thatsarappp
Joined Feb 2005
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thatsarappp's rating
This is one of those rare horror films that I find absolutely no enjoyment in whatsoever. I say rare because I am a huge horror fan, and even really bad horror films almost always hold my attention. I have spent many a Saturday just soaking in the glorious cinema the Syfy channel has to offer. The average movie-watcher's terrible horror film usually equates to a decent watch from my perspective. And more often than not, even the ones that are truly atrocious have moderate to exceptional comedic value. I'm afraid such cannot be said for 'Ghouls'.
It's biggest and most obvious flaw is the terrible plot. We know there are ghouls who are trying to reclaim something or another, and in doing so cross the plane from the spiritual world into the physical world. Beyond that, I'm not really quite sure what was taking place, or why. Speaking of that, I'm also a little confused as to what exactly was left to be accomplished for these ghouls as far as crossing over into the physical world, seeing as they actually feed on people's flesh, and can (somehow) be mortally wounded by gunshots and grenade blasts. Can't really get much more physical than that.
James DeBello is not a bad actor. No, he's really not. This was just not a role meant for him I guess. He was great in 'Detroit Rock City' as a goof ball stoner. He was even good in 'Cabin Fever', because even though that was a serious role, the film had its comedic elements, and his character was a huge part of that. He was just flat here. No emotional range at all. It was pretty rough to watch actually. Except that part on the horse and carriage where he grunted a lot. That was really funny.
The ghouls themselves were actually kind of cool to look at. That's about all that can be said for the film as far as positives. It is evident they had SOME budget to work with. The ghouls themselves weren't a total embarrassment. Effects otherwise were well above Syfy original-type standards. Other than that, this was pretty god awful boring. I see no reason to recommend anyone watch this film. Often even really bad films offer something. This offers nothing. Just a really dreadful film that you probably won't even make it all the way through before giving up and turning it off. (My ESPN the magazine on the coffee table eventually drew me away.)
Next time you're in the mood for some horror involving druids, human sacrifice and worship of Satanic beings, do some reading on George Bush and friends and Bohemian Grove. It's really much more interesting.
It's biggest and most obvious flaw is the terrible plot. We know there are ghouls who are trying to reclaim something or another, and in doing so cross the plane from the spiritual world into the physical world. Beyond that, I'm not really quite sure what was taking place, or why. Speaking of that, I'm also a little confused as to what exactly was left to be accomplished for these ghouls as far as crossing over into the physical world, seeing as they actually feed on people's flesh, and can (somehow) be mortally wounded by gunshots and grenade blasts. Can't really get much more physical than that.
James DeBello is not a bad actor. No, he's really not. This was just not a role meant for him I guess. He was great in 'Detroit Rock City' as a goof ball stoner. He was even good in 'Cabin Fever', because even though that was a serious role, the film had its comedic elements, and his character was a huge part of that. He was just flat here. No emotional range at all. It was pretty rough to watch actually. Except that part on the horse and carriage where he grunted a lot. That was really funny.
The ghouls themselves were actually kind of cool to look at. That's about all that can be said for the film as far as positives. It is evident they had SOME budget to work with. The ghouls themselves weren't a total embarrassment. Effects otherwise were well above Syfy original-type standards. Other than that, this was pretty god awful boring. I see no reason to recommend anyone watch this film. Often even really bad films offer something. This offers nothing. Just a really dreadful film that you probably won't even make it all the way through before giving up and turning it off. (My ESPN the magazine on the coffee table eventually drew me away.)
Next time you're in the mood for some horror involving druids, human sacrifice and worship of Satanic beings, do some reading on George Bush and friends and Bohemian Grove. It's really much more interesting.
I am, admittedly, someone who believes in Jesus as who he says he is in the Christian bible. (Who HE says he is, not who "christians" say he is.) I am also rational, open-minded, and can certainly have a sense of humor when it comes to things of this nature. In fact, I was pretty excited to watch this when I read about it. Low budget in itself does not automatically disqualify ANY film from being considered one of quality. It can be done with great skill, creativity and style. By reading some of the reviews here and on Netflix, I got the impression JCVH had those things going for it. Good God was I wrong.
