Rating: 
Summary: Pristine DVD recommended mainly for seasoned Woodophiles
Review: Night of the Ghouls, the last film in Ed Wood's horror cycle, (following Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space) borrows elements from both of those films but, while inhabiting a similarly wacked-out world, isn't really a direct sequel to either. Kenne Duncan (struggling to maintain his tough-guy persona while wearing a silly-looking turban) plays Dr. Acula, a phony medium who has set up shop bilking wealthy octogenarians in "the old Willows Lake place where the mad doctor made monsters," a veiled reference to Bride of the Monster. Duke Moore (Plan 9, Sinister Urge) is Lt. Dan Bradford, undercover "spook chaser," investigating reports of mysterious goings-on at the mansion. You know you're watching an Ed Wood movie from the first scene: the clearly identified East Los Angeles police station is shown while Criswell describes the location as "Anytown U.S.A."; cut to the interior of the station where a 'Wanted' poster on the wall displays none other than the director himself. (He also appears in some brief "JD" footage.) Night of the Ghouls is actually somewhat controversial in bad film circles; some rank it as one of Wood's best, while others claim to find it boring. True, it does share a slower pace and relative lack of dizzying incompetence with Jail Bait, Wood's other neglected and similarly maligned 1950s feature. But all the requisite elements of an "Ed Wood movie" are here for the faithful: the florid Criswell narration and convoluted, mind-numbing dialogue; the wildly contrasting acting styles, from complete indifference to rampant scenery-chewing; the lurching, paradoxical continuity and non-sequitur edits; the poverty-stricken sets (darkness stands in for scenery a lot and Dr. Acula's makeup mirror is missing half its bulbs); and Gordon Zahler's cringeworthy stock music cues (also featured in Monstrosity, Astounding She Monster, and Beast of Yucca Flats). On balance, William C. Thompson's cinematography looks terrific, as usual (especially considering the schedule). Wood 'discovery' Valda Hansen emotes strangely as the White Ghost; Paul Marco does his so-unfunny-it's-amusing Kelton the Cop routine; Jeannie Stevens stalks and stares Vampira-like as the completely unexplained Black Ghost; zero-budget producer Anthony (Yucca Flats) Cardoza has a bit part; Wood's chiropodist, Tom Mason (who doubled Lugosi in Plan 9), appears as a Ross Perot-look ghost; and narrator Criswell (looking uncharacteristically rough in the intro) abruptly shows up at the climax, well-scrubbed and spit-curled, as an undead avenger, complete with 'sepulchral' vibra-tone vocal effect. Big Tor (in his third and final outing as "Lobo") sports what is perhaps makeup man Harry Thomas's wildest gross-out creation ever: he's got a creepy white eyeball and the other half of his face and shoulder are a mass of scar tissue (??). Unfortunately he doesn't get that much screen time (apparently Tor walked off the set at least once over money!) Check the scene where Lt. Bradford encounters Acula and Lobo and doesn't even seem to NOTICE the hideously scarred hulking brute standing right next to him! Actually improves with multiple viewings. CAUTION: Enjoyment of Night of the Ghouls is probably proportional with one's appreciation of Wood's previous work. While veteran Wood-heads will find familiar, if perhaps subtler, delights to groove on, I would advise the uninitiated to start with the more notorious films in the Ed Wood canon (Plan 9, Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster); first-time Wood viewers may not "get the references," and find Ghouls boring and confusing. To take the whole movie to another level, find a copy of Rudolph Grey's out-of-print Nightmare of Ecstasy, which contains some incredible anecdotes, particularly from Ms. Hansen and assistant director Ronnie Ashcroft (director/producer of Astounding She Monster), several of which concern Kenne Duncan's lecherous on-set behavior.
Presumably the last major release in the Image/Wade Williams "Edward D. Wood, Jr. Library," Night of the Ghouls looks spectacular on DVD. Williams supposedly rescued this film from oblivion by paying Wood's outstanding lab bills in the 1980s, so the elements are virtually pristine. You have to look really hard to see even the occasional speckle, and the brightness, contrast, grayscale, sharpness, and shadow/highlight detail are simply terrific, especially for a movie of its age and pedigree. The main menu is animated and the DD 1.0 mono sound is clear. Since the picture was never released theatrically there is no accompanying trailer, although five of the usual suspects are included in a cookie. Twelve chapter stops are the only other extra, but for hard-core Wood fans this is still essential. Others reread my cautionary statement.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovably awful Ed Wood effort!
