The Ghouls

The plot: A parasitic bottom feeder stumbles into a horrific world, hidden inside the darkest alleys of the worst slums.

The Ghouls is basically a rehash of Clive Barker's 1984 short story Midnight Meat Train (which was adapted into a pretty good movie), but there are echoes of many other influences. Indeed, it seems to revel in making references to cult horror. Unfortunately, there really isn't all that much going on beneath the surface. This sort of story has been told many times. You get some despicable, scum of the Earth photographer/reporter, throw them in with a monster, compare and contrast, and then let the audience decide who's worse. Stephen King did it in The Night Flier, which used a vampire, and Clive Barker did it in The Midnight Meat Train, which used ghouls. I'm sure someone out there has done zombies or demons. Probably Poppy Z. Brite.

When I saw Trent Haaga and James Gunn were involved, I knew it was going to be low budget, but I didn't realize it was going to be quite THIS low budget. It was distracting at first, but I eventually got used to it. The directing, acting, and cinematography were all amateurish, but I guess I got used to that, too. The gore was actually kind of competent.

Unfortunately, much of the movie focuses on long, drawn-out scenes where nothing much happens, characters have repetitive flashbacks, or somebody ingests their drug of choice. I guess it sets the mood, but it's also a bit boring. Probably half of the movie feels like it's moody filler. Shaky, hand-held shots take up another chunk of the movie's runtime, as the film's protagonist is a cameraman. That doesn't leave a whole lot of runtime available to tell the story. Luckily, the story isn't really all that complicated.

In the end, the themes end up being more interesting than the story, and the gore effects maintain your interest more than anything else. If you're able to enjoy guerrilla filmmaking and indie horror, and you aren't looking for much more than a splatter movie with some interesting themes, then this movie can actually work for you. It's dark (metaphorically and literally), grim, and moody. However, it's also inept, amateurish, and kind of boring. It reminds me of Shatter Dead. If you found Shatter Dead exciting, different, and full of spirit, then you should give The Ghouls a try. If you hated Shatter Dead, then don't even think about trying to watch this.

I recently watched the low-budget film The Ghouls (2003) on Tubi. The storyline follows a broke man in the media who is trying to capture activity on tape that he can sell for his big break. When he discovers something is eating the homeless, he thinks he's found an avenue for success but faces significant risks trying to capture the creatures eating people...

This film is written and directed by Chad Ferrin (Night Caller) and stars Trent Haaga (Slice), Timothy Muskatell (Jurassic City), Gil Espinoza (High School High), and Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley).

This movie was pretty entertaining for a film made on a $68,000 budget. The storyline is reminiscent of C. H. U. D. and executes the horror elements fairly well. The opening stab scene and eating sequences are outstanding and well executed. The gore in this film is surprisingly good. Unfortunately, the acting ranges from mediocre to bad, and the main character is quite annoying. The cinematography also reflects its low-budget nature. The highlight of the film, beyond the gore, is a kid with down syndrome who steals the show in every scene he's in.

In conclusion, The Ghouls suffers from its low budget but has some worthwhile scenes. I would score it a 5/10 and recommend it only to horror enthusiasts.

I can't say enough for this movie. You can tell it's low budget, but it doesn't disappoint. The acting, cinematography, editing and the directing never strike a false note. How many films can you say that for? I rented this movie at Blockbuster, and even though I'm a horror fan, I have to say, Blockbuster has become a maven for low-budget bad horror films. And, for some reason, horror fans seem to accept less than other movie-going audiences would accept in terms of budget, plot, direction, cinematography and character (maybe because gore is a category in and of itself, as is being bad in all above mentioned categories). Anyway, this movie has it all...good character development (give the first 30 minutes time), good acting (dispicable characters that you somehow feel for), good editing (flawless, actually), good cinematography (wait for that alley car scene), a good script to unite it all and, to make it all come together, I have to give credit to the director. Really an excellent, although low-budget, horror film.

