Ghoul Review - More Ambience, Less Scare

Suhansid Srikanth

Patrick Graham directed Ghoul, handles a theme that can be easily dejected from the audience. It has possession.. Talks of evil spirits.. Blends that with Terrorism and adds an interrogation and investigation angle to it. Before you get hold of the idea, you end up watching an episode or two. It has three episodes. Introduction of lead characters and an establishment of the scenario.. Introduction to the Ghoul and how the characters overcome the spirit.

It reminded me a lot of Anurag Kashyap's 'No Smoking'. And like how much thtried to jolt knots between two diverse ends.. smoking and supernatural black magic.. Ghoul puts all its efforts to chain terrorism and spirits. Much like the former, Ghoul leaves you in sort of a meh mood as you keep watching the weird proceedings inside the film.

The story is set in a dystopian future. Inspired from Arabic folklore and the concept of Ghoul, an evil spirit that can possess a human form is the prime antagonist here. As the answer to the mystic 'Who is the Ghoul now' keeps changing.. the series explores vigilant officers, hierarchies they follow, prisoners and a dangerous terrorist who is kept as a captive. Most of the sequences take place in an abandoned building like prison. The spreading darkness and the closed space hooks you more.

Radhika Apte is versatile. And by now, every Indian citizen knows it very well. Right when there is so much fuzz happening about her being everywhere.. with a story set in such an alien backdrop.. she still manages to evoke a sense of connect to the character of Nida Rahim. Her acting is thoroughly internal that we see not just her uttering the lines or acting physically but with an addition of a total psyche and mind to the role.

The supporting cast is very good as well. Manav Kaul in a character that is in a state of confusion throughout the film scores a lot. The character played by Ratnabali comes as the only dynamic role in an otherwise subtly written sketches. The ambience that the cinematography creates is breathtaking. Between dark tunnels.. half lit staircases.. shrudded jail cells.. Jay Oza and Jay Patel's camera work captures a claustrophobic mood that is so contributing to the narrative.

Despite the story and theme hardly making us invested to the core emotions.. As a Netflix original, Ghoul impresses you with its out of the box content and the chilling ambience it comes up with.

Bottomline:

Radhika Apte starred Ghoul, directed by Patrick Graham plays in its own world a lot than to stay connected with the viewers. With an idea as bizarre as this, the paper to believability transformation has somehow gone hugely scattered.