The Ghoul
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Movie Reviews of The Ghoul
Movie Review: Perfect Restoration!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Ghoul
The other reviewers have covered everything pretty well, so I'll just add my two cents.
This is the most beautiful print of a B&W movie I have ever seen. At this ridiculously
low price, no one should pass up adding this to their collection if only to see what
an old movie originally looked like. There are way too many garbage transfers out there.
Maybe this one will inspire them.
Movie Review: The Ghoul
Summary: 5 Stars
MGM bare bones dvd. Really good early 1930's horror has Boris Karloff rising from the grave for revenge. Can you beat that? The transfer is excellent for a film of this age. Still good without extras.Movie Review: Anubis Opens The Way -- Fright Fest with Karloff!
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first found out about The Ghoul (1933 horror film with Boris Karloff as the soon to be dead worshiper of Anubis) I thought it was going to be a schlock fest of corny lines and bad acting.
And it was! To a degree!
The story opens with a furtive gentleman of the Egyptian persuasion who runs up against a man who supposedly stole the Jewel of Life, a honker of a jewel that the Egyptian guy (Mr. Dragoray) has been searching for two years. But wouldn't you know it, it was sold for $75,000 to Professor Morland (who is conveniently dying in his deathbed, leaving instructions to his greedy servant with the Scottish accent, Lang).
The story eventually leads us to our hero, the snotty arrogant nephew of Morland, Raef and his cousin Ms. Holland, who for some reason hate each other because of family tradition. Yeah, I know.
The story is a bit more complex than what I expected. Karloff warns that if he does not have the jewel in his hand then he will rise on the full moon. Well since he didn't have it buried with him (Lang stole it -- subplot of the various places he hides it) he rises! Or does he?
Or was he buried alive, a victim of catalepsy?
And who is this pastor who's hanging around?
Several people are after this $75,000 (in 1933 money!) jewel and are willing to kill to get it.
The humorous parts fall flat. The unintentional humor is hilarious. As Karloff tramps around the countryside looking for revenge, one is reminded of his Frankenstein's monster days and with a bit of the Egyptian mummy thrown in, it makes for a schlocky and yes, even scary at times, film.
When Karloff bends bars with his bare hands -- what a ghoul will do to have a little fun?
The make-up is quite frightful, especially with the closed-eye stuff on Karloff. And Ernest Thesiger who plays the Scottish creep Lang, would later go on as Dr. Praetorius in Bride of Frankenstein.
The film is dark, very dark. So dark that they have all the lighting done up in candles! Makes it hard to see on a streaming video on a flat screen!
Recommended:
Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway)
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Old Dark House
Movie Review: Your monster collection isn't complete without the Ghoul...
Summary: 4 Stars
...if you're not a monster movie fan, then this probably won't be in your collection. But if you weren't a monster fan, then you wouldn't be reading this review in the first place.
While Universal dominated the horror/monster genre in the 30's, this remarkable UK gem is just as good as many of Universal's, and much better than several of them. I suppose part of the similarities could be due to british director James Whale at Universal and the distinct British/European flavor of the Ghoul. It also helps that stars movie-monster legen Boris Karloff. without wanting to spoil it, one of the shortcomings of this film is the revelation of the monster, but it still retains and embodies the spirit of 30's horror through dark, expressionist cinematography and that odd combination of horror and humor that the British have become famous for.
Probably the most underrated aspect of this DVD is the history of the movie. with no historical background given on the production and the apparent "loss" of this movie for some decades, the casual viewer may not even realize how truly fortunate we are to still be able to view this film--and in such clarity for a film once presumed lost! unfortunately, the packaging of the DVD does not even note this fact, and there are no extra features on the disc to comment about it either. a commentary would probably be overkill in this case, but i wouldn't mind a small featurette or essay. while not wanting to judge it by its cover, the packaging can be slightly annoying for the purist, as it appears to want to immitate a modern horror movie rather than a classic, and the tagline, "An ancient curse is about to be unleashed" would be more appropriate on a contemporary teenage slasher flick than a Boris Karloff film, which is surprisingly not mentioned on the cover. while it should be judged on the actual content, the cover hardly seems effective in today's market, where it would be the only thing interested buyers could see on amazon. it doesn't add to it, but it doesn't really detract from it as far as i'm concerned, since it's a good movie and an immaculate transfer. while comparisons to James Whale, the Mummy, and Karloff's other films are inevitable, the Ghoul can stand alone as great entertainment. previous experience with any of the aforementioned is not required, but is definitely recommended to further appreciate it.
Movie Review: Ghoulish Bit of Cinema History
Summary: 4 Stars
In this 1933 British film--made between Boris Karloff's stints as the monster in 1931's FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in 1935--Karloff plays a dying Egyptologist who possesses an occult gem, known as The Eternal Light, that he believes will bring him immortality if he is buried with it and is thereby able to present it to Anubis in the afterlife. Of course, his bickering, covetous heirs and avaricious associates would rather keep the gem for themselves. With this in mind, Karloff vows to rise from his grave and seek revenge should anybody meddle in his plans, and he keeps this promise when, just after his death, one of his colleagues steals The Eternal Light.THE GHOUL is an atmospheric gothic flick that generates a lot of gooseflesh, but modern audiences may find the plot development a bit slow, and gore-hounds weaned on the likes of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and similar fare will certainly not think the film is very scary. But film aficionados who love the old Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s will find a lot to enjoy here.
The acting is very good--especially from Ernest Thesiger, who would later go on to play Dr. Pretorious in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN--though the excellent Karloff has only a few dramatic scenes early on and, as a risen corpse, is later reduced to staggering around in creepy make-up (reminiscent of his make-up in THE MUMMY the year before). Supporting performances from Cedric Hardwicke and Ralph Richardson help round out the good job delivered by a wonderful cast.
Based on both the novel and the play by Dr. Frank King and Leonard J. Hines, this early British horror film--the first to receive an "H" ("Horrific") rating from the British Board of Film Censors--was once thought to have been forever lost to history. A complete print of THE GHOUL was discovered in Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s, however, and was later restored under the supervision of the Museum of Modern art and Janus Films. The MGM DVD transfer was made from this beautifully restored print, and the VERY reasonable price of said disc definitely makes this a must-have for serious film collectors and students of classic cinema.