Ghouls (2008 TV Movie) User Reviews

SPOILER ALERT! If you're bed-ridden with illness with nothing else to do, this flick is for YOU!

[kiawa77 · 3/10 · 12 July 2008]

This was written while watching the world premier of "Ghouls".

The opening scene shows disciples performing some kind of satanic hokey-pokey beneath poor animations of flying ghosties. I smell disappointment.

Fight hateful clouds with firearms! The guns prove to be more effective when the spirits morph into Halloween costumes.

A cursed Romanian village! Here we meet the creepy brother Vladimir. Of all the Romanian names to choose from, they picked Vlad.

So far, I believe the work horse is this film's most intelligent character. We get to a tavern. Vlad's pals seem menacing. Could these be our jolly dancers from the beginning? Their cigarette smoke offers a plausible explanation as to the appearance of the "ghouls".

I can't wait to see what's in the evil trunk under the bed. But the funeral awaits! For you musicians out there, just mute this whole part.

Nothing like being spoon-fed a ridiculously boring and overdone plot line. The gore is unrealistic and hokey, but at least it's something to spice things up. Jen runs; I can't wait for her to trip over the body.

Yup: the never-before-seen monster-on-man-eating-his-flesh scene. Who among us doesn't enjoy a bloody femur now and then? Such a smart young lady to scream and draw attention to herself! Fortunately, we've got Ghoul-Hunter to save the day. Okay, so Jen isn't that brilliant: "Is this some kind of tourist prank?" She then follows the stranger down into a crypt. She just saw a man get eaten by a monster, but her biggest worry is the presence of spiders.

Good thing we have Thomas here to explain everything to us. Otherwise, we'd never get it. However, if this movie goes according to the regular Sci-Fi Original plan, he will fall in love with Jen and find a way to spare her.

I now wonder how the cloud-form-ghouls can make screechy sounds without vocal cords.

The girl races back to the inn, suddenly able to navigate the unfamiliar Romanian village. Shockingly, she is locked inside her room (with the evil trunk) by the old innkeeper. She could probably toss the nightstand through the window and escape rather than fruitlessly pound on the door, but we've already seen a few examples of her lack of ingenuity.

Liz confronts Stephan with a gun and news of a cult. No imminent demise here. I am perplexed as to why he would kill her rather than feed her to the ghouls, being the hungry bunch that they are. Error: Stephan should have blood spatter on his shirt.

After Thomas fails to save Jen from the evil brothers, I'm happy to see that Liz's corpse wasn't wasted after all. There are probably ghouls starving in Africa...

I'm quite sure that a grenade exploding under a horse would kill it. This is truly a sci-fi film when the equine (apparently named "Willy") isn't even spooked by the explosion, yet it launched the two brothers off the wagon.

Our next stop is at a church where the Last of the Druids readily informs the priest of their desire to hide out from armed Romanians and ghouls. Hopefully he's not in league with the sort of evil that has enveloped the rest of the village… Thomas the Brilliant knows Jen is the vessel. But instead of killing her, he teaches her how to load his gun (and not metaphorically…yet!) For having just met a couple hours earlier, love is in the air. The only question now is if he will save her before or after she's possessed by the Ghoul Queen.

A Romanian sits mounted on a horse that bears a striking resemblance to Willy, but at least now Thomas has a ride... until, of course, he is attacked by a ghoul. Knocked to the ground, Thomas mysteriously remains uneaten. Unconscious, his dead mentor advises: "You must be victorious." DUH! Meanwhile, Jen is recaptured. Daddy tried to console her with words about destiny, but Jen is not moved. To my surprise, she isn't as upset as I thought she'd be at the prospect of being possessed by an ancient ghoul queen.

A distraction! The timeless ceremony will have to be put on hold, which gives Thomas the perfect opportunity to free Jen. During one of the most dazzling fight scenes ever, Jen screams a lot which you'd think would bring back the mob. A quick stab to a ghoul, and they're free… only to be recaptured.