It was by no means offensive. In fact, it didn't even border on it for me. Blasphemous? I suppose, in the most fundamental way, and to only the most small-minded of the Christian community. Perhaps the reason I found it so shockingly unoffensive was the fact that I never even really felt as if I was watching Jesus. That guy was no more Jesus than he was Ving Rhames. Chris Kattan, sure. Jesus, not so much. I read someone imply the film had some biblical wit to it- that is, the writers had some knowledge of the bible and used it to make the film funnier. That turned out to be untrue as well.
The film is not really overly crude or vulgar, which is probably what most people expect it to be when they read the basic plot synopsis. Truthfully, it wasn't even funny at all. Weird and incredibly awkward, yes. Genuinely funny, not at all. There were even parts that made me feel very weird inside, and I think at one point I threw up in my mouth a little. (Transvestites with big hairy boobs tend to do that to me.) Now that I think about it, a little good old fashioned crude vulgarity would have done this film some good.
As far as the technical aspects of the film, well, they are atrocious in every way imaginable. Again, with a little hard work and creativity, low budget can be done with some style. This was brutal to watch. The sound was some of the worst I've ever seen, if not THE worst. The dialog was so not in sync with the picture it looked as if it was dubbed. Visually, it was just as bad. Now, I'm no Avatar fan boy who judges films only by their visuals. (In fact, I pretty much hate all action movies.) But this was unbearable. Hard to believe this thing was made when it was.
The reality here is, this is an awful film. The whole thing really just made my skin crawl. I really wanted to like it, and I stuck it out all the way to the end. But when all is said and done, there's nothing appealing about this film beyond its premise. And because the premise itself is still fantastic, it gets saved from the dreaded 1/10 rating.
It was by no means offensive. In fact, it didn't even border on it for me. Blasphemous? I suppose, in the most fundamental way, and to only the most small-minded of the Christian community. Perhaps the reason I found it so shockingly unoffensive was the fact that I never even really felt as if I was watching Jesus. That guy was no more Jesus than he was Ving Rhames. Chris Kattan, sure. Jesus, not so much. I read someone imply the film had some biblical wit to it- that is, the writers had some knowledge of the bible and used it to make the film funnier. That turned out to be untrue as well.
The film is not really overly crude or vulgar, which is probably what most people expect it to be when they read the basic plot synopsis. Truthfully, it wasn't even funny at all. Weird and incredibly awkward, yes. Genuinely funny, not at all. There were even parts that made me feel very weird inside, and I think at one point I threw up in my mouth a little. (Transvestites with big hairy boobs tend to do that to me.) Now that I think about it, a little good old fashioned crude vulgarity would have done this film some good.
As far as the technical aspects of the film, well, they are atrocious in every way imaginable. Again, with a little hard work and creativity, low budget can be done with some style. This was brutal to watch. The sound was some of the worst I've ever seen, if not THE worst. The dialog was so not in sync with the picture it looked as if it was dubbed. Visually, it was just as bad. Now, I'm no Avatar fan boy who judges films only by their visuals. (In fact, I pretty much hate all action movies.) But this was unbearable. Hard to believe this thing was made when it was.
The reality here is, this is an awful film. The whole thing really just made my skin crawl. I really wanted to like it, and I stuck it out all the way to the end. But when all is said and done, there's nothing appealing about this film beyond its premise. And because the premise itself is still fantastic, it gets saved from the dreaded 1/10 rating.
Possible minor spoilers...
