Rent Ghoul (2015)

Czech cannibal horror - in English (mostly) - Ghoul review by NP

Three young film-makers travel into the middle of isolated forest area to find out about a legendary monster. Sound familiar? 1999’s ‘The Blair Wiutch Project’ has spawned a great many found-footage films like this, some of which are rather banal, and some – like this one – are very good indeed.

Jenny, Ethan and Ryan (Jennifer Armour, Jeremy Isabella and Paul S. Tracey) are all personable and natural, as are those they meet. The Ukrainian location and characters seem genuine and entirely believable. There’s little time wasted in building up the story. When the film begins, the characters are already there, ready to start recording. And things get creepy pretty quickly …

Of course, you could say that many of the events trotted out here are horror/found-footage cliché, but I have no problem with that when they are done this well and immersed in such an inhospitable, run-down location (including some horribly claustrophobic subterranean shots) – freezing cold as well, by the look. Many acclaimed horror projects feature moments dismissed as cliché – the haunted house, misty graveyard, characters acting illogically to further the drama, jump-scares, apparitions etc. It all depends on how they are handled.

As a found-footage cannibal ghost story, this is unnerving and well produced. The occasionally glimpsed spirit of Andrei Chikatilo is effectively sinister. At the risk of sounding like the ageing horror fan I am, the profanities thrown about might be a little excessive. Did I really say that, and does it matter these days? My score is 8 out of 10.