Ghouls

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.

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.

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.

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.

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")