Jen agrees to go with her father to save the one she has loved for so long (less than a day). The ghouls are quite vocal as they flutter above, and the ceremony begins.

I'm surprised to see that things got this far, but Mommy makes an appearance that gives us hope... assuming that's for a world free from flesh-eating ghosties. I hope Jen's first act as Ghoul Queen is to slay her cruel father, but she doesn't. Oh well...

After the commercial break however, we find Jen is indeed a woman scorned; she rips out Daddy's heart. That'll learn him! Thomas cannot bring himself to fulfill his life's purpose and kill Jen because she is, after all, his dear love (after just a day).

"Dammit" is all he can bear to utter as she falls on him, mostly dead. But Thomas has the power to heal (just not his own wounds). Jen awakens, and thus comes the great ending: they walk together in the woods at night.

We'll never know what was in the evil trunk. Nor will we ever know where the ghouls flew off to or what law officials will do once the myriad of half-eaten corpses are discovered in the village. However, there's an opening for "Ghouls II" since Jen and Thomas will undoubtedly spawn little half-druids.

Mediocre and Lame

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 23 July 2010]

Stefan (William Atherton) invites his daughter Jennifer (Kristen Renton) to travel to Romania for the funeral of his mother. His mystic girlfriend Liz (Erin Gray) travels with them to the cursed village of Pelosoara, where they are welcomed by Stefan's brother Vladimir (Dan Badarau), and sooner Jennifer finds the locals very weird people. Jennifer learns that she is the only woman from the bloodline of her father and in the funeral a stranger approaches to Jennifer and asks her to meet him in the square in one hour. When Jennifer arrives in the spot, she sees a creature devouring the man and is saved by Thomas (James DeBello). The man tells her that he is the last druid on Earth protecting the world against the evil ancients that were defeated by the druids in the past and banished to the spiritual world. In that night, there would have a reclamation ceremony where the evil queen possesses a vessel to open a vortex between the spiritual and the real world to bring the ancients back to Earth, but he has a dagger to kill the vessel and save the world. Sooner Jennifer discovers that she is the intended vessel and her father is part of the conspiracy.

"Ghouls" is a mediocre and lame film, with poor screenplay, direction, acting and special effects. This terrible movie is a waste of time and I do not intend to lose more time writing about it. There are only three favorable reviews and eleven that have also hated this flick. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Almas Perversas" ("Wicked Souls")

Ghoulishly unentertaining

[player_pawn · 2/10 · 28 September 2008]

Gary Jones' directorial debut, 1995's MOSQUITO, is a perfect example of an entertaining, purposely cheesy genre film. You want wacky? It features the titular insects dining on alien corpses, growing to obscene sizes and then attacking a humdrum forest community. Much blood is splattered, Gunnar Hansen robs a bank and now, DVD copies run over 100 bucks on eBay. Now, lucky 13 years later, Jones (who also directed The Asylum's enjoyably inane JOLLY ROGER: MASSACRE AT CUTTER'S COVE) has teamed up with no less than three scriptwriters for his first foray into the realm of Sci Fi Channel cinema. One could only assume that given his talent for goofy horror, GHOULS would end up a fun supernatural romp.

But we all know what happens when we assume, and GHOULS sadly makes an ass out of you, me and anyone else foolish enough to watch this terrible mess.

When college cutie Jen (Kristen Renton) finds out that her estranged Romanian grandmother recently passed away, it's the perfect excuse for her and her father (GHOSTBUSTERS' William Atherton) to visit the old country. What she doesn't know is that a cult of "Ancients" have actually sacrificed her granny to a foursome of poorly animated CGI ghouls, using the power of jazz hands. Soon, oblivious little Jen is meeting her sleazy uncle Vlad (Dan Bararau), second-guessing her dad's seemingly sweet girlfriend (Erin Grey) and catching the eye of the local Druid ghoul hunter (CABIN FEVER's James DeBello). Yes, in a groan-inducing twist, her uncle is indeed named Vlad, and her new boy-toy uses grenades and shotguns to fight ghosts.

