The Ghoul (2017)

It's strange: I can go through a phase of watching horror films that actually debilitate because of their lack of originality. They tell the same variations of stories, featuring a gang of deeply unpleasant people being stalked by something horrible, or a house giving up its dark secrets to the latest happily married non-entities to have moved in. It sometimes makes me wonder why I love horror so much, when the limitations film-makers impose upon themselves result in such mediocrity.And then, I can watch a run of utter gems. Often low budget, these are films with something original to say, or at least an original way of presenting an established idea. 'The Ghoul' is one such refreshing example – at times I fought to follow the narrative because I didn't want to lose the thread of interest being weaved around events."Fancy a cuppa? Normal or some sort of gay tea? We've got the lot." Says Doctor Morland (Geoffrey McGivern) cheerily, welcoming depressive Chris (Tom Meeten, who has a look of Neil Gaiman about him) into his home, the unorthodox place where Chris's demons are to be confronted. Meeten plays Chris brilliantly, and through the writing/directing, Gareth Tunley really conveys to us the unending depths of despair he suffers as everybody around him leaves or betrays him. Meeten is immediately engaging and has our sympathies with each new heartbreak – the most callous of all is in the casual abuse dished out by Kathleen (Alice Lowe). All the cast (including Naimh Cusack and Paul Kaye) are excellent, in fact.There are lots of shaky panoramic views of a twilight metropolis: a travelogue of a silhouette city. It's interesting that among the credits, the excellent Ben Wheatley (Director of 'High Rise', 'A Field in England' as well as a couple of Doctor Who stories from 2014) features as executive producer. The sprinkling of such city-scape imagery contrasts with Chris's isolated torment as the demons continue to grow.It would be too easy to dismiss this as another 'were the demons real, or all in his head' essay. 'The Ghoul' has so much more going for it than that. A labyrinthine modern day Lovecraft parable that only disappoints at the end - *because* it ends. The journey is more powerful than the destination, perhaps? Either way, I'll be watching this again more than once, but not so much so that I know each line before it's spoken; I don't want to lose the disturbing, frightening atmosphere. A brilliant film - highly recommended.

PLOT SPOILER REVIEW Chris (Tom Meeten) is investigating an odd murder pretending to be a patient to get information about another patient. However the lines become blurred. Chris believes he is the patient who day dreams about being a cop. A friend blurs things about midpoint claiming Chris is really a cop and the psychologists are attempting to make him think he is a normal guy. For the audience, these lines are smartly blurred and we don't know the truth until the end....I think.The problem with the film, in spite of it being well done, is that it is slow and boring with pathetic characters all around. The film put me to sleep.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Researching this film before watching it, unfortunately convinced me it would be worthwhile, however, it's clear now that I was taken in by IMDb reviews that were planted to give the movie an overall favorable rating. My instinct after the first 15 minutes was to turn it off, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt since many British independent films do tend to start slow and build to a thoughtful and meaningful result. Without giving anything away, do yourself a favor and look up the definition for a Mobius strip and then imagine a very abstract story revolving around that meaning with a multitude of loose ends that are never explained and you'll have saved yourself nearly an hour and a half of boredom and frustration.

A homicide detective (Tom Meeten) goes undercover as a patient to investigate a psychotherapist he believes is linked to a strange double murder. As his therapy sessions continue the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur.Strangely, for a film this dark, the casting came from comedians who were working at the Edinburgh Festival. Their skits led to "The Baron" (2013), a comedic short film made for "a few hundred quid". This brought together Gareth Tunley and writer-actor Tom Meeten, as well as bringing in composer Waen Shepherd and producer Jack Healy Guttmann. It would be no exaggeration to say that "The Baron" was the test run for "The Ghoul", despite them having nothing in common thematically. Those involved believed that if Christopher Nolan could make "Following" with no budget, they could pull it off, too.From the get-go, Waen Shepherd's score is reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti; interestingly, Catherine Bray thinks the film is "scary in the manner of David Lynch films, with the chills coming from a nightmarish repurposing of the mundane or suburban", so perhaps the score is intentional. Of course, Shepherd does much more than that -- he has provided just about every genre of music (60s pop to reggae) to the soundtrack.The plot is defined as a cinematic Möbius strip by writer/director Gareth Tunley. This almost gives too much away, but at the same time is really at the heart of the film. The most interesting scene is the one where the various objects in the doctor's office are described: the mobius strip, the ouroboros (infinity snake), and so on... we are made quite aware of how important this is.Let's look at the critics. Gareth Jones praises the film, with his only concern being that "it can occasionally find itself bogged down by its overly melancholy presentation and measured pacing". This is fair, though probably unavoidable. Bray compares the film favorably to Lynch's "Lost Highway", though she has concerns that the film "isn't the midnight horror romp its title may suggest", and this may cause it to connect poorly with audience expectations. True, the title may be misleading, but it has its own importance, too.Stephen Dalton thinks the picture "feels a little too slight and cryptic to make any serious headway with mainstream genre fans... never quite delivers on its mind-bending promise." Yet, "Tunley confirms his mastery of macabre moods here. Now he needs a bigger budget and a broader canvas." Mainstream or not, it fits in well alongside films like "Timecrimes" that have us questioning the linear story-telling.Peter Bradshaw may be the harshest critic, saying the movie "feels like a film-school project" that is "heartsinkingly pointless" and "takes us on a journey to nowhere." Not only is Bradshaw the most harsh, but the most off-base. While he may not be wrong, strictly speaking, the "pointlessness" is precisely the point! The film never sets up to tie everything up with a ribbon, and this may be its greatest strength: viewers are well-served to watch it twice or more to deepen comprehension.Though Arrow Video specializes in bringing forgotten gems back to life, they do just as great of a job when they are working with contemporary titles like "The Ghoul". On their Blu-ray release, we get the filmmakers' commentary, interviews with most of the cast and crew (which are very insightful), and even "The Baron", the short film by Gareth Tunley, starring Tom Meeten and Steve Oram.