Ghoul School (1990 Video) User Reviews

Ghoul School

[spellcaster-1 · 4/10 · 1 January 2005]

So I'm checking out this movie I received recently called GHOUL SCHOOL. Originally it was filmed in 1990, sad thing is…it shows!! The story starts out with a couple of school punks searching for a hidden treasure, and mistakenly unleash a chemical into the school's water supply. A chemical that causes everyone it comes into contact with to become flesh-eating ghouls. Actually it just turns them this blue. Now it's up to a couple of geeks and a really crappy metal band to escape the mayhem before the students consume everyone in sight! As stated prior, GHOUL SCHOOL plays like a cross between Class of Nuke Em High and Saved By the Bell. Though it's really not fair to compare it to Class… The story itself was a really good idea, and could be a cool movie, given that the effort put forth were better. Watching the extras and hearing the commentary from director Timothy O Rawe, even he wishes he could have redone it. They even try to bank off of Howard Sterns' sidekick Jackie the Joke Man. His scene really has no bearing at all to the film. All he does is set and tell these dumb ass jokes. The effects of the ghouls were weak and had no heart at all. All they do is paint them blue. That's it..

Bottom line is this was really a waste of my time and was beyond cheesy. although I'd really like to see him redo this with his assets today.

www.unspeakablemag.com

a NO-budget inane "Nuke 'em High" rip-off

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 21 May 2005]

A high-school swim team is turned into zombies after a chemical leaks into the water supply right before a school sponsored rock concert. It's up to some nerds to stop them. Horrible dialog, a nonsense plot, beyond crappy editing, combine to make a supremely unwatchable horror/comedy. When Jackie the Joke Man is far and away the best 'actor' in this, you KNOW you've entered the ninth circle of Hell. What the hell can I say good about the piece of cap? Ummm... hold on I'm thinking. Well the lighting is OK in parts, I guess.

My Grade: F

DVD Extras: Commentary with Timothy O'Rawe, Second commentary with Micheal Raso; 6 minutes of chlorine jokes by Jackie Marline; Makeup FX segment; 3 short films by O'Rawe; Promo Reel with optional commentary; 2 theatrical trailers (one for 1990 and one for 2004); Trailers for "the Feral Man", "the Bonesetter", "Demon Summer", and "Midnight Skater"

Shot on video gore flick

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 4 October 2017]

GHOUL SCHOOL is a really cheesy shot-on-video high school horror film made in 1990. The story, which is slightly similar to RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, involves a couple of high school students being infected by the school's water supply and turning into flesh-munching ghouls. The infection quickly spreads through the school and a bunch of survivors have to try to escape the menace.

The acting is lamentably bad and the script not much better, having obviously been written in a hurry and off the cuff. The emphasis of GHOUL SCHOOL is very much on special effects, with regular gore scenes showing bodies being torn asunder by the ghouls. They're hardly realistic-looking - plastic pipes are used for guts in one moment - but at least this is slightly better than some of the productions released under the Troma banner.

Camp Motion Pictures, I love you!

[pyromanticways · 23 February 2008]

OK, this film has its flaws, but you can't say it's not even fun! I've bought the "Super Bloody Splatter University" edition, released by Camp Motion Pictures: those guys are doing really a great job with their dvds (I'm collecting them all, maybe!) and I'd heavily suggest you to get a copy of Ghoul School, at least for the extras! There are four short films ("Say no to drugs" is my favourite) from the same authors of Ghoul School and a fantastic 1988 promo reel (why didn't they make the ALL film like that? it was awesome!) In the end, I was a little disappointed with the film in itself: poor editing and sound, some green blood (I hate it when it's not red! I hated it in Evil Dead's sequel too! I can't figure out it's only a way to avoid strong MPAA restrictions!.. At least it was just ghouls' blood: the people's was its real colour) and the film just ends like...WTF?! On the other hand, I'm glad to have chosen this edition (no, I don't work for them!..) and own this funny b-movie!

Go to the bottom of the class.

[BA_Harrison · 1/10 · 28 July 2009]

Repetitive quips about chlorine; endless scenes of mullet-wearing jocks failing to shoot basketball hoops; a metal band who only play one tune and whose supposedly great singer seems to have forgotten his lyrics; a confused looking TV chat show host and a desperately unfunny comedian (played convincingly by a confused looking TV chat show host and a desperately unfunny comedian) exchanging crap one-liners; and a geek with a strange lower lip: this is just some of the inane garbage to be found in Ghoul School—quite simply, one of the lamest excuses for a horror comedy that I have ever had the misfortune to see (and I've seen quite a few).

This dreadful film opens with a pair of losers busting their way into the basement of a school, where they try to force the janitor to reveal the whereabouts of.... err... well, actually, I have no idea what it is they are after, but they don't find it. After shooting the janitor for his lack of co-operation, the pair locate a hidden room in which they discover a control panel with two big buttons, one of which they decide to push; this releases chemicals into the school's water supply, turning anyone unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contaminated H20 into slavering, blue, pointy toothed monsters hungry for human flesh.