The creatures, which defy all dictionary definitions of actual ghouls, are a mixture of atrocious digital work and actors traipsing around in bargain-bin Halloween costumes. A number of gratuitous close-ups, in which they shamelessly mug for the camera, showcase solid special makeup work, but it's simply not enough to save the film. Even the gore, which doesn't really get gushing until the one-hour mark, is cut together so quickly that we never really feel like we're seeing anything too nasty. Aside from some gut-munching, silly blood sprays and a few gouges, we're not catching much.

As Jen wanders around the emptiest town in all of Eastern Europe, one gets the impression that there is something other than its citizens that's amiss. Side plots abound, although none of them seem to really pay off. Our heroine almost discovers a creepy crate hidden under her bed, but never opens it. Dad's girlfriend loves giving tarot-card readings (improperly), but never actually uses them for anything. Even the early loss of monster hunter Thomas' father offers nothing but an extremely drawn-out filler sequence in which the two prove how bad they truly are at ghoulbusting.

A few minor twists precede GHOULS' final act, but they unfortunately fail to take the film in a new direction—and certainly don't hit their intended marks. Atherton, who sadly looks quite haggard, is sorely underused and doesn't offer us a memorable character, instead stirring up memories of far better roles he's taken (DIE HARD, anyone?). The same can unfortunately not be said for DeBello's Thomas, who is so lacking in personality that it took nearly 40 minutes of screen time for this reviewer to even notice he was playing the role. Only the women, both with significant TV credits under their belts, shine through this mess. Regrettably, neither Renton and Grey (of DAYS OF OUR LIVES and SILVER SPOONS, respectively) can rise above the quality of the production, with even the talented young lead falling victim to the absolute hilarity of the film's outrageous finale. The Sci Fi Channel's 2008 roster has been across the board, offering up the dreadful-but-fun HEATSTROKE, the surprisingly decent COPPERHEAD and the only moderately entertaining duo of ROCK MONSTER and AZTEC REX. GHOULS, however, has set new standards in how poor its films can get. Unless you've got friends who truly love tepid horror and an extra case of beer lying around, GHOULS is, sadly, a must-miss. Better luck next time, Sci Fi. You know I'll be back for more.

Am I Really The First to be Subjected to This?

[bobwildhorror · 1/10 · 13 July 2008]

It was only a couple short weeks ago that I was here, lamenting the Sci Fi Channel's wreck of a movie GRYPHON. I wondered if there was any way the channel could outdo itself given that travesty of good taste.

Great news, people! Sci Fi has risen to the challenge, delivering this pinnacle of ineptitude. This isn't just a bad film; it's a bottom feeder of epic proportion. And the irony...oh, the irony...is that Sci Fi felt this picture worthy of "Event" status. It's not merely a Sci Fi Channel movie, but a "Sci Fi Channel Event." From now on, I'm going to appropriate the term: "Honey, did you just smash the car into that telephone pole?" "No, dear. You're mistaken. That was an event." Where do I begin? Let's start with the story. Soap actress Kristen Renton travels with her father to a spooky foreign city that is under the siege of "ghouls." Apparently these creatures -- which manifest as either Nintendo-style CGI or rubber masked Halloween costumes -- are trying to destroy the world. Only one man stands between them and domination: a laughable Clint Eastwood clone complete with cowboy duster. Did I mention that this character is the last in a long line of Druids(?) charged with leading the "forces of light against the forces of darkness?" That the hundreds of years of skill handed down to him involve use of a shotgun? That, when all else fails, he tosses hand grenades at the offending creatures? Oh, people, you have not laughed until you've seen Clint Eastwood flinging grenades at Nintendo blurs in the city cemetery! To be fair, the city is a genuinely creepy setting. But any ambiance is scuttled by the muddled monster effects, the ridiculous gore effects, and the quick cutting designed to hide the muddled monster effects and bad gore effects...

