The last time I watched a horror film I dug my nails into my friend’s hand, but I still keep going back to watch them. Real life doesn’t allow you to deal with demons and monsters and so horror movies become your vicarious thrills.
The screening of Netflix’s new mini-series Ghoul promised to raise the bar of ‘spookiness’ by making it an experience. The scary atmospherics begin at the registration desk with haunting music being played in the background. Then you’re escorted into what is known as the ‘tunnel’ which is pitch dark, has a burly man chanting strange mantras and has half-cut hands on the wall - one hand even tried to reach out to my face!
Once you cross this you’re given a ‘survival kit’ that has a blanket and a torch. There’s also a photo booth wherein you come face to face with the ‘Ghoul’. The fun elements also come in with the ‘interrogation chair’ that is surrounded by cut outs of deadly weapons.
All of this however is nothing compared to the spookiness of the series. The show begins on an extremely gory note with a man slicing his palms with his blade. Director Patrick Graham creates a grim world set in a detention centre, but whips a cocktail of emotions by making a comment on religion, torture and guilt. I don’t have the stomach for excessive gore and so found myself closing my eyes on multiple occasions. Graham has made the series a blend of horror and a psychological thriller making you invest in the characters, enough for you to get through the gore.
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