the gang goes to the other castle in the Himalayas to find the chest. Upon arrival, they split up in the same style as in 13 Ghosts - Velma and Fred on their own, while Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne and Vincent pair up together. The latter group runs into the phantom car again, which revs its engine to create an avalanche which they have to escape. Meanwhile, Velma and Fred run into Flim Flam, who is still a con-artist selling lots of merchandise inspired by the demon chest.

Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby finally enter the castle with Vincent, and run into Asmodeus who attempts to steal the demon chest from them. Asmodeus chases them around the castle, at one point switching to the demon-head form that all the demons took when Shaggy and Scooby originally opened the chest (in "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before"). I thought this was a cool addition to the film, and it warmed my heart slightly that WB at least cared a little about this film. Eventually, Asmodeus corners Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne, and Vincent. Vincent says his powers haven't been working ever since Asmodeus showed up (which isn't really explained in the end, oddly), so in defense, he breaks the crystal ball, which explodes into a dense fog. 

Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby wake up outside, and quickly discover Vincent is still trapped in the castle with Asmodeus. Fred and Velma also crash-land in that area at the same time. Velma reveals that she has taken her glasses off because she doesn't need them anymore, as all her views of the supernatural have been questioned. Daphne claims that it's too late, because all the castle windows and doors are frozen shut and there's no way to get to Vincent. Fred then reveals he actually didn't go to camp in the summer, rather, he went to cheerleading training. While it was a good effort at humor, the joke wasn't particularly funny to me and seemed a bit cringeworthy and out of place. 

In one final effort to stop Asmodeus, Shaggy, Daphne and Scooby make it back into the castle while Fred and Velma go to see Flim Flam again. Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne overhear Asmodeus try to steal the demon chest, which doesn't make sense to them because it can only be opened by the living, which Asmodeus is not. While I've seen a lot of fans complain about this, so it's worth bringing up that this wasn't even consistent in the original 13 Ghosts series. Many demons tried to steal the chest, and in some cases, open it even though it is said by Weerd and Bogel that the demon chest can only be opened by the living in the first episode. Three examples of this are Zomba, Time Slime and Zimbulu, the latter two of which actually did successfully open the chest. 

Fred and Velma convince Flim Flam to come back with them to the castle. In a horrifyingly cringeworthy "trap," Scooby, Shaggy and Daphne pretend to be the 14th ghost to scare Asmodeus. Not only is the 14th ghost costume more terrifyingly cheesy than all 13 ghosts combined (it's literally just a white sheet with eyes and a mouth drawn on it), but there also is no 14th ghost which Asmodeus is well aware of. So, excuse my language, but what the hell did they think was going to happen?

Vincent, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne are now all cornered by Asmodeus, until Velma, Fred and Flim Flam save the day with the Vaccu-Spook from the original series. Oddly, they only suck Asmodeus's cape off, even though the Vaccu-Spook was supposedly at its highest power (you'd think Asmodeus would have sucked in too). They reveal that Asmodeus is in fact not a real ghost, but Vincent's old friend Mortifer. Mortifer dressed up as Asmodeus so he could steal the chest back from Vincent to sell it. It's left a bit confusing as to why he wanted to sell the chest, knowing how dangerous it is, which bothered me. But what really bothered me was the ending. At the end, Mortifer escapes and revs his car engine once more to start an avalanche and trap the gang. During this sequence, the (possibly) real Asmodeus appears in the human-like form of a ghost, and disappears into the mist. Right after this, the policemen capture Mortifer and escort him to jail (or to the "ghoul-ags" as Vincent says, which I didn't find any of Vincent's spooky puns very funny).

Asmodeus is revealed to be Vincent's ancestor, Asamod Van Ghoul, who became evil and was imprisoned in the chest with the other 12 ghosts. Velma reads from the Grand Tome of the Chest of Demons that "revenge" is loosely translated as "redemption." Asmodeus just needed his good name cleared so he could be at peace. Though he was originally evil and placed in the chest as one of the 13 ghosts, he had "plenty of time in the chest to think about his misdeeds." Later, Velma comments to Flim Flam that she just made it up to comfort Vincent. It's left unclear how much of the story she made up, or if the ghost we saw was actually Asmodeus being redeemed. This was incredibly frustrating for me! It literally wrapped up nothing, except for the slight chance that there was some truth in what Velma had said. The real Asmodeus could still potentially be out on the loose somewhere, but we don't know for sure and may never know. At the very end, Flim Flam gives Shaggy some "Lotsa Luck Joy Juice" (from the first episode of 13 Ghosts) and the gang flies off in the Flying Mystery Machine (which WB messed up on too, in the original series it was the Mystery Flying Machine).