And I have yet to get to the acting or continuity (where actors desperately try to escape the ghouls in one shot and then leisurely stroll into frame in the next).

I'm sure there will be those who will view my review as something of a challenge: "It can't be that bad." Rest assured, it can. It actually verges on the ludicrous.

And before anyone blames GHOULS' failings on budget issues, I will again assert that low-budget does not have to mean a ludicrous premise and bad effects/execution. These are the hallmark of the Sci Fi Channel.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

[eyecandyforu · 3/10 · 12 July 2008]

Ghouls, the latest Sci-fi channel offering lives up to the channel's reputation. Mediocre. Kristen Renton stars as Jennifer, a comely lass from the Western world of ipods and attitude who accompanies her parents to her grandmother's funeral in a VERY Epcot version of Eastern Europe. While there she discovers a cult that isn't quite vampire but act like them. They're just sort of creepy with black outfits and an army of vaporous ugly zombie-like creatures that fly known as ghouls. James DeBello shows up looking like a ridiculous vigilante/hunter of some sort. Erin Gray plays Jennifer's mother, who's skilled in the old ways and deciphers all the runes that show up as decoration in the quaint inn. William Atherton (looking a little ghoulish himself) is Jennifer's dad. Action sequences of a horror nature are few and far between. Young girls will like it I suppose, Renton stays fresh and pretty throughout her ordeal. In a way, I've grown fond of these Sci-fi "films". They put a lot of people to work, they provide good background to computer surfing and occasionally I grin. Not laugh out loud mind you, but grin.

So Bad, It's Awful, and Not Nearly as Fun to Watch as the Unbearable Harpies...

[fearfulofspiders · 1/10 · 5 September 2008]

Ghouls is so lame and dimwitted, it rivals the very horribleness of Harpies.

The story goes absolutely no where. The first hour is the girl running around from the ghouls, shrieking to her heart's content, and a druid who seems to be lost, as he wanders around aimlessly through 2/3rds of the film.

The acting is... I think atrocious is too kind. It's damning it's so bad.

The special effects are right up there with the original Ghostbusters... and not in a good way. Slimer could beat the crap out of these ghouls in realism.

All in all, there's no redeeming quality in Ghouls. It could be summarized into two sentences as to what happens to who, and what the effect is.

This is just too dumb to be considered even a guilty pleasure like Harpies. It's unbearable to watch, and with every fiber in my being, please, do not watch this.

Stupid beyond measure

[Ismaninb · 2/10 · 30 August 2008]

Ghouls is highly recommended for people with a twisted sense of humour. It is a SciFi-horror flick; it is meant to be either scary or gory. It fails to deliver in every respect, until the smallest detail, from the very beginning. What happens if one silly scene follows another, without any breathe? Hilarity. I could not help laughing, caused by sheer astonishment. No matter what, the acting, the dialogues, the evil creatures goofing around in the sky, the total shots of the Romanian village, the plot, the clumsy cinematography, the villagers closing their doors and windows out of pseudo-fright, the design of those creatures (obviously inspired by the monsters from Donald Duck comics) with their jaws, teeth, long nails and skull-like heads, every single detail is a failure. I am not going to try to describe everything, it would take longer than the movie itself. My three favourites are:

1.Jen is jogging. She catches a ball, throws it back to one of the guys with such a low speed that every toddler would have no problem - but the boy pretends to be hit hard in his stomach.

2.Then she suddenly, unexpectedly almost bumps against her dad. He: Your grandmother has died. She: Oh, I'm sorry.

3.Jen just has met her first ghoul for the first time. What is the logical thing to do? Exactly, descending into a supposed to be creepy tomb and worrying about spiders.

