The Ghouls

Independent fear-maker Chad Ferrin's, low-fi, high die, superlatively-splattery, gut-swingingly grisly subterranean snuff sensation 'Cannibal Dead: The Ghouls' is certainly not for sensitive Sally's, timorous Timothy's, or the frequently faint of fart! Something far worse than a City Load of septic sewage fulminates evilly beneath the mean streets of L. A. And preternaturally perverse paparazzi Eric Hayes (Timothy Muskatell) shall certainly grue the day he deigned to opportunistically film these deranged denizens of the dark that cavort cannibalistically upon the ferociously flayed flesh of all those who foolhardily descend into their diabolically dank domain! Old school ghouls, sinister splatter mad-hatters, gruesome gore gourmands, morbidly-minded morgue maniacs, grisly graveyard gawpers, and brain-dead zombie freaks will dig gravely upon the gloriously ghoulish, salaciously sick-headed shenanigans of Ferrin's locomotively lurid, voluptuously visceral, deliriously dismembering blood feast! Like Gorefather H. G Lewis hungrily buzzed on high grade hydroponic hemp, this moonshine mental, membrane-slinging murder movie is the snuff of low budget legend!!!

Heh, to start this all off.. This movie was packaged along with Hannibal Rising. My friend and I thought to ourselves, "Oh, a free movie! Hey, this looks pretty cool." Unfortuantly, we were wrong. The whole 30 minutes that we wasted (Honestly, me nor her could sit and watch the whole thing,) was horrible. Not just the subject matter but the filming. I know that it had a strong underlying subject, but I (as well as almost everyone else who saw the cover and read the back summary) was fooled.

Just as a warning.. Don't buy Hannibal Rising (Unrated) that comes with The Ghouls. It's just a waste.

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.

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.

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.