Overall, while this movie had some good potential, the gigantic continuity errors made me not like it quite as much. It also didn't have quite the same feel as the original 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo series, and felt just like one of the more recent DTVs. This movie was clearly made for the adult fans who remember 13 Ghosts, in order to the 50th anniversary of Scooby. It really irritates me that WB couldn't have done a better job researching the show and getting a feel for it. Even if it didn't have the same tone, at the very least they could have taken a few hours to watch some episodes of the show. That would have prevented most, if not all, of the continuity errors we saw in this movie. Also, Velma asking "What's a Scrappy?" is probably the worst continuity error of them all, as she met Scrappy numerous times in The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (1979) and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. I would have liked to have seen Weerd and Bogel make a cameo as well, so it was disappointing that they didn't. If we're going by the assumption that 13 Ghosts occurred chronologically after The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, there is also a large continuity error here. In "The Crazy Carnival Caper," Shaggy says that they have all graduated from high school. Here, it is said that they are all 17 years old. Most of these continuity errors were so easily avoidable, so letting them happen was as stupid as Rankor willingly going into the demon chest to avoid the sunlight, saying "Thanks, you guys are real pals!" (He actually does say this in "Coast to Ghost," effectively capturing himself without the gang having to do anything. I still can't get over how stupid that is! How is he one of the 13 worst ghosts on Earth? He actually has to beg with SAPS to let him in, despite how powerful he should be lol)

In terms of the positive aspects of the movie, if you don't consider the continuity errors, the plot was pretty solid and Asmodeus had a very cool design. Daphne taking the leadership role and getting a new look was awesome, and the Easter Eggs were fun to see. I'm going to rate this film a 6/10. I'd maybe watch it again someday in the future, but I'm not in any hurry to and I'm sure the continuity errors will continue to make me cringe. Let's hope Return to Zombie Island is better, though I'm a bit nervous now given this movie.
42 Comments
Ashton Hardy
2/9/2019 01:45:06 am

I think I'm the weird guy who really enjoyed this one. I rewatched The 13 Ghosts series before watching the film (my girlfriend hadn't seen it yet and I wasn't going to have her jump into the movie without all the context) but the ending left me surprised. I wasn't expecting that and that's what made it interesting to me. I felt like it left off on a 'it could be this or that' closing Shaggy and Scooby's Chest of Demons story but leaving open The Chest of Demons story as a whole open for speculation. I feel like this ending makes you think after the movie is over, and I love movies that do that. You can theorize what could be even after the finale. I believe Velmas theories are mainly for herself for her to believe, she even doubts herself and doesn't open the chest. So I mean I can see a lot of people are really disliking this movie purely for the ending, but I'll be that one that says, this is one of my new favorite Scooby movies.

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WildwindVampire link
2/9/2019 12:39:00 pm

I'm so you glad you enjoyed it! I guess I could understand that perspective. Looking at it another way, it is kinda neat that it ended on a cliffhanger (it's similar to how Boo Brothers and Reluctant Werewolf from that era ended). For me personally, I was pretty disappointed that the 13th ghost wasn't actually captured and that it ended up being fake. If Velma was right and "revenge" really did translate into "redemption," I'm not sure how I feel about the ghost being redeemed. If it was truly one of the 13 most terrifying/evil ghosts on the face of the Earth, it feels like a bit of a letdown to have him just be suddenly redeemed and becoming good.

Thank you for sharing your opinion and perspective! It was very interesting! :)

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DS-616
2/9/2019 07:48:33 am

I thought it was a really fun, well done wrap-up for the original show. I also appreciated and liked how they pulled off the clever twist with the final demon not being an actual monster and how that was a direct parallel to trying to unmask the farmer at the beginning (they thought the farmer was a guy in a costume but turned out to be the real thing, then they thought it was a real demon but it surprisingly turns out to be a guy in a costume)

My only slightly frustrating issue was the continued bizarre treatment and pointless franchise-wide retconning of Scrappy. And it's not like I expected him to be re-join the gang in this film or even be seen in a quick cameo role, but when they literally wouldn't even include him in the intro showing the *silhouettes* of the main characters from the original show? That's just absolutely ridiculous.

But all in all, it was a very fun and nostalgic film. Looking forward to all the other Scooby content coming later in the year.

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WildwindVampire
2/9/2019 12:40:50 pm

I was disappointed about Scrappy's treatment as well. Being such a prominent character in the original series, I was shocked they didn't at least mention him in a favorable light instead of Velma's lame "What's a Scrappy?" comment. It was so unnecessary and created a large continuity issue between 13 Ghosts and The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (from 1979) and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries.

I remain optimistic for Return to Zombie Island and whatever other Scooby content is coming yet this year.

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DS-616
2/9/2019 02:53:13 pm

Yeah i'll just never understand the logic of being the studio who owns and controls this giant franchise yet they actually listen to the vocal minority of crybabies who hate a cartoon puppy oh-so much to the point that the studio is legitimately scared to even mention his name! (and when they do rarely mention it they're of course bashing the hell out of him)

Just so pathetic. Even if I didn't LIKE Scrappy but had control of this franchise I would make animated movie with Scrappy as part of the gang JUST to annoy the hell out of all these ridiculous haters. Rule number 1 in any business: You NEVER listen to the vocal minority of negative complainers/whiny trolls, ESPECIALLY in the internet era. That's just basic common sense Lol

WildwindVampire link
2/9/2019 05:28:14 pm

Yep, the "Scrappy sucks!" jokes are getting pretty old now. They were barely funny the first time, so continuing them since 2002 isn't exactly the best move on WB's part. Hopefully someday we'll get a redemption for him.