First and foremost, the distributors fooled me. The box implied that this was a large scale zombie movie and that there would be a handful of survivors in a ravaged city. This was simply not the case. However instead of being angry as would generally be the case, I was taken aback. This movie is no zombie fest, but it was a very dark and thought provoking movie. I was pondering it long after the very odd and fitting credits rolled. Ghouls, is about a sleazy paparazzi reporter who makes his pseudo-living by filming scenes of crime, murder, and tragedy. The gruesome sights never bother him until he finds himself on the receiving end of the horror. Ghouls come in two varieties here: the flesh-eating type and the social type. There are some powerful themes running throughout this gem, largely about the media but also some other ideas, like smoking, identity and overall moral standings in our society. I had some trouble warming up to the "hero", but I realized we aren't meant to like him. You might pity him, sympathize with him, even feel concern for him, but you never truly like him. Much better than I would have expected, but this IS a thinking movie-goer's zombie film, action isn't the real point. If you're thinking about buying this solely to see scads of the undead, look elsewhere.

I first heard of Chad Ferrin one night while watching a Troma film. There was a trailer for the movie Unspeakable on it,now let me tell you i was blown away by what i saw.very disgusting and morbid,and I LOVED IT ALL !!!! That movie prompted me to name my site after it.Unspeakable when first looked at would make one believe the content is much more different than the norm,hence Unspeakable Magazine...A site for the overlooked companies in this lovely horror genre.People like Chad Ferrin defy all odds of small indie filmmakers not being able to put out good quality films like the big dogs...horseshit..from the two films i've seen from Ferrin i'm a believer in what he's capable of. The Ghouls stars Timothy Muskatell(who is also in Unspeakable) as Ric Hayes, one who videotapes various police chases, amubulance runs, and random street violence and sells their tapes to the highest bidders, sort of like a ghetto paparazzi. From the start of the movie there is a pretty disturbing scene that'll make you go "WTF". Ric takes a tape he just filmed of a murder to a local news station only to find out he's been beatin to the punch, then realizing his life is a big pile of turds.Things start to downspiral from there. After a falling out with a local news broadcaster( Joe Pilato from Day of the Dead), missing out on a big police chase, and unsuccessfully trying to reclaim his love interest(Tina Birchfield), Hayes solves his problems with glass after glass of alcohol, more cigs than a AA meeting ashtray and the occasional snort of I believe coc.well one night on his way home, he sees a couple of bums who look like their about to rape a young woman. He follows them into an alley with his camera running, shocked to discover that they weren't bums at all, but flesh eating ghouls who have torn the woman apart. Narrowly escaping them, Eric flees to take the news office, only to discover he was too damn drunk and his dumb-ass had forgotten to put a tape in the camera.

Determined to find out what he saw, he enlists the help of another stringer named Cliff(Trent Haaga)which i might add did his usual brilliantlly funny job.. Each armed with a gun and their cameras, they split up and head out into the streets to investigate and find out what these ghouls really are. But when Eric gets the footage he desires, he's also lead to realize what kind of horrible things he's filmed and how big of a skank he is by doing so. However, maybe he can use his talents for good by warning the public of what is lurking in their streets... if only he can get the footage.And finally pull himself out of the gutter.

The Ghouls is a horror film that features a great cast, with many familiar faces to Troma fans (Troma released Ferrin's aformentioned first film, the shocking and overly disturbing Unspeakable). Along side Haaga and Musketell The Ghouls cast only gets better, James Gunn, Stephen Blackehart, and the ever so lovely Tiffany Shepis( even though you have to be a die hard Shepis fan to notice where she's at) also appear in the film. .Not since the Hellraiser series have I seen gore and other special effects at this level ,and I say Hellrasier due to the type fo gore this flick has.Once you watch the movie you'll understand couldn't really notice and negative aspects about the film.One of my favorite parts of the movie is the suprise ending.I laughed bu tat the same time was appalled.Now that's entertainment

The Ghouls sways away from the normal horror flick and adds some flair .The Ghouls is deffinatelly a must see for any true diehard horror fan. I knwo it's not even out yet but I'm foaming at the mouth awaiting his next flick.Keep an eye out for The Ghouls in your local video stores.This guy's going somewhere. Spellcaster of Fear