Don't try to make sense of the several scenes or the whole plot. It does not matter. Don't be afraid to visit the toilet or to get yourself a beer. You will catch up immediately when you're back. Even the music helps; it tells you at the spot when the next silly scene begins. For a while I thought the director/scriptwriter intentionally tried to spoof the whole genre, but it seems that it was meant seriously. So much the better, gloating only adds to the fun.

Several movies have got a well deserved one star from me. Ghouls is worse. I decided to gave it two, just because it's stupid beyond measure.

My Review

[joemamaohio · 2/10 · 27 September 2008]

Jennifer (Kristen Renton) has just learned that her grandmother has died in her native country of Romania. Her father, Stefan (William Atherton) and his girlfriend Liz (Erin Gray) take Jennifer to the motherland for the funeral.

Meanwhile, Druid Thomas (James DeBello) is chasing ghouls in the town, who have convened for a ceremony in which their queen will enter a vessel (betcha can't guess who THAT is), which will usher in a new world order.

Yep, you guessed it, this movie sucked. Not that anyone is surprised by this fact, but I just thought I'd throw it out there. The only saving grace is the acting talents of Kristen Renton and Erin Gray, who are supposed to turn down crappers like this film. I have no clue why they decided to do it, but I guess its good for the viewers because otherwise it would be worse than it was.

What ghouls?

[ctomvelu1 · 1/10 · 26 October 2009]

A young woman travels with her dad to visit her grandma in eastern Europe,only to be confronted by evil supernatural creatures. These so-called ghouls act more like vampires, but it doesn't really matter as the movie is badly written and directed and clearly was shot on the cheap in -- where else? -- Romania. The special effects are right out of a Commodore 64, as well. Kristen Renton as the nubile daughter is easy on the eyes if no great shakes as an actress. Award-winning actor William Atheron, of all people, is on board as her dad and is clearly slumming here. I suppose an all-expenses paid trip to Romania and all the pierogies one can eat must be worth something, even to an actor of Atherton's caliber. Typical SyFy Channel schlock. Not even a good time killer.

Does for Romania what 'Wrong Turn' did for West Virginia...Actually, no, not really.

[thatsarappp · 2/10 · 4 July 2010]

This is one of those rare horror films that I find absolutely no enjoyment in whatsoever. I say rare because I am a huge horror fan, and even really bad horror films almost always hold my attention. I have spent many a Saturday just soaking in the glorious cinema the Syfy channel has to offer. The average movie-watcher's terrible horror film usually equates to a decent watch from my perspective. And more often than not, even the ones that are truly atrocious have moderate to exceptional comedic value. I'm afraid such cannot be said for 'Ghouls'.

It's biggest and most obvious flaw is the terrible plot. We know there are ghouls who are trying to reclaim something or another, and in doing so cross the plane from the spiritual world into the physical world. Beyond that, I'm not really quite sure what was taking place, or why. Speaking of that, I'm also a little confused as to what exactly was left to be accomplished for these ghouls as far as crossing over into the physical world, seeing as they actually feed on people's flesh, and can (somehow) be mortally wounded by gunshots and grenade blasts. Can't really get much more physical than that.

James DeBello is not a bad actor. No, he's really not. This was just not a role meant for him I guess. He was great in 'Detroit Rock City' as a goof ball stoner. He was even good in 'Cabin Fever', because even though that was a serious role, the film had its comedic elements, and his character was a huge part of that. He was just flat here. No emotional range at all. It was pretty rough to watch actually. Except that part on the horse and carriage where he grunted a lot. That was really funny.

The ghouls themselves were actually kind of cool to look at. That's about all that can be said for the film as far as positives. It is evident they had SOME budget to work with. The ghouls themselves weren't a total embarrassment. Effects otherwise were well above Syfy original-type standards. Other than that, this was pretty god awful boring. I see no reason to recommend anyone watch this film. Often even really bad films offer something. This offers nothing. Just a really dreadful film that you probably won't even make it all the way through before giving up and turning it off. (My ESPN the magazine on the coffee table eventually drew me away.)

