REVIEW: Ghoul

Notorious serial killer Andrei Chikatilo – executed by gunshot in 1994 for the murder and sexual assault of at least 52 women and children – is the vehicle for Petr Jakl’s new indie horror GHOUL. As we follow 3 American movie makers to Ukraine, ambitiously hoping to film the pilot episode of a documentary series discussing modern day cannibalism, we realise all they’re probably going to accomplish is their own entrapment in an isolated farmhouse with a demonic spirit peckish for human flesh!

Attempting to distort the lines between fact and fantasy, Jakl’s film opens with archival documentary footage of the 1930’s Ukrainian famine, known as Holodomor. This raw material - haunting and atmospheric - is enough to set a bleak scene, and it’s not long before the ‘mockumentary’ begins. Recruiting a guide, an over-eager sexual conquest/interpreter and pressing on with their journey, our gang soon encounter Boris, one of the last survivors of the famine, who’d previously been imprisoned for cannibalism. When Boris doesn’t show for their arranged meeting at the house, the crew discover there is something much worse waiting for them there – more specifically, the pissed-off spirit of ‘The Butcher Of Rostov’!

GHOUL has smashed box office records in director Petr Jakl’s native Czech Republic, and it’s quite easy to see why - it’s fun and accessible, if that’s what you’re looking for. Unfortunately for me, this kind of ‘accessibility’ screams tame and introductory, seemingly aimed at the more occasional ‘horror’ viewer or youngster, rather than your seasoned, thick-skinned veteran. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the film, but it ultimately left me thinking there was an even better one in there somewhere, and a little sad that certain ideas weren’t explored - another comparison that can be made with 2012’s Chernobyl Diaries.

The early ‘doc’ footage is good, well-paced and pretty fascinating, as our cast speaks to rural Ukrainians against desolate backdrops off wooden huts and rubble-strewn horizons. The performances in the film are quite good too, when compared to similar films from this sub-genre, particularly Jenny (Armour) and Katarina (Golovlyova) our interpreter, whose inclusion is effective in keeping certain elements mysterious, as the director only allows us subtitles for chosen exchanges. In fact, it’s these earlier exchanges that hold most of the film’s power, and GHOUL only seems to begin unravelling once Chikatilo’s name starts being bandied about more and more towards the final third.

Director Jakl (recognisable from acting roles in Alien Vs Predator and XXX) has taken the time here to create a believable stage for his film, and this helps generate a creepy mood for the first half hour or so, before the ‘found footage’ clichés start to seep in. The scares are mainly of the ‘loud noise’ variety rather than from any real tension accrued, and when you take into account this is basically a demonic possession flick, based around a prolific cannibal, it’s kinda criminal how user-friendly it is! Although, on the flip side, I must give thanks for its refusal to do all the same old shite every other Exorcist wannabe does – mercifully, there’s not a ridiculously-arched back in sight!

In spite of having no particular set pieces of note, the ending packs a brutal punch, and there’s a few other ideas in there to definitely make GHOUL worth a watch. True, it’s frustrating at times, but it’s certainly one of the better ‘found footage’ entries of the last few years, and one I could happily watch again in the future.

@TheBlueTook