Scooby dooby Doo
2/9/2019 10:59:26 am

I know this is Scooby and everything but, didn´t you think those chases took like FOREVERRR? , I don´t feel satisfied with this particular movie, something is missing but I can´t tell what.

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WildwindVampire link
2/9/2019 12:34:55 pm

They did feel like they took quite a long time. They should have focused more on the plot instead of rushing it and so heavily focusing on the chase scenes. I feel like the continuity issues and the tone being off were my biggest issues with the film.

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CJT
2/9/2019 03:37:44 pm

I enjoyed Curse of the 13th Ghost quite a lot actually. It's probably because I really don't like the original 13 Ghosts series. Aside from a few episodes that I can watch and enjoy, it's just a big mess that is everything I don't want in a Scooby-Doo series. So for me, Curse of the 13th Ghost was a nice way to conclude a series that I never liked in the first place.

I liked how they left the ending kind of open to interpretation. You can choose whether you agree with Velma's theories or not. I liked Daphne taking the driver's seat this time around (literally), it was nice to see Vincent Van Ghoul back (one of the best things about The 13 Ghosts series), the song "Scoobystition" was awesome, and Flim-Flam was nowhere near as annoying as he was in the series.

In terms of the whole "What's a Scrappy" debacle, I kind of have mixed feelings on that. Not a Scrappy lover, but since he was so prominent in the 13 Ghosts series and he did have interactions with the whole gang in his first ever series, why not just acknowledge his absence and say he's with his mum or something? On the other hand, the Scrappy-hating side of me was doing an evil, Vincent-like laugh when Velma didn't recognise his existence.

On the whole, I really liked Curse of the 13th Ghost on first viewing, but I can understand why others may not.

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WildwindVampire link
2/9/2019 05:36:40 pm

A lot of fascinating perspectives from you guys!

Which episodes did you enjoy, out of curiosity?

Admittedly, I think the reason I disliked the ending so much was because I was expecting a more concrete conclusion. WB advertised it as "wrapping up a 33 year old mystery," so I supposed I honed into that.

"Scoobystition" is an awesome song! Yes, that was my complaint as well with the "What's a Scrappy?" comment. It would have been so easy to just do a quick explanation like that instead of doing a joke which creates countless unnecessary continuity errors.

Thank you, and everyone else who's commented so far, for reminding me to keep an open mind! You've all made me think deeper about the film and why I disliked it so much, which is pretty awesome. You guys are the best! <3

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CJT
2/11/2019 02:03:31 pm

I quite like Scoobra Kadoobra, That's Monstertainment and A Spooky Little Ghoul Like You. The rest range from OK to god awful (looking at you When You Witch Upon a Star) in my eyes.

I think I would have really liked 13 Ghosts if it...
1) had the whole of Mystery Inc without Flim-Flam (I wouldn't have minded Scrappy as much tbh. Flim-Flam basically stole his role)
2) had of been taken a bit more seriously (again I point to When You Witch Upon a Star and those incredibly annoying witchs. Just thinking of their awful, awful song makes me want to bash my head off my desk),
and 3) if it had of been resolved at the time instead of 30 odd years later.

But yeah, as it stands, it's one of my least favourite series. I can't say I outright hate it though. That is reserved for Get a Clue which I consider a total abomination. At least 13 Ghosts had Daphne (my fav member of the gang) and Vincent Van Ghoul (who, after the Hex Girls, is one of my favourite recurring characters in the franchise).

WildwindVampire link
2/11/2019 06:57:14 pm

You actually picked my three favorites! "When You Witch Upon a Star" is pretty awful and I agree it's my least favorite episode. Rankor in "Coast to Ghost" is god awful. It makes no sense why he'd need to join SAPS, as he's supposedly one of the 13 most powerful ghosts on all time. He could run SAPS, why is he pleading to be a member? Also, the "Thanks, you guys are real pals!" line is almost painful to watch. He willingly goes in the chest to avoid sunlight, which is so stupid. He easily could have hid somewhere else dark to avoid the sunlight, or at the very least said something slightly more menacing like "I need to go in the Demon Chest so I don't die, but I'll be back someday and wreak more havoc than ever!" Does he say this? No. Instead we get the BS "Thanks, you guys are real pals!" line because the writers were too lazy to think up an actual realistic ending to the episode.

"Just thinking of their awful, awful song makes me want to bash my head off my desk" haha, yeah it's pretty bad. What about "Goodnight Ghoulies" from "Me and My Shadow Demon?" That's even worse IMO, it's just so childish and I feel weird watching it as an adult.