Clearly aware of the clumsy, derivative, and totally nonsensical nature of his own poorly constructed script (a muddled blend of Return Of The Living Dead and Demons), writer/director Timothy O'Rawe doesn't waste any energy trying to deliver genuine laughs or scares, preferring instead to chance his luck with the 'let's make this so bad, it might get a cult following' route. The gamble doesn't pay off: this is so bad, it's unbearable, and is unlikely to find a following even amongst the craziest of horror fans.

Avoid.

Really? Green balloons?

[last_cheese · 1/10 · 9 October 2010]

"Ghoul School" is a crappy film. That's all there is to it. It's another home made film, trying to hard to be funny, and trying to become an instant cult classic in the horror community. Unfortunately, it lacks the comical values of Troma movies, or the sheer tastelessness of... Troma movies, or even the campy, DIY horror "classics" Camp Motion has released. This movie is instead a really, really, really crappy movie.

The plot is about these kids who try to steal something from the school, but wind up releasing this chemical into the school's water supply. Yeah, it's similar to Class of Nuke 'em High, except that movie was awesome. So everyone starts turning into "ghouls", but not before the kick ass rock band (and they are rock, not metal as people have stated), who rock so hard, they don't have to play the instruments to rip! And notice how the drummer pounds away at nothing, a real Neil Peart! If you really want to laugh, watch the pool scene! The ghouls rip apart the swim coaches to reveal, the coaches are filled with green and blue balloons!!! Yup, the gore is that bad. This movie is a big joke, one that has no punchline.

So, if the plot is terrible, the acting is garbage (at best), and the gore is comical, is there a redeeming value? No. No there is not. Watch this if you want to laugh, really hard, at a sad attempt at a horror movie.

Wonderful Work in Feminist Cinema

[EdWont · 1/10 · 23 June 2005]

Definite Spoilers Ahead!

When one thinks of strong female characters in cinema, one may think of Scarlet O'Hara, Ripley, or the lesbian from Boondock Saints. However, in this film, there exists another character, too often passed over, in the annals of strong female roles in film. I am, of course, referring to the role of Blade's girlfriend. I'm not sure what her name is...if they said it, I didn't pay attention. At any rate, her hair is a vibrant reddish-maroon: a mirror of the flame in her soul. She dresses in black from head to toe, spare a white bandanna wrapped around her leg. Is it a gang association? Unlikey. She is far too independent and rebellious a character to anchor herself down to any kind of affiliation. The exception, of course, lies in her unparalleled love for Blade, the lead singer of the Blood Sucking Ghouls. As a true illustration of how love conquers all, this punk-goth, in-her-late-30s rolling stone finally gathered some moss...moss meaning Blade...her boyfriend. It is in exploring this relationship that the director first commands respect for her. She makes it clear that she if she were in charge of the band, that that the band would be playing sold out venues, worldwide. I don't doubt it. Blade's amazing guitar ability (sometimes shredding when his hand isn't even on the strings or sometimes playing a variety of notes so fast that you would swear his right hand isn't moving)is only undermined by his poor ability as a business man. "I don't have a head for that," he would claim. But she knew that already. She let him know. Fierce. Cunning. She is the lion and the fox. Further into the movie, we see her risking her life to save the group by exploring a vent in the school. She goes it alone. She is offered a weapon. She declines. She doesn't need it. She is a women. She is the weapon. At the end of the film, we see her as the lone survivor. The last female standing. In her womanhood she has conquered death. Though her fate is uncertain, I have no doubts that she will overcome any obstacle. She is the the quintessential example of the strong female character. She is a goddess on earth. Best, EdWont

Sucks

[Bob-384 · 1/10 · 14 February 1999]

This movie is bad. Not the good kind of bad. But the really boring "let's stop the tape and see what's on basic cable" kind of bad.

Are you too cool for Ghoul School...?

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 25 May 2013]

Even with a new package with a school girl in a bloodied uniform on the DVD cover doesn't do much to lift up this movie. I remember seeing the movie back in the 90's sometime, but had only a vague recollection of the movie not being memorable. Come 2013 and I bought the DVD version from Amazon. Why? Well because I am a fan of anything zombie.

"Ghoul School" is low budget, yes, but it does seem like people were having fun filming the movie and the best was made possible with what was available back in 1990. But despite this, then the end result is not overly enjoyable. I guess my memory from the 90's wasn't wrong after all...

The storyline, or what was there of it, was mostly appearing like something that was put together from an array of incomprehensible scenes of footage. The red line throughout the movie was fairly weak and snapped at times. And I must admit that I started to find my attention drifting to my phone, because of the poorly constructed mockery of a storyline.

