The Ghoul
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Movie Reviews of The Ghoul
Movie Review: Ghoulish without 5 Stars
The late 30s,early 40s, were a time of experimentation. Out from under the Universal umbrella,where formulas were already being set,this movie was reaching outside of the lines. The Ghoul is one of the most frightening films Karloff ever did. Personally, I would place it as one of his top five performances. In the title role he is not actually a true corpse eating fiend.He is a hateful reanimated mad man. Plot wise I will say no more. No spoilers here.The film does use some of the same themes as The Mummy. But the story and the pacing is completely different and Karloff creates his character's supernatural aspects entirely with his body language.Another unique aspect of this film was the rare use of out door locations, lending an extra realism to the nightmarish goings on.There is greater scope to what usually was done as a set bound production.
This movie lacks for nothing.It does not need color,or nudity,or gallons of blood,or CGI to pump it up. It is a neglected classic and will stand on it's own for generations to come.
See it in the dark on the biggest screen you can and,,,,well,,pleasant dreams.
Movie Review: The GHOUL '34 PRISTINE TRANSFER AT LAST!
Summary: 5 Stars
Long thought lost,(because suppposedly all prints and negatives were destroyed when a version of the Ghoul was re-made as the 1962 horror comedy No Place Like Homicide) M.G.M. has released a version of the Ghoul that looks as good as the day it was filmed! For years the only available way to see the Ghoul was on an awful looking transfer made from what looked like a third generation dupe on VHS without main titles and severely edited. I saw the un-impressive cover art online and thought "What the heck, it can't be worse then that vhs video". What a pleasantly AMAZING surprise. A crisp, clean unblemised picture awaited me! I would think that someone at M.G.M. home video would have mentioned that this new, pristine source transfer was being made available for the first time on their new DVD version!. Would love to be hired by M.G.M. Home Video to make sure that truly rare films were made known to the public. I cannot recommend the GHOUL enough to fellow Horror Film/Karloff fans. JohnMovie Review: Thesiger Steals the Gem, and Nearly the Show!
Summary: 5 Stars
Crystal clear and astounding film restoration enhance the splendid manner in which Boris Karloff stares, walks and stalks, making this a truly delightful treasure. Karloff, professor of Egyptology, knows he is dying, but his fears are greatly diminished after realizing that he has discovered an ancient gem which provides the key to immortality (thanks of course to the powers of the Egyptian gods). The scholarly one ceases to breath, the gem is stolen, and the now "living corpse" is simply dying to retrieve it! The incomparable Ernest Thesiger is also wonderful (the British actor had previously given the "performance of his life" in another nearly lost film, "Old Dark House", 1932). "The Ghoul" features non stop creepy atmosphere with an occassional smattering of comic relief. The script is fresh (especially for a mummy), and the characters and dialogue are actually quite interesting!Movie Review: Amazing picture and sound on this DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
(The 5 stars are for picture quality -- as for the movie, hey, it's Boris Karloff in the '30's! You know you want it!) Hats off to MGM! This film was considered lost for many years. When it finally showed up on video it was a scratchy, spliced-up VHS without the original credits or theme music. I was astounded when I saw the quality of this DVD. It's scratch-free and complete! Plus it's a smooth looking picture with very little grain -- I only wish that Universal's DVD of Bride of Frankenstein looked this good. The sound is very clear too.
In short, you won't confuse it with a modern release (it's 70 years old), and there are no extras of any kind, but for a film this old and obscure it's FAR more than I expected. Go get it!
Movie Review: Restored as if by magic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't really have much to add to the glowing reviews above. This is simply the finest quality film restoration for a film from this era that I have seen. If you're a fan of Universal horror and/or Karloff you will treasure this film.I think all us classic horror fans should send MGM a nice "thank you" note for the attention they have given this fairly obscure 70 year old film. And perhaps they will be encouraged to put out more of the same. I suggest "The Vampire Bat", made around the same time.
Look at all those 5 star reviews....go get this DVD!!