I kinda have a soft spot for the show. Most of the episodes were a good mix of spooky and silly, other than the crap ones like "When You Witch Upon a Star." "Coast to Ghost" is also on that "strongly dislike" list, because of the issues with Rankor above and the fact that the continuity level was in the basement. The gang acts like they don't know who Weerd and Bogel are, except they're in like almost every episode and they made Scooby open the chest. I agree Vincent Van Ghoul and Daphne are among my favorite characters.

The cop
2/10/2019 07:53:43 pm

In the opening credits the line with the shadow demon is "and broke the shadow demon's curse which they did by beating queen morbudia so they referenced the episode correctly and it also doesn't mention time slime directly

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WildwindVampire link
2/11/2019 12:22:06 pm

True about Time Slime, I had forgotten about that. I guess it just bugs me that everyone always cites the Shadow Demon as the second ghost/demon, whereas it's actually Morbidia. It's also questionable what "curse" they're referring to, as the Shadow Demon wasn't a bad guy. It was just some dude's shadow and if memory serves correctly it's never confirmed that he's working with Morbidia.

I guess that's just me overanalyzing things haha.

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sdf
2/11/2019 05:45:55 pm

I hoped i would see that movie and fell it was a great ending to a great series. Sadly i realised that i couldn't feel this was the finale of 13 ghosts. First of all we had 3 great absences those of Weerd and Bogel and of course scrappy doo.

Good stuff: The beginung with Vincent's backround was great. I liked that the 13th ghost was Vincet's anceestor. That explained why he knew to muuch about the chest and why he wanted so much all ghosts to be captured. The movie had some cool easter eggs as well. Finally the leadershim chang in the gang was interesting. Oh and i forgot to mention how cool Asmodeus design was

Bad stuff: I found Fred's secret about the cheerleader camp meh. The ending left us with more questions than answers. I mean was Asmodeus redeemed or he is evil and free. I wanted to see scrappy and Weerd and Bogel again. Finally the plot holes were cringy (they destroyed my timeline lol). I mean you give us think that this film is in the same timeline with WAY WNSD and WNSD movies era and you show us the black samurai's mask as an easter egg. Black samurai was a real ghost so why Velma and the others don't remember that; Scooby's timeline is a dead end after all.

Overall i didn't hate that movie but i wanted to love it so i feel a bit empty 5.5/10 from me

PS1 Thank you WB for showing us for one more time that you don't care about scooby

PS2 Please don't ruin return to the zombie islan as well. I am very nervous after that

A mini wishlist

Keep the dark role of the first one
Make us feel it is a sequel without plote holes
Bring back Beau

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WildwindVampire link
2/11/2019 07:04:50 pm

It was cool that the 13th ghost was Vincent's ancestor. I agree he had a very neat design.

It did completely destroy both of our timelines! The continuity errors made no sense, and they were so easily fixable! I think, honestly, they were afraid to bring back Scrappy, Weerd and Bogel because they were worried kids would be annoyed by them. But still, even a little reference to each of them would have been better than what we got.

"Thank you WB for showing us for one more time that you don't care about scooby" I know! It makes me really sad that they don't put more effort into these movies :(

I hope they don't ruin Return to Zombie Island. I'd be pretty devastated if it was as full as continuity errors as this. I'm hopeful that WB will see some of the fan comments and realize how badly they screwed up with the continuity in this film.

Btw, I agree with your wishlist :)

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Lance Rutt
2/11/2019 07:00:29 pm

The whole Ship of Ghouls thing is super messy. In the episode, they say the ship's captain had only died 50 years ago which contradicts the show's implied origin for the Chest being an ancient trap. I can see why they went with the Cyclone Ghost instead. Both of these being part of the 13 ghosts are obvious retcons but 12 is a more satisfying number than 11.

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WildwindVampire link
2/11/2019 07:11:33 pm

Yeah, I guess it is pretty messy! I hadn't thought about the 50 years thing, but that's super confusing that they'd do that. I think they say that the Chest of Demons was ancient in the show, right? Not just in the movie? The Cyclone Ghost was just a combo of Maldor, Morbidia, the Mirror Demon and Zomba. I guess Captain Ferguson being one of the ghosts makes slightly more sense than calling the Cyclone Ghost one of them, but still it's super messy.

Then again, honestly the show was pretty contradictory in itself. I think I mentioned in my review that supposedly only the living can open the chest. Yet in "That's Monstertainment," Zomba's whole focus is to trap the gang in the television so she could open the Demon Chest. Time Slime nearly opens the Demon Chest. Zimbulu physically does open the Demon Chest and successfully releases the demons before they're sucked into the Vaccu-Spook. So yeah lots of contradictions in the show!

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Lance Rutt
2/11/2019 08:10:21 pm

Question: Is it ever explicitly said that whoever opens the chest must catch the demons? Because Vincent Van Ghoul traps Nekara in Spooky Little Ghoul which raises the question why he doesn't just do this himself

WildwindVampire link
2/11/2019 08:41:26 pm

No, but presumably Vincent blames Shaggy and Scooby for letting the demons out and wants them to take some responsibility for their actions.

