The Ghouls (2003)

Must See Movie...

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Blistering performances.

The basic premise of the film is pretty good; it's just the delivery that fails. As with other ultra-low budget horror films, you can spot where the money's been spent and where it's been saved. This film is only around 80 minutes long yet it often drags. This is due to the fact that there just isn't enough of a narrative to sustain the length and this means sections feel like padding before the budget kicks in towards the end with the gore and effects. Shots linger unnecessarily and many conversations and subplots are simply redundant. Many things crop up that do not serve to propel the story forward or to delve into the films themes. Character interaction is unconvincing and as ever with these films the dialogue is wooden. The budget could surely have been spread around a bit, meaning they could have hired hired a few extras for the bar scenes and set-up a better office for the news channel 'mogul' who looks like Michael Madsen's fat older brother. The underground scenes at the end are commendable for a film like this and the guy who's been skinned alive is reasonably convincing in his agony until he starts to sound more like he's got bad cramp rather than had all of skin removed and been hung up on a hook. This makes me think the Ghouls have a little more intelligence and civilisation than they let on as where they had previously torn apart their victims and eaten them on the spot, they seem to be preparing beardy's friend for consumption in a different way. Perhaps they are curing/smoking him like ham. Speaking of smoking, there was perhaps some kind of poorly-conceived comment on the tobacco industry implied through the chain-smoking in this film. People who make a living off of other people's misery/misfortune. This film dragged on too much to keep my interest and the dodgy sound once again made it hard to follow - dialogue is at times inaudible but then at the same time sound effects are excessively loud, meaning I had to keep adjusting the volume. This is the third modern ultra-low budget film I have seen and it is certainly better then the others: 'Zombie Chronicles' & 'Zombies vs Vampires'.

This is what I like to see.I stumbled across this on the TV late one night and was instantly mesmerised.After a few minutes wondering how someone could make a movie so badly, I suddenly realised that this was a deliberate arte-povera style, with all flat colour and available-background- noise (seemingly) which drew me slowly and inevitably, like a harpooned whale, into the belly of a godawful ghoulish world of if-it-bleeds-it-leads video journalism.(I know a guy who photographed in Bosnia, and he had similar stories of people setting up 'shots', nevermind the carnage..)All the way to the end I was 'eeuughhh'-ing and curling my toes and finally left me shaking my head about whether to laugh or puke.More! More! More!

This review is for all the normal human beings in the world. Don't waste your time on this movie. It looks like it was made and produced by high school students. The production values are very poor. Trust me, I'm not some wannabe at Berkley that thinks every thing that is produced has some artistic value. This movie is atrocious. Like I said,don't waste your time. I know zombie movies. This ain't one! The quality, production, cameras........everything is sub-par. Cheap movie trying to make money with a slick box cover! Apparently, I have to write 10 lines for my review to be accepted. There is not enough input about this movie to make up 10 lines, but I am trying. It seems political correctness permeates every aspect of our lives. My suggestion is that you go and rent "Dawn of the Dead", the remake with Ving Rhames. This is the best zombie movie since the original, "Dawn of the Dead".

This is the best amateur effort I have watched in a very long time. It is not great, but it is very good for what it is...some stock footage of fires/crimes.. news reel stuff ..to open up on a very interesting story and a few ugly characters.This is low budget , but the stabbing scene was horrific and strong, as was the "rape" that turned out to be cannibalism. WOW.All the Characters are unappealing and the zombies , tho not the worse I have seen , are not too believable. This does not mean it was poorly acted, it is not, and I was quickly drawn into this quirky movie.It is not for everyone, movies like this never are, but if you tolerate average filming, interesting characters, and some disturbing scenes of violence and a simple but cool story line, give this a try, what is 3.00 bucks for a rental anyways? If you do not like it, turn it off. Personally, I was impressed with this low budget effort.