Ohjaus:
Petr JáklKuvaus:
Jan ŠusterSävellys:
Karel HavlíčekNäyttelijät:
Jennifer Armour, Alina Golovlyova, Jeremy Isabella, Paul S. Tracey, Debra Garza, Инна Беликова, Vladimír NevedrovSuoratoistopalvelut (1)
Juonikuvaukset(1)
While filming a documentary about cannibalism of the 20th century, a crew of American filmmakers must face the real life story of probably the most violent serial killer of all time, a cannibal who killed more than fifty people. They travel to an area of Ukraine where people have been mysteriously disappearing, and soon find themselves trapped in a supernatural hunting ground, the next victims of a malevolent spirit. (jakelijan virallinen teksti)
(lisää)Arvostelut (5)
Finally, someone from Czechia whose genre films are not hindered by Eastern European shittiness, have balls and can be sold globally. Ghoul is a universally effective horror movie in the Hollywood Paranormal Activity / Blair Witch style, with better direction than a lot of similar projects, such as Chernobyl Diaries and The Dyatlov Pass Incident (which makes Petr Jákl a better director than Renny Harlin :-D). The film is composed of things we’ve seen elsewhere, but it works, especially because of the name Chikatilo, which sends chills down one’s spine. Too bad this name is not evoked earlier in the film, as it would have lent the introduction a more powerful atmosphere. And
too bad that Jákl didn’t make this earlier. Today, this film is just one of many.
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This is a western genre standard undermined by the absence of a single moment of surprise and the fact that for the sake of effect, the characters are willing to act like monumental dullards. This fact could be forgiven if they were given an extra drop of personal life. However, all of this is unfortunately absent, and so in the end it is... a western genre standard. [Whether that's praise or scorn is up to you]. 3 ½.
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I don't need to write about how Ghoul stands out in Czech horror, because in this respect it has almost nothing to excel against. Jákl has shown himself to be a modern world filmmaker well versed in what attracts viewers to the scary genre and who, above all, is able to realise all the old horror motifs at such a level that the result overshadows the vast majority of more expensive and ambitious but very similar pseudo-documentary horror films. A brisk, imaginative (excellent jump-scares), superbly scored and decently paced European movie that cleverly highlights the already stifling atmosphere with the help of the chilling phenomenon of Andrei Chikatilo. The intro is quite protracted, the cannibalism is severely underused and it’s impossible to form a strong enough relationship with the characters for the final part to draw you in other than by virtue of the effective stylization, but within the massive Blair Witch wave, Ghoul is definitely one of the more interesting and sophisticated representatives. 65%
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I don't understand why the creators cling to the label "dark thriller" when it's as horror as it gets. Although it's not as scary as its reputation makes it out to be, being more of a cheap B movie, it's qualitatively fully comparable to American horror movies of the same genre. In this respect, it is a victory for Petr Jákl, who managed to make a genre-pure Czech film that has a chance to make a mark in the world. It is relatively functional, atmospheric and in some respects even better than the equivalent foreign competition, so there is no need to be ashamed of it.
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This is still found footage and in its execution somewhat classic. I don't enjoy these movies and neither Jákl nor Czech coproduction nor the fact that it has a very good visual side can help with that. This genre doesn't have much to say anymore, and the interesting information that the film "Ghoul" conveys could also be conveyed in a classic horror movie, which obviously wouldn't cost as much.
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