Samuel Kirkwood
2/13/2019 03:33:34 pm

Just watched it, this was horrifying, a terrible conclusion to the series. The series originally was a bit ropey here and there, I mean Scooby's mum seems to change appearance between 2 episodes, but compared to this trollop it was amazing. Simply put, rather than a homage to a wonderfully dark and different side to Scooby Doo for the fans of yester year, they yielded to the modern day standard of kids cartoon. The fact the 13th ghost wasn't really real and Velma blamed the original 12, which in all fairness there were only 11 caught, that ghost captain wasn't one, on hallucinations, just irked me to the point that from an awesome start to the point of I want to set this disc on fire. They should just give up on Zombie Island 2 if it's going to be this bad, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if Vincent Price came back from the dead and haunted the idiots who actually wrote this and thought it was any good for all eternity. Sorry to sound so wound up, although now I see why on release it was only £5.

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Lance Rutt
2/13/2019 04:54:54 pm

Can we please stop with the fiction that 13 Ghosts was a "darker" Scooby series? It was an intentionally goofy Tom Reugger cartoon. If anything, this DTV movie is actually "darker" than the original show just by virtue of not giving the bad guy comic relief sidekick ghosts (though I agree they should've been referenced at least).

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WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 09:43:51 am

I'd argue the series was dark in its premise, "13 of the most terrifying ghosts on the face of the Earth," but in execution, you're definitely correct that it was very cheesy and silly, and not at all dark. I think people have latched onto the idea that the villains were more frightening and the threats were more real, but it's sometimes forgotten how silly and lighthearted certain aspects of the show were.

Samuel Kirkwood
2/14/2019 12:42:21 pm

Although the show was very lighthearted, even in modern times I can see how scary some of the villains might seem to children, Demondo, circus Fantastique, Zomba, Maldor, That creepy mist lady whatever she was called despite her bumbling sidekicks and the Werewolves from episode 1. no matter what people think I don't think it would pass in modern times with all the PC bullshit. I mean old scooby doo comics had demonic colts, ghost nazis etc. along with very questionable advertisements that said things like "give your child a gun for Xmas"!

WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 04:09:48 pm

The Circus Fantastique was pretty terrifying, as was Maldor and Marcella (the demon mist lady). Nicara was also pretty creepy IMO, though Demondo never really creeped me out as a kid. Zomba was probably the most creepy to me as a kid, especially given Vincent is uncharacteristically submissive in the episode, in one part almost seeming terrified of her ("Zomba! What do you want?").

"Give your child a gun for Xmas"! Aww but that's the best gift! What could be safer than that? haha

WildwindVampire link
2/13/2019 07:29:31 pm

This definitely wasn't the greatest film. "just irked me to the point that from an awesome start to the point of I want to set this disc on fire." Haha yeah it did get pretty bad there at the end. I'm really worried about Return to Zombie Island too, but I'm hoping WB will see the fan comments and realize they kinda effed up on this one.

You don't think the ghost captain was one of the 13 ghosts? I thought this movie kinda implied he was, but I'm not sure honestly.

"In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Vincent Price came back from the dead and haunted the idiots who actually wrote this and thought it was any good for all eternity" Hahaha this is the best reaction to the movie I've seen thus far.

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Samuel Kirkwood
2/14/2019 12:31:57 pm

Thanks, in fairness I wrote this shortly after the film ended around 22:00, I was a little wound up, had been up since 4am for work and had to rush as had to be up at 4am again today. A few years back Wikipedia had 2 unreleased episodes, numbers 14 and 15, entitled "I'm not Brew with You" and "Master of Monsterville" and also stated the 2 final monsters, one was called Brewella, but I can't remember the other and the info on them is now seemingly long gone bar the episode titles on a reddit page. Although there is very little credibility to these claims, this is why I don't think the Ghost Captain is one of the 13 ghosts or in the initial idea for the story anyway.

WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 03:59:47 pm

No worries. Not to discount your opinion, but I just really doubt those episodes are real. Literally anyone can edit Wikipedia, (I could edit it right now and put those two back if I really wanted to, hypothetically speaking) so the likelihood that there are two episodes out there that we've never heard of other than on Wikipedia is very slim. I think there's even an interview somewhere from Tom Ruegger that says there were only 13 episodes written. I do respect your opinion though and maybe the Ghost Captain isn't one of the ghosts.

Jay Reed
2/14/2019 06:53:05 am

@Samuel Kirkwood

Nah completely disagree. Even though I grew up with the original show (and have biased childhood nostalgia for it) I watched it again recently and thought it was by far the weakest (and beyond cheesy) show in the franchise. Meanwhile the movie wrap-up was yet another quality modern animated Scooby film with an excellent voice cast and actual funny/actual clever writing (something the original show had none of)

All this complaining over the simple fact that a "real" ghost didn't get put back in a box at the end of a cartoon really is laughable levels of ridiculous when 99.9% of the rest of the film was objectively good/great.

