Ghoul

Not a bad film, good acting and make-up, good story line. Not sure why others have to group this film as 'stand by me' wanna-be film, it's not, although it does have kids as the lead and they do find a dead body, but its not in the same context as stand by me.I agree it's not really a horror movie, but then again there are parts that might make you jump.

I like the way they told this tale and if it has to involve certain scenes that others call distasteful and they resort to calling a liker of the film a "tumble weed of trash", they sound rather prudish. This is the world we live in, there are evil (wo)man out there and this film is entertaining.

This is based on a Brian Keene novel. I wasted my time reading his dumpster fire The Rising which ended on a cliffhanger. He had ZERO plans to write a sequel until he got taken to task for it. His sequel was utter garbage that had an even worse ending. He said he couldn't think of any other way to end it. Any talented author would have several different endings in mind . But then a talented author wouldn't end a novel on a cliffhanger with no plans to finish the story. It should be a crime that a hack like this gets a movie based on his trash ideas but actual talented horror authors like Robert McCammon get left behind. Anyways, this movie was as bad of not worse than his dumpster fire novels. Don't waste your time.

The Ghoul is a good film that could have been this years Super 8 if it had a bigger budget.

I've read some of the other review and others seem to criticize the cast. I think the cast, especially the kids, did a remarkable job. It was the script that was the problem. The dialogue was stiff and stuttering. On many occasions it brought me out of the movie.

Several of the choices of the director also worked against the quality and success of the film. Showing the ghoul as a silhouette at the beginning was a great way to start, but showing the ghoul clearly within the first 20 minutes ruined any build up or suspense that would have been better served in the climax.

My final complaint is the showing of the child abuse by the mother. In horror films based on novels certain things should be omitted as they change the tone to drastically. It was done in the film adaptation of Stephen Kings IT (Child gang-bang!?).

Anyway, still a good movie.

Centers on a group of friends who risk their lives to stop who, or what, is behind a rash of disappearances in their town.

This film has the best of intentions, but never seems to hit the marks it is aiming for. I have not read the source novel (maybe I should), but what we have here is a case of children who cannot act and a plot that is too convoluted.

On the surface, it is about a group of kids who explore the woods and find tunnels under the cemetery that go to an abandoned mining tunnel. Legend has it that a "ghoul" lives in the mines. This in itself makes a good horror story, and by using kids you can have a bit more fun like you would with "Goonies" or "Monster Squad".

Instead, there is a whole other story here about child abuse and alcoholism, and a strong hint of sexual molestation. Does it tie in to the other story? No. Not at all. And while it might be said to be character development, it is never focused on and adds nothing to the film overall. In fact, it detracts, because it seems like the people who make the film do not understand how a story arc works.

If this movie was made with a new cast and a tighter script, I could actually see it being a good -- possibly great -- little picture.

I've been a Brian Keene fan for a while and Ghoul is one of my favorite tales of horror. When I heard there would be a movie I was pretty excited, but I didn't want to get involved in a lot of the hype. As someone who happens to be a Stephen King fan, I know all about bad movie adaptations.

Well, Ghoul isn't exactly a bad movie adaptation. It's just not a true adaptation. The movie does manage to convey the spirit of the book to a certain degree when it is not being hindered by the typical downfalls of every TV movie (the shaky acting, the questionable production, the lack of violence, etc.), but the scares and thrills just aren't there.

The ultimate difference between the book and the movie is that the book is a terrifying and visceral experience. The movie starts out with possibilities of being the same, but skews off in a different direction and becomes something akin to a Lifetime movie. The ghoul that was so frightening in the book almost becomes a Scooby Doo villain in the movie.

The book is terrifying and disturbing. The movie is only slightly disturbing and not very terrifying. The atmosphere of the movie is just too tame and too sterile to warrant terror. The disturbing factor is the relationship between Doug and his mother and Barry and his father, but the book handles it much better. So what the movie had going for it is nothing that hasn't already been done better before.

But, judging the movie for what it is, I'd still say it was entertaining up to a point. A decent and watchable film, but I just didn't find it to be a very memorable movie. If you want a great growing-up adventure movie about kids then Stand By Me does a much better job. If you want a great disturbing horror movie about kids then there is always Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door.

Ghoul just doesn't have that same zing.