First thing's first...There are pros and cons to avoiding IMDb prior to viewing a film. One major pro, I have found, is when you check out IMDb prior to viewing, it can create unfair and unrealistic expectations for a film, be it high or low. This can ultimately greatly affect your opinion of the film. If you go in with no, or very little preconceived notions, you are likely to appreciate the film far more, and give it a much fairer assessment. Hence the reason I have started to do this. Films like this one make me reconsider that decision. Why? Because then you don't get blindsided by something so misleading, such as this film. And boy is it. I don't mind the occasional horror comedy. In fact, I enjoy them if they're actually good (unfortunately most aren't). I can even get into a sci-fi film every now and then. But I don't want to be tricked into watching either. That's precisely what happened here. So if you're reading this and are expecting a legitimate horror flick, that is not what this is.
I can't honestly say I flat out hated this film. It had its moments, that's for sure. There were some genuinely funny parts, and if it only had three or four, that's three or four more than the zombie "comedy" I watched just a few nights earlier (Dance of the Dead *cringe*). Of course, those funny parts couldn't really even come close to making up for the incoherent, and at times flat out boring, mess that this film really is. It severely lacked a solid plot or some kind of direction. Way too many moments where I'm left pondering whether I'm supposed to laugh, or if they're trying to be serious here. I should be able to know the difference. The whole time I was really just trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on. I still don't know.
There also seemed to be religious (christian) undertones. Not that this is either a good or a bad thing. I'm just quite surprised no one else seemed to catch it...At one point, the zombies are zapped with the white beam from the sky and change back into humans, at which point they are raised up into the sky. Walking "dead" are transformed (given new life) and then promptly raised (resurrected) into the heavens. The alien also had a few things to say shortly thereafter that could be taken to be along the same lines. Either way, doesn't affect my opinion of the film.
Other than those handful of funny moments, it doesn't have a whole lot going for it. The acting and lighting were both sub par, and it had some pretty questionable effects. Not to mention there really was no significant zombie action to speak of. They kind of just stood there and growled, with the occasional "braaainsss" or "jooinn ussss" being mumbled. All that being said, I can honestly say it is the best Australian zombie alien horror comedy I've ever seen!
First thing's first...There are pros and cons to avoiding IMDb prior to viewing a film. One major pro, I have found, is when you check out IMDb prior to viewing, it can create unfair and unrealistic expectations for a film, be it high or low. This can ultimately greatly affect your opinion of the film. If you go in with no, or very little preconceived notions, you are likely to appreciate the film far more, and give it a much fairer assessment. Hence the reason I have started to do this. Films like this one make me reconsider that decision. Why? Because then you don't get blindsided by something so misleading, such as this film. And boy is it. I don't mind the occasional horror comedy. In fact, I enjoy them if they're actually good (unfortunately most aren't). I can even get into a sci-fi film every now and then. But I don't want to be tricked into watching either. That's precisely what happened here. So if you're reading this and are expecting a legitimate horror flick, that is not what this is.
I can't honestly say I flat out hated this film. It had its moments, that's for sure. There were some genuinely funny parts, and if it only had three or four, that's three or four more than the zombie "comedy" I watched just a few nights earlier (Dance of the Dead *cringe*). Of course, those funny parts couldn't really even come close to making up for the incoherent, and at times flat out boring, mess that this film really is. It severely lacked a solid plot or some kind of direction. Way too many moments where I'm left pondering whether I'm supposed to laugh, or if they're trying to be serious here. I should be able to know the difference. The whole time I was really just trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on. I still don't know.
There also seemed to be religious (christian) undertones. Not that this is either a good or a bad thing. I'm just quite surprised no one else seemed to catch it...At one point, the zombies are zapped with the white beam from the sky and change back into humans, at which point they are raised up into the sky. Walking "dead" are transformed (given new life) and then promptly raised (resurrected) into the heavens. The alien also had a few things to say shortly thereafter that could be taken to be along the same lines. Either way, doesn't affect my opinion of the film.
Other than those handful of funny moments, it doesn't have a whole lot going for it. The acting and lighting were both sub par, and it had some pretty questionable effects. Not to mention there really was no significant zombie action to speak of. They kind of just stood there and growled, with the occasional "braaainsss" or "jooinn ussss" being mumbled. All that being said, I can honestly say it is the best Australian zombie alien horror comedy I've ever seen!