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WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 09:42:02 am

Honestly, I think it has to do with the fact that WB advertised it as "wrapping up a 33 year mystery." I can't speak for others, but from my personal standpoint, I was expecting it to finally wrap up the mystery we've been uncertain about for so long. I do agree that the plot was superb beyond the continuity errors, and the film was indeed very dark. However, it felt like a tease for WB to make the final ghost fake, and then leave us on a cliffhanger after they had so heavily advertised that this would be the movie to wrap up the series. This wrapped up very little, if anything. Of course, I respect your opinion, and I'd even agree that I may have enjoyed it more if WB had not advertised it through the lens of concluding a series which Scooby fans have been confused about for so long.

Samuel Kirkwood
2/14/2019 12:55:36 pm

Fair enough, I have my view you have yours. Being the first Scooby Doo series to feature real Supernatural monsters, I felt this was seriously let down by basically saying "Shaggy and Scooby just had to much of their hippy medicine that summer" and trying to assert ghosts aren't real, actually wished Velma opened the chest and caused the ghosts to be released again. This movie plummeted like the flying mystery machine in the very first episode just getting worse and worse as it went on.

WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 04:13:14 pm

@Samuel Kirkwood Same, though it was not the first series to feature real supernatural monsters. Several of the Scrappy shorts (both the ones with and without Daphne) had real monsters in them, as well as the fact that Jadall from "Mystery in Persia" {the Jeannie episode of the New Scooby-Doo Movies} was real.

I can't say I wished that Velma would release all the demons again though, because if she did, WB probably wouldn't wrap it up which would bother me even more and make me wish they never made the film.

Jay Reed
2/14/2019 02:50:43 pm

I can certainly understand some fans feeling disappointed or even a bit cheated that it wasn't the more streamlined ending everyone assumed it was going to be.

But for me personally I really appreciated going the very "meta" route of one set of characters acknowledging that the 13 Ghosts series all actually happened, while another member of the gang took the stance of "nah, ghosts and demons aren't real". It was ultimately just a fun and clever way to include a retro series that would've otherwise never been mentioned in any of these modern Scooby movies.

And as for the ending with Velma potentially opening the chest, not or one second did I ever have a thought of her opening it and then saying "See? Nothing!". The 13 Ghosts show itself all absolutely happened without a doubt. The ending wasn't trying to go the route of "was it all real? or was it all a dream? you decide!", I think it was more just going the route you see in a kids fantasy movie where a bunch of kids go to some magical land and when they get back and tell their parents about it they respond by sarcastically saying "HA! yeah, suuuuure ya did". The kids know it was real, WE the audience know it was all real and actually happened, but the skeptics remain skeptics. Same logic applies for the ending in this movie. Everything happened, it's all good.

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WildwindVampire link
2/14/2019 04:05:28 pm

It's a good point that the series probably would have never been mentioned again in the coming years if not for this film.

Honestly, I did kinda wonder if WB was going to have Velma open the chest and say "See? Nothing!". I just felt so teased at that point, that it felt like WB might not be afraid to take that more controversial route, or imply that the demon chest was a fake and the real one was still out there, or something like that. Lord knows that the Scooby continuity has been terrible, so I could have seen WB implying that it was all fake, as they sort of did with Velma's constant skepticism in this film.

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Jay Reed
2/14/2019 05:03:59 pm

But that's the thing right, the continuity is SO all over the place and contradicting that you might as well make fun of it by having one member of the group say "hey remember the time we chased REAL ghosts along with that weird kid and puppy?" and then another group member replies "Nope, because ghosts aren't real, so it never happened". I just think that's really amusing and clever.

And even if they did go that extra mile and have Velma open an empty chest and say "Case closed, never happened, deal with it", is even that the end of the world? Because A. people can just use the easy argument that the new film is a different canon so who cares what they say, and B. everyone can still keep watching the existing 13 Ghosts series whenever they want, it's not like that's ever getting erased from existence.

WildwindVampire link
2/18/2019 12:49:01 pm

Sorry, for some reason the site's spam system has been wonky these past few days and it's marking comments as spam that shouldn't have been (this was one of them). Also, DS-616, it marked three of your comments as spam for some reason, though I'm leaving them there since you were able to repost them successfully.

I definitely respect your opinion, though I guess I personally find it annoying that the continuity is so all over the place. But, I suppose it's such a long running franchise that continuity errors are bound to happen at some point.

It's probably just the perfectionist in me, but I wouldn't have liked it if Velma opened an empty chest. It wouldn't be the end of the world, but I also wouldn't have enjoyed it. It would be preferable if the continuity stayed consistent throughout the whole franchise, but it seems like WB has decided not to go that route so I guess we just have to deal with it.

Tom Holste
2/19/2019 11:22:25 am

My feelings on this whole project have been so mixed.

On the one hand, I was an easily frightened child, so my parents didn't even let me watch "13 Ghosts" as a kid. I've seen a few episodes as an adult, but I never got into it.

On the other hand, when I recently learned that they never caught the 13th ghost, I thought WB did a fabulous thing by making a movie to wrap it up. But I've seen the negative reactions online, so I decided to read this review with its spoilers even though I haven't seen the movie yet (and at this point, I probably won't).