Next time you're in the mood for some horror involving druids, human sacrifice and worship of Satanic beings, do some reading on George Bush and friends and Bohemian Grove. It's really much more interesting.

Scary Movie

[bigjoel19 · 8/10 · 6 September 2008]

Very well plotted in some village I am not sure where and I never want to find out. I believe in an afterlife/Ghosts, but this by far is the scariest of the type of ghosts. Ghouls eat and prey on humans and corpses, mostly small children. Thats scary enough for me and If this C!%P ever does/did exist I would move to the moon. Back to the movie , I think Kristen Renton did an excellent job with this movie, I was actually scared for her not sure of which way to go with her mother, or her father. the rest of the town scared me to death, I was unable to see the whole movie, I was too creeped out to watch it, But I will buy It if it is out on DVD.

Funny movie

[leader-16 · 7/10 · 12 July 2008]

This movie was funny OK lets start with the bad parts, i just loved how they showed the end part where Jennifer was being offered, movies should'nt do that. Tomas kinda sounded like a surfer Brendan Fraisher. The jokes weren't that funny, kinda stupid actually.

This movie was kinda misleading, did'nt you think that it was gonna show a prequel thing to introduce the curse? When i first saw it i thought, OK it's starting with a medieval scene, nope, wrong. And when Tomas was trying to save Jennifer from her dad, it looked like he was bowling the grenade, into the horse. And that old man who sinned and wanted to meet Jeniffer at the square, he died immediately, now would'nt you expect him to tell him something important? And the ending was weak.

Now for the good parts, The story was good, acting was OK, music was pretty cool.

I give this movie a 7/10

Worst Movie Ever...

[bububogdan2000 · 1/10 · 6 November 2008]

In the 21st century with all the technology we have, we made this piece of s..t called movie...Worst visual effect ever and a idiot story... I don't recommend this movie for anyone!!!! My personal opinion is that this movie had a verrrrrrryyyyy limited budget, about 1000 dollars... You don't see not even a punch when they fight... I think they are fighting with the "FORCE IN THEM". They show you the punch and you drop down dead as hit by a lighting... Awful MOVIE!!!! In the year of 2008 this movie is a shame for the cinema and for the actors that played in it... If they will play in another movie, they have been blessed with a second chance... AWFUL MOVIE!!!

Popcorn romp, good for a laugh

[LoupGarouTFTs · 5/10 · 6 September 2008]

At first I was going to change the channel when this movie came on, but it was a SciFi Channel original flick that I hadn't seen before so I gave in to my curiosity.

When it comes to SciFi flicks, I always set the "degree of difficulty" score really low. That way whenever the film is halfway decent, I'm always pleasantly surprised. On the whole, this movie was a fine popcorn romp for people who enjoy their horror films with a campy flair and with villains that wield axes with cartoonish exaggeration. Mind, I'm saying that with the utmost of affection. I thought it was funny, however, that after reading that Willy the horse played three different parts I began to look for his appearances as if I were trying to find Hitchcock's appearance in one of his films. And he does, by the way: 1) a workhorse/cart horse in the beginning, 2) a riding horse in the middle, and 3) a carriage horse. Willy is awesome. He deserves a raise.

The acting in this film, as in most SciFi films, is not stellar. Most of the characters have pretty flat affect, which disturbed me a great deal. (Willy the horse, on the other hand, had a very emotive tail--even raising it to, well, you know, during a fight scene. The editor or director should be credited for cutting away quickly.) It was interesting that the soap actress had the most realistic emotions of all of the human actors. On the other hand, that isn't saying much.

Oh, and the flying angel affect when Jennifer's mother comes back to speak to her? Um. Yeah. I'm sure that somewhere a high school production of Peter Pan wants their equipment back.

