Ghouls

July. 12,2008      R
Rating:
2.9
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Stefan invites his daughter, Jennifer, to travel to Romania for the funeral of his mother. His mystic girlfriend Liz travels with them to the cursed village of Pelosoara, where they are welcomed by Stefan's brother Vladimir, and Jennifer finds the locals are very peculiar people. Jennifer learns that she is the only woman from the bloodline of her father. At the funeral a stranger approaches and asks Jennifer to meet him in the square in one hour. When Jennifer arrives at the meeting place, she sees a creature devouring the man she was there to meet and is saved by Thomas. The man tells her that he is the last druid on Earth, protecting the world against the evil ancients. They were defeated by the druids in the past and banished to the spiritual world. That night, there was to be a reclamation ceremony where the evil queen possesses a vessel to open a vortex between the spiritual and the real world to bring the ancients back to Earth...

William Atherton as  Stefan
Erin Gray as  Liz
James DeBello as  Thomas
Kristen Renton as  Jennifer
Dan Badarau as  Vlad
Ion Haiduc as  Bogdan

Reviews

CommentsXp
2008/07/12

Best movie ever!

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Portia Hilton
2008/07/13

Blistering performances.

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Kamila Bell
2008/07/14

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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Janis
2008/07/15

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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Luvsthebrits
2008/07/16

That movie was so predictable and the acting was terrible haha... The story line was OK but the best part of the movie were the Ghouls, the were pretty cool looking! The ending however was very confusing. She had to die to kill the Ghouls so she puts the knife in her stomach but then wakes up and her and the Lord of the Rings dork walk out laughing. Her eyes turned green after she wakes up so she is still the queen right? Then why did they show the Ghouls dying in the air? Did she come back cause she is the queen and the Ghouls did not kill here? I have no idea so I am left confused but overall it was not a bad movie.... Totally a B movie worth watching on a Saturday afternoon.

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fuzzytheanimalsanchez
2008/07/17

It's quite possible that the only reason this film was made, was to show aspiring film makers all of the incorrect methods of production and acting.Granted, as a fan of B-movies, I found myself laughing multiple times. But only because this film constantly rises to new levels of craptitude at every turn of its ever-increasingly predictable plot.Have I mentioned that this movie is bad? Here's a low-down: Horrible acting. I'm pretty sure I saw better acting at the last elementary school production of... whatever. Our leading lady, Kristen Renton, is so completely lacking in acting skills that I'm pretty sure the only way she manages to maintain a career in the industry is a low gag reflex.Pathetic special effects. I think my cat could have produced better special effects by digging them out of his sandbox.Would I recommend this movie? Absolutely! With Hollywood continuously pumping out more Kevin James movies, this might just be the funniest thing you see in a long time.

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Bubu Bogdan
2008/07/18

In the 21st century with all the technology we have, we made this piece of s..t called movie...Worst visual effect ever and a idiot story... I don't recommend this movie for anyone!!!! My personal opinion is that this movie had a verrrrrrryyyyy limited budget, about 1000 dollars... You don't see not even a punch when they fight... I think they are fighting with the "FORCE IN THEM". They show you the punch and you drop down dead as hit by a lighting... Awful MOVIE!!!! In the year of 2008 this movie is a shame for the cinema and for the actors that played in it... If they will play in another movie, they have been blessed with a second chance... AWFUL MOVIE!!!

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André de Lorde
2008/07/19

Gary Jones' directorial debut, 1995's MOSQUITO, is a perfect example of an entertaining, purposely cheesy genre film. You want wacky? It features the titular insects dining on alien corpses, growing to obscene sizes and then attacking a humdrum forest community. Much blood is splattered, Gunnar Hansen robs a bank and now, DVD copies run over 100 bucks on eBay. Now, lucky 13 years later, Jones (who also directed The Asylum's enjoyably inane JOLLY ROGER: MASSACRE AT CUTTER'S COVE) has teamed up with no less than three scriptwriters for his first foray into the realm of Sci Fi Channel cinema. One could only assume that given his talent for goofy horror, GHOULS would end up a fun supernatural romp.But we all know what happens when we assume, and GHOULS sadly makes an ass out of you, me and anyone else foolish enough to watch this terrible mess.When college cutie Jen (Kristen Renton) finds out that her estranged Romanian grandmother recently passed away, it's the perfect excuse for her and her father (GHOSTBUSTERS' William Atherton) to visit the old country. What she doesn't know is that a cult of "Ancients" have actually sacrificed her granny to a foursome of poorly animated CGI ghouls, using the power of jazz hands. Soon, oblivious little Jen is meeting her sleazy uncle Vlad (Dan Bararau), second-guessing her dad's seemingly sweet girlfriend (Erin Grey) and catching the eye of the local Druid ghoul hunter (CABIN FEVER's James DeBello). Yes, in a groan-inducing twist, her uncle is indeed named Vlad, and her new boy-toy uses grenades and shotguns to fight ghosts.The creatures, which defy all dictionary definitions of actual ghouls, are a mixture of atrocious digital work and actors traipsing around in bargain-bin Halloween costumes. A number of gratuitous close-ups, in which they shamelessly mug for the camera, showcase solid special makeup work, but it's simply not enough to save the film. Even the gore, which doesn't really get gushing until the one-hour mark, is cut together so quickly that we never really feel like we're seeing anything too nasty. Aside from some gut-munching, silly blood sprays and a few gouges, we're not catching much.As Jen wanders around the emptiest town in all of Eastern Europe, one gets the impression that there is something other than its citizens that's amiss. Side plots abound, although none of them seem to really pay off. Our heroine almost discovers a creepy crate hidden under her bed, but never opens it. Dad's girlfriend loves giving tarot-card readings (improperly), but never actually uses them for anything. Even the early loss of monster hunter Thomas' father offers nothing but an extremely drawn-out filler sequence in which the two prove how bad they truly are at ghoulbusting.A few minor twists precede GHOULS' final act, but they unfortunately fail to take the film in a new direction—and certainly don't hit their intended marks. Atherton, who sadly looks quite haggard, is sorely underused and doesn't offer us a memorable character, instead stirring up memories of far better roles he's taken (DIE HARD, anyone?). The same can unfortunately not be said for DeBello's Thomas, who is so lacking in personality that it took nearly 40 minutes of screen time for this reviewer to even notice he was playing the role. Only the women, both with significant TV credits under their belts, shine through this mess. Regrettably, neither Renton and Grey (of DAYS OF OUR LIVES and SILVER SPOONS, respectively) can rise above the quality of the production, with even the talented young lead falling victim to the absolute hilarity of the film's outrageous finale. The Sci Fi Channel's 2008 roster has been across the board, offering up the dreadful-but-fun HEATSTROKE, the surprisingly decent COPPERHEAD and the only moderately entertaining duo of ROCK MONSTER and AZTEC REX. GHOULS, however, has set new standards in how poor its films can get. Unless you've got friends who truly love tepid horror and an extra case of beer lying around, GHOULS is, sadly, a must-miss. Better luck next time, Sci Fi. You know I'll be back for more.

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