So...they really had the "13th ghost" be just another guy in a suit? That...doesn't even make sense. I've never been a fan of the "real monsters" stuff in this franchise, but all the other ghosts had been established as real in this storyline. One must play the ball where it lies, so to speak. The only possible conclusion is that the actual "13th ghost" is still out there somewhere, thus frustrating any sense of closure.

Here's a wild theory, but it's worth throwing out there: The "Scoobynatural" episode last year was a huge success. It's currently the highest-rated Scooby thing I can find on all of IMDB, with voters giving it a 9.6 out of 10. In that story, the natural order of things is restored so that Scooby and the gang go back to believing in just criminals wearing masks, while the "Supernatural" gang goes back to their world. The story works for both sets of characters from different perspectives.

Maybe WB thinks that's the way to go forward -- to try to create stories where you can believe either interpretation of the story? If so, I still don't think it made sense for a sequel to that particular series.

As for "What's a Scrappy?" -- there seems to be a thing in all Scooby productions that the only thing that actually happened is "Where are You" and then anything else that gets referenced in this project. The rest of it gets rendered null and void with each new production. So in this case, "Where are You" and "13 Ghosts" happened, but none of the other stories including Scrappy are canon.

I think that strategy worked well back in a day when most of the show wasn't available on home video, but in a day and age when you can watch pretty much anything, maybe they should be more cohesive in their world-building.

At this point, it would be difficult to explain all the times that the gang didn't remember the existence of real monsters so that they were surprised anew when they ran into them. How many times has poor Frank Welker had to deliver dialogue something along the lines of "You mean the ghosts are REAL this time?" and make it sound fresh?

At any rate, I've never been a fan of Scrappy, and thought the twist villain of the 2002 live-action movie was, at the time, brilliant. Having said that, even I have grown tired of the endless Scrappy jokes. Either don't mention him or do something fresh with him. Lucasfilm just ignores Jar Jar Binks; they don't have to trot out someone in every movie to say, "What's a Jar Jar?"

Anyway, thanks for your insightful review!

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WildwindVampire link
2/19/2019 04:23:34 pm

Yep, sadly the 13th ghost was indeed just a guy in a suit. The explanation didn't even really make all that much sense. The culprit knew how dangerous the chest was, yet he dressed up as the 13th ghost to sell the chest. Who would want to buy this dangerous chest? Why would anyone want to sell this dangerous chest to someone potentially evil? It makes little sense...

That Scoobynatural theory actually sounds like it could be pretty plausible. I loved Scoobynatural and desperately wished that this movie could have been like that wonderful piece of artistic masterpiece.

Upon deeper thought, I think what WB was trying to do is mirror Boo Brothers and Reluctant Werewolf from that same 80s era. Both of those movies had cliffhanger endings. It's a good though in ideology I guess, but in execution, it just didn't work well for this movie. There's also the fact that WB promoted the film as "finally concluding a 33 year old mystery"...except they didn't...which made me and I think a lot of other Scooby fans feel very teased.

A sequel to that series would have made sense if they would have stayed consistent with the tone, without countless continuity errors...but the idea of the 13th ghost being fake just doesn't seem at all like the tone of the original series.

Poor Frank haha! Yeah, the endless Scrappy jokes have gotten really old...it's time for him to be redeemed IMO. Or just ignore him! But for the love of Jebus, please don't keep making the same joke over and over for 17 years.

You're so welcome! Thank you for your insightful comment! :)

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Becker
4/21/2020 03:19:01 pm

Yup, this movie ain't good lol.
Here are some ways I think would make The Curse of the 13th Ghost much better:

1) The movie takes place a year after the events of The 13 Ghosts show. The gang are 23-24 years old, not 18, which doesn't make any lick of sense (Scooby's like 14, I guess). They were clearly adults in The 13 Ghosts, and this a sequel. The hell. Speaking of age, Flim-Flam is 13, not the same age as the gang.

2) Get rid of Farmer Morgan, Mrs Malvo and Vance Linklater. They're not important to a 13 Ghosts storyline. We need to take out some things out of the movie, cuz of the characters and sub-plots I would add into my "fix-version". Otherwise it would become a 2 hour film.

3) Make Velma f***ing likable, not the most annoying character of the decade. Make her more accepting of supernatural.

4) Mortifer is the initial villain, but he doesn't want to sell the Chest of Demons, he wants to harness the powers of Asmodeus and become the king of demons himself. This backfires and he ends up killed. Then the real Asmodeus shows up as the ultimate villain in the third act. Also, Mortifer and Vincent's backstory can remain the same. It doesn't have to conflict with the Werewolves' village from "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before". It can be explained that Those people aided Mortifer and Vincent during their quest and were cursed for that. Vincent could maybe sacrifice himself to kill Asmodeus and end this long quest. All this stuff alone said here would add like 25 minutes of runtime lol.