Still, despite all of its faults, I couldn't hate Ghouls. I may or may not actually tune in when it comes on again, but not because it was the most awful film out of the box (I think that SciFi's pterodactyl and Rock Monster films--not to mention Mansquito and Sssssss! are worse), but simply because I had a hard time caring about what actually happened to the characters. The ending was a little unexpected and kind of fun, considering how many people get their comeuppance. To sum it up, if you don't expect too much of it, you might actually enjoy Ghouls.

Ridiculous

[Luvsthebrits · 2/10 · 1 October 2011]

That movie was so predictable and the acting was terrible haha... The story line was OK but the best part of the movie were the Ghouls, the were pretty cool looking! The ending however was very confusing. She had to die to kill the Ghouls so she puts the knife in her stomach but then wakes up and her and the Lord of the Rings dork walk out laughing. Her eyes turned green after she wakes up so she is still the queen right? Then why did they show the Ghouls dying in the air? Did she come back cause she is the queen and the Ghouls did not kill here? I have no idea so I am left confused but overall it was not a bad movie.... Totally a B movie worth watching on a Saturday afternoon.

How NOT to make a movie

[fuzzytheanimalsanchez · 1/10 · 10 June 2011]

It's quite possible that the only reason this film was made, was to show aspiring film makers all of the incorrect methods of production and acting.

Granted, as a fan of B-movies, I found myself laughing multiple times. But only because this film constantly rises to new levels of craptitude at every turn of its ever-increasingly predictable plot.

Have I mentioned that this movie is bad? Here's a low-down: Horrible acting. I'm pretty sure I saw better acting at the last elementary school production of... whatever. Our leading lady, Kristen Renton, is so completely lacking in acting skills that I'm pretty sure the only way she manages to maintain a career in the industry is a low gag reflex.

Pathetic special effects. I think my cat could have produced better special effects by digging them out of his sandbox.

Would I recommend this movie? Absolutely! With Hollywood continuously pumping out more Kevin James movies, this might just be the funniest thing you see in a long time.

A horror-fantasy TV movie - a description that speaks volumes

[I_Ailurophile · 5/10 · 25 October 2022]

My first thought as the opening scene greeted my eyes: "I hope this is part of the introduction for a belated studio logo, and not the beginning of the movie. Oh. It's the beginning of the movie." My second thought, during the sequence that followed: "Jazz hands!"

I'm not sure if the problem is a lack of all subtlety, nuance, and tact, or an active abjuration of it. The dialogue, scene writing, and characters all immediately inspire a bewildered, skeptical "what?" - and much of the plot is scarcely a step behind. Narrative focal point Jennifer, for example, is a stereotypical American girl who inquires about shopping opportunities during a tarot reading, but then is peculiarly accepting of everything she's told as the story advances. The editing, cinematography, direction, and much of the acting readily seem similarly overcooked, bereft of any delicate hand (though some instances of acting are just simply underwhelming, instead). While the blood, gore, creature design, makeup, and costume design all mostly look great, if a little too self-indulgent - and practical effects, too! - on the other hand, any computer-generated imagery is pretty much an eyesore, less than seamless with the rest of the feature. Ah, and of course the story is rather predictable.

In fairness, 'Ghouls' is a TV movie, and it unquestionably looks and feels like it. Where else could William Atherton look so pained in a production, as though by participating in each scene he was losing his soul, while at the same time James DeBello has the appearance of trying so hard to act (and failing) that he might give himself an aneurysm or sprain a muscle? The feature sits at the intersection of horror and dark fantasy, with the familiar thrust of an innocent unwittingly being thrust into extraordinary circumstances of which they are somehow the keystone. Save for the heightened blood, gore, and otherwise violence, this wouldn't feel out of place airing on NBC instead of the Sci Fi Channel (now SyFy) where it premiered. The intent was nothing more than to have some genre fun in a particular medium, and for all the bluntness, that aim was achieved - this isn't half bad, actually. I had a good time watching. Only, by golly, I wish there were more mindful care applied in any regard, or that all involved were allowed to wholly lean into the darkness and the best potential.

