Ghoul (TV Movie 2012)

Ghoul: Directed by Gregory Wilson. With Catherine Mary Stewart, Barry Corbin, Nolan Gould, Catherine Curtin. Centers on a group of friends who risk their lives to stop who, or what, is behind a rash of disappearances in their town.

“Iu0026#39;ve been a Brian Keene fan for a while and Ghoul is one of my favorite tales of horror. When I heard there would be a movie I was pretty excited, but I didnu0026#39;t want to get involved in a lot of the hype. As someone who happens to be a Stephen King fan, I know all about bad movie adaptations. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWell, Ghoul isnu0026#39;t exactly a bad movie adaptation. Itu0026#39;s just not a true adaptation. The movie does manage to convey the spirit of the book to a certain degree when it is not being hindered by the typical downfalls of every TV movie (the shaky acting, the questionable production, the lack of violence, etc.), but the scares and thrills just arenu0026#39;t there. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe ultimate difference between the book and the movie is that the book is a terrifying and visceral experience. The movie starts out with possibilities of being the same, but skews off in a different direction and becomes something akin to a Lifetime movie. The ghoul that was so frightening in the book almost becomes a Scooby Doo villain in the movie. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe book is terrifying and disturbing. The movie is only slightly disturbing and not very terrifying. The atmosphere of the movie is just too tame and too sterile to warrant terror. The disturbing factor is the relationship between Doug and his mother and Barry and his father, but the book handles it much better. So what the movie had going for it is nothing that hasnu0026#39;t already been done better before. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut, judging the movie for what it is, Iu0026#39;d still say it was entertaining up to a point. A decent and watchable film, but I just didnu0026#39;t find it to be a very memorable movie. If you want a great growing-up adventure movie about kids then Stand By Me does a much better job. If you want a great disturbing horror movie about kids then there is always Jack Ketchumu0026#39;s The Girl Next Door. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGhoul just doesnu0026#39;t have that same zing.”