5) Have Scrappy in it. He's still with Shaggy and Scooby from the beginning of the movie. In the end, Scrappy becomes Flim-Flam's pet the same way Scooby is Shaggy's, so he stays with Flim-Flam on the Himalayas. Scrappy's still the same as he was before as far as size. Even though he's like 4 now, I'l take a bit of "lore" from Scooby-Doo 2002 for once and say he has a gland problem, but he's young, not a full grown dog.

6) Have Weerd and Bogel in it. Bogel and Weerd initially are Asmodeus' minions, but later they have an epiphany and realize that opening the Chest of Demons didn't do any good for them, so they turn on their former master Asmodeus and try to defeat him on their own, and towards the end they help the gang take him down and redeem themselves.

7) Explain in the beginning how the whole gang got back together again prior to the events of this film. Or maybe have them reunite right at the beginning somehow.

8) Here's the more controversial and divisive decision: about the Shaggy/Daphne stuff. I am a Shaphne fan, and I think that the same way Fred/Daphne and Shaggy/Velma were couples in WAY, the same way Shaggy/Daphne are together in 13 Ghosts. I mean, none of them were directly confirmed inside their respective shows, and were only later confirmed to be by their respective creators/developers. So, since Boo Brothers, Ghoul School and Reluctant Werewolf are in the same continuity (imo), set between 13 Ghosts and Curse of the 13th Ghost, Shaggy and Daphne had obviously broken up at some point and remained friends. Now, since this is my version of the film, with what I wanna add, I'm gonna put a Shaphne sub-plot in there. Not to the forefront, but still there. During the events of this version of the movie, with certain scenes, moments and discussions between the two of them throughout, they rekindle their relationship towards the end of the film.

FYI, I consider the travel agent/captain Ferguson part of the 13 ghosts.

Fixing The Curse of the 13th Ghost is actually a good idea for an Editorial Article. Cuz there are quite some ways to improve this movie.

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WildwindVampire link
4/22/2020 08:47:46 pm

Great suggestions, and I agree with all of them tbh.

1. Yes, the age thing was a big problem. I think removing the whole "this is part of the Where Are You universe" would solve a lot of these issues you point out.

4. I especially love this idea! This movie would really benefit from a Witch's Ghost-like reveal midway through.

5. I wouldn't mind a bit of 2002 lore either if it meant Scrappy being able to featured in it. I'm not saying he's my favorite character by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems unjust to just pretend like he doesn't exist when he was such a big part of the original show, especially with the "What's a Scrappy?" comment.

6. I wish they would have had Weerd and Bogel in it. They were an integral part of the series too...

7. Yep, the whole "summer camp" thing or whatever was dumb.

8. I've written a fanfic that ships Shaphne, so I suppose you could call me a Shaphne fan haha. I definitely have warmed up quite a bit to the pairing over the years, and think it's pretty cute! I like your idea of adding a Shaphne subplot, and I'd just add to what you wrote that they should explain why they broke up in the first place. But other than that, I think your idea is perfect!

I used to think Captain Ferguson was a part of the 13 ghosts, but I feel like he's kinda not now. He was the only ghost they never directly said was a part of them, and I kinda feel like they would have said he was one of the 13 if he was. I wish the series would have actually captured all 13 and made it clear to us! In general, I think we should have seen the other 12 ghosts more than in just the intro (and Zomba and Nicara were actually skipped in the intro).

Thank you! That's a good idea, though I would need to think about it a little more so I'm not just stealing all your great ideas haha.

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Becker
4/23/2020 05:08:12 am

I consider Ferguson part of the 13 ghosts for several reasons. To me, it's weird to have an episode in the middle of the show where the main villain is a ghost, but not part of the 13 ghosts. It makes most sense for each episode after the first one to have one of the chest ghosts caught. Ferguson is a ghost who can change his appearance AND turn himself into a human when he wants. That's good enough for him to be part of the 13 ghosts in my book. He gets caught in the chest at the end and the episode synopsis for the show's release on iTunes identifies him as one of 13 ghosts. Plus, this movie can't really work with two chest ghosts running around, so at least the version we have, got that straight and said one of the ghosts was Ferguson, basically confirming it as canon.

WildwindVampire link
4/23/2020 10:48:03 am

I agree it is weird to have an episode right in the middle of the show that doesn't have a ghost. It does make sense to have each episode after the first one have one ghost from the chest be caught, but in my opinion, I guess I feel like they would have said he was one of the ghosts if he was. The movie also didn't identify Captain Ferguson as one of the ghosts, in fact, they say one of the 13 was "the Cyclone Demon," which doesn't make any sense because it was said in that episode that the Cyclone Demon was Maldor, Queen Morbidia, the Mirror Demon and Zomba combined when they escaped from the chest. The Cyclone Demon came from the chest, so it's not possible to have one of the still-escaped ghosts be somehow already in the chest. That makes me kinda not trust the movie. I also don't trust iTunes at all, as they've been known to get descriptions and titles wrong, i.e. how the Mamba Wamba episode is listed as "Mamba Wamba and the Voodoo Hood" (instead of Hoodoo). Just my opinion I guess!




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