Though it's nothing remarkable (just standard genre fare), I like Alan Howarth's original score; I'm less enthused about the bursts of rock music that pop up at a couple points, and at the end credits. Though it's perhaps not saying much, I think the cast (including recognizable names and faces) make the most of the material and direction they have to work with; I'd like to think that under other circumstances, in a different movie, they'd make a better impression. The production design and art direction are actually pretty great, and I adore the filming locations. Beyond being a somewhat ham-handed genre romp, there are actually some specific worthwhile elements here. I understand why this doesn't seem to have been received very well; I also think, all things told, it's better than folks seem to give it credit for.

When all is said and done the question to ponder is how much one enjoys TV movies - love them, hate them, abide as necessary, watch because "why not." For all the gaucheness, I think 'Ghouls' is suitably entertaining in its blend of horror and fantasy - though I also freely admit that I tend to be more generous and open-minded than not when it comes to cinema. By no means is this something you need to go out of your way to see, but if you happen to come across it, or if you're just really curious, there are worse ways to spend ninety minutes.

Ghoulish schlock

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 24 April 2012]

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much, but Ghouls actually turned out to be worse than expected. The only redeeming values were the acting of Kristen Renton and Erin Gray and the locations. But nothing else works, and as decent as those components are the overall standard of the film threatens constantly to cheapen them. The editing is as far from slick as you'd go and the effects are poorly constructed and fake. There is also a lazy script, relying on cheesy dialogue, scares that have a very deja-vu feel to them and stilted line delivery, and the story is dull in pace and predictable in storytelling. The characters manage to not only be clichéd but also not very likable. The acting other than Renton and Grey is terrible, and this is including William Atherton, a good actor wasted by sleepwalking through his role. Overall, ghoulish schlock of the highest order, nothing interesting or scary to be seen here. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Guilty pleasure of the highest order

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 23 March 2015]

Traveling to Romania with her family, a teen and a hunter come together to stop the leader of a devilish cult that is preparing to sacrifice her in order to free the leader of a race of ghouls plaguing the countryside.

This turned out to be quite a decent and somewhat enjoyable effort. One of the better elements within this one is that it really manages to get in some rather fun action that really make for an exciting time. The opening attack on the duo in the forest makes for quite a fine intro for the creatures, a frantic foot-chase through the city streets to stop a horse-drawn carriage that in turn leads into the secondary chase through the streets only the roles are reversed this time as now the chased ones end up doing the chasing that comes off incredibly well. The best, though, is clearly the first encounter in the village which is somewhat creepy by design and has some really enjoyable action segments to get into from all the chasing and running around which helps this one along. Other big action scenes include the capture of the evil spirit in the beginning as well as the finale in the dungeon lair which allows for some more good points in the brutal and bloody kills as well as the make-up for the creatures. As well, the rather decent storyline does have some clever and original makings related to the history of the cult and the connection with the creatures, even though there's a few problems in here. One of the biggest flaws within this one is undoubtedly the reasons why people would willingly follow along with their cult and their purpose knowing the history it shares. The creation of the tribe to worship a race of ghouls intent on taking over is a bit hard to swallow and seems pretty foolish as to why anyone would join such a movement, and that really leaves this one quite frustrating. Likewise, that also counts for the CGI within this which is quite appalling and some of the most annoying work on the channel with the utterly abysmal look to the creatures when they're floating in mid-air. They're essentially off-frame and rarely match their surroundings so it really draws attention to how badly their animated. Even when in flying mode they look plain ridiculous as the blotted images look like black smoky blotches flying around which don't resemble anything remotely closely and is a part of the series' efforts in having atrocious CGI throughout. Otherwise, this one isn't all that bad.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.