Ghoul Review

A marvelous premise let down due to a narrow narrative and cliched horror tropes.

Ghoul is set in an unspecified dystopian future where sectarian violence is at its peak. Terrorism is spreading within the nation and the government takes strong measures to curb it immediately. Mysterious detention centres are set across the country where suspected people are interrogated and ‘cleansed’ of their anti-nationalistic behaviour.

The story begins with Nida Rahim who is recruited in a detention centre because of a ‘sacrifice’ she made for the nation. The centre soon gets a new prisoner called Ali Sayyed, a top-level terrorist with a dark secret within him, which leads to a supernatural turn of events in the facility.

The series has a terrific premise but the director skims through all of the rich possibilities and chooses to focus on the people-trapped-with-a-ghost trope. With such great actors on board, we expect some depth for the characters but here they are largely one dimensional with no likability factor. Considering the long format of storytelling, the director chose we don’t get much to bite into. Though judging on the technical front, the cinematography and sound design are perfect and add to the creepy mood of the series.

Being a supernatural-horror thriller, the series fails to evoke any kind of fear.

Better characters and a well fleshed out story would have made Ghoul a more satisfying watch!