Ghoul is not just a homage to silent films, it is a silent film; the only audio is music, the narrative is pushed by body language and props, and title cards, with an abridged to-the-point conversation, illustrate what our characters are saying. The story is also a nod to one of the greatest monsters in monster history, Frankenstein’s monster.
A father – who we will call Scientist (Louis Salimes) – just lost his son to an accident. Like most scientists who make irrational decisions when their son dies, he decides to reanimate the deceased by way of a serum concoction and good old-fashioned electricity. But he soon learns that dead people should, uh, stay dead. Guess he never read Stephen King’s Pet Sematary.
Ghoul’s idea is quite enjoyable – not many filmmakers take the old silent film approach to tell a story these days. And while it would have benefited greatly if this was shot on actual 16mm versus taking the digital route for filming and post-production, writer and director Jon Salimes does show he has an enthusiastic affection for classic cinema.
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