As for the ghouls (or zombies) in the movie. Well, they were running around and I was laughing most of the times when I saw them. The make-up was really bad, and for some reason you get jagged, edged, pointy teeth in your entire mouth when you die and come back as a ghoul (or zombie).

Special effects-wise, well then "Ghoul School" was spectacular in its own way. How so? Well, because the effects were hilarious and so painfully fake. I particularly loved the thin latex tubes filled with blood, it was so bad.

I don't think that this movie was particularly scary or funny even back in 1990. And I do remember the "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies I grew up with had better effects than this movie, and they are significantly older.

I have seen worse movies with the undead, but "Ghoul School" is high on that list. There is nothing interesting to aim for in this movie, and I honestly can't think of a reason as to why anyone would want to sit down and watch this movie.

BAD FOR EVEN A BAD MOVIE

[nogodnomasters · 1/10 · 2 May 2019]

Some thieves accidentally release a toxin in a school which contaminates the water supply. This turns a bunch of students into blood thirsty ghouls. Unlike Zombies they can move quickly. The movie was designed to be cheesy and campy, but was simply stupid. The funniest scene was when the kids were chased into the auditorium by the ghouls. The doors swung out, but the kids were able to prevent the ghouls from entering by standing/blocking the inside of the door. The budget was too low to rehang a door.

The gore was typically scenes of blood and guts being ripped from a body, although you don't see a face on the body being ripped apart. They used fake body parts but couldn't figure out how to bury/cover a person so just their head shows, making it look like their body is being ripped. The extras were just as bad. The appearances of Joe Franklin and Jackie Martling added nothing to the movie.

F-bomb. No sex. No nudity.

Funny,destined to be a cult classic!

[ants-4 · 10/10 · 10 March 1999]

This movie is a riot! It must have been directed with the idea of adding all the bad production values of a B rated picture. Favorite moments are the pool scene with the two swim coaches. The woman coach has an obviously fake blonde wig and the guy doesn't have the sound match what he's saying at one point, so it looks like the old Godzilla movies. The expressions on their faces when they see the ghouls are PRICELESS! Also the (meant to be bad) editing of the Jackie Martling scenes with Joe Franklin are a hoot. This intentional laugh at itself movie tickles you just as it's grossing you out. This is destined to be a cult classic!

Even for fans of crap, this one's a stinker

[ugadawgguy · 9 August 2003]

Don't bother. I'm a self-made authority on "good" B-movies, and this ain't one of them. It might have been alright were it not so self-conscious in its clearly purposeful attempts at badness. In other words, if the stuff in this straight-to-video yawner were unintentional (as in "Troll 2," for example), it might be worth a look. But, since it's not, neither is this movie.

Good bad movie

[zombieoutbreak-74199 · 10/10 · 20 December 2020]

Don't listen to what the other reviewer's are saying I've seen movies that are way worse. I thought the acting was all right but the kills and cheesy one-liners is what did it for me!

Not even fun

[tkuhns · 3 August 2000]

I respectfully disagree that this movie will be anything CLOSE to a "cult classic." As an avid fan of low-budget/no-budget schlock, this film is a waste of time. A few people with green faces run around an almost empty school chasing people. The chicks on the cover are nowhere in the movie. Even the ending is dumb.

A special kind of bad

[Woodyanders · 10/10 · 18 April 2007]

This uproariously atrocious piece of cheerfully cheap'n'chintzy low-budget horror splatter schlock has to be one of the funniest things I've had the pleasure to watch in quite some time. Granted, most of the humor is strictly of the unintentional kind, but it's still often sidesplitting just the same. A toxic chemical gets into the water supply at a New Jersey high school. A bunch of folks are transformed into fanged, growling, blue-skinned flesh-eating zombies who go on the rampage. Trapped inside the school with the ghouls are two irritating horror movie fanboy geeks and a severely talent-challenged wailing, roaring, head-banging heavy metal hair band. Boy, does this delightfully dreadful doozy possess all the right-so-utterly-wrong-they're-paradoxically-right schlock flick stuff to measure up as a real four-star gut-busting stinker: sloppy direction, a crude wafer-thin script, obnoxious foul-mouthed dialogue (the ridiculously excessive overuse of the almighty "f" bomb is downright mind-numbing), terrible acting, a tacky hum'n'shiver synthesizer score, cruddy make-up f/x, a hopelessly dated groovy-bumping rock soundtrack, laughably hokey rinky-dink over-the-top gross-out gore, and a horrendous abrupt ending. Poor Richard Bright (Al Neri in the "Godfather" features!) pops up as the jerky principal. Befuddled talk show host Joe Franklin and annoying comedian Jackie "the Joke Man" Martling briefly appear as themselves in an especially awful drawn-out sequence (Martling tells Franklin some of the worst, most groan-inducing and painfully unfunny jokes you never want to hear). Favorite line: "This is one very *beep*ed-up nightmare." Filmed in Wayne, New Jersey, where stuff like this happens all the time. A shamefully unsung should-be camp crap classic.