Review: The most horribly illogical, surrealistically acted and edited, tackily photographed, and, therefore, best of all Ed Wood, Jr. movies. Medium Dr. Acula (Kenne Duncan) conducts seances in a trailer-style house that includes long, underlit hallways, hidden rooms galore, curtains everywhere, and actors struggling to figure out a.) what they're supposed to be doing, b.) where they're supposed to be looking, and c.) what expression they're supposed to be wearing. Inexplicably impersonated by players in Dr. Acula's employ, assorted loved ones are in various stages of rising from the dead, their returns paid for by living clients willing to place their trust in a shady-eyed, bad-turban-wearing seer headquartered somewhere in the middle of the woods. Coffins rest behind doors and on stage in the seance room--coffins that, logically enough, contain the dearly returning. And these are the moments and details that make sense!Of the alleged cast, only Kenne Duncan is able to act in the professional sense, and while he seems puzzled to be in this thing, his performance is pleasant and sufficiently sinister. Paul Marco, as Kelton the Cop, is funny in all the wrong ways. Tor Johnson returns as Lobo, and his presence has never been more hulking. This delightfully bad and endlessly fun winner of a loser is the closest approximation of a dream placed on film, if dreams can be said to ramble quite as much. Viewers don't deserve this much enjoyment! Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Lovably awful Ed Wood effort!
Review: The most horribly illogical, surrealistically acted and edited, tackily photographed, and, therefore, best of all Ed Wood, Jr. movies. Medium Dr. Acula (Kenne Duncan) conducts seances in a trailer-style house that includes long, underlit hallways, hidden rooms galore, curtains everywhere, and actors struggling to figure out a.) what they're supposed to be doing, b.) where they're supposed to be looking, and c.) what expression they're supposed to be wearing. Inexplicably impersonated by players in Dr. Acula's employ, assorted loved ones are in various stages of rising from the dead, their returns paid for by living clients willing to place their trust in a shady-eyed, bad-turban-wearing seer headquartered somewhere in the middle of the woods. Coffins rest behind doors and on stage in the seance room--coffins that, logically enough, contain the dearly returning. And these are the moments and details that make sense! Of the alleged cast, only Kenne Duncan is able to act in the professional sense, and while he seems puzzled to be in this thing, his performance is pleasant and sufficiently sinister. Paul Marco, as Kelton the Cop, is funny in all the wrong ways. Tor Johnson returns as Lobo, and his presence has never been more hulking. This delightfully bad and endlessly fun winner of a loser is the closest approximation of a dream placed on film, if dreams can be said to ramble quite as much. Viewers don't deserve this much enjoyment! Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Laugh Riot
Review: This is the first movie Wood made after Plan 9 From Outer Space, but it is acutally a sequel to Bride of the Monster. Because it is less epic in scope than Plan 9, and none of the actors died during filming, there are far fewer continuity errors to laugh about and less awkward exposition, but it is still a hilarious watch. Night of the Ghouls is supposedly based upon real incidents, kept secret by the police. They want us to believe that juvenile delinquincy is the nation's biggest problem, but it is actually the supernatural. They even have a cop specializing in such cases and are grooming another younger cop (who is obviously gay) to take over so that the older cop can have time to attend operas. Tor Johson, back as Lobo, horribly scarred as the result of the fire at the end of Bride of the Monster, is now working for a new master, Dr. Acula (clever name!), who sets up fake seances (OR DOES HE) in order to rip off his clients. Wood actually does a great job with Lobo's makeup, creating a very disquieting character. The seance scenes are even funnier than anything in Plan 9, and the actors in attendance obviously don't have a clue about how they are supposed to react to anything (that doesn't stop Wood from using quite lengthy reaction shots of them). There is an extremely long voiceover speech explaining the older cop's reactions to a handrail (something like "The handrail was colder to the touch than he had remembered it being that night all those years ago..."). In fact, it is so long, the handrail should have received credit as a character in the movie. And as usual, there are film clips from totally unconnected footage Wood had lying around from incomplete projects. A must see for fans of so bad they're great movies.
Rating:
Summary: A Laugh Riot
Review: This is the first movie Wood made after Plan 9 From Outer Space, but it is acutally a sequel to Bride of the Monster. Because it is less epic in scope than Plan 9, and none of the actors died during filming, there are far fewer continuity errors to laugh about and less awkward exposition, but it is still a hilarious watch. Night of the Ghouls is supposedly based upon real incidents, kept secret by the police. They want us to believe that juvenile delinquincy is the nation's biggest problem, but it is actually the supernatural. They even have a cop specializing in such cases and are grooming another younger cop (who is obviously gay) to take over so that the older cop can have time to attend operas. Tor Johson, back as Lobo, horribly scarred as the result of the fire at the end of Bride of the Monster, is now working for a new master, Dr. Acula (clever name!), who sets up fake seances (OR DOES HE) in order to rip off his clients. Wood actually does a great job with Lobo's makeup, creating a very disquieting character. The seance scenes are even funnier than anything in Plan 9, and the actors in attendance obviously don't have a clue about how they are supposed to react to anything (that doesn't stop Wood from using quite lengthy reaction shots of them). There is an extremely long voiceover speech explaining the older cop's reactions to a handrail (something like "The handrail was colder to the touch than he had remembered it being that night all those years ago..."). In fact, it is so long, the handrail should have received credit as a character in the movie. And as usual, there are film clips from totally unconnected footage Wood had lying around from incomplete projects. A must see for fans of so bad they're great movies.
Rating:
Summary: One of Woods lesser films
Review: Very good Ed Wood effort. Its not on the same level as some of his earlier work like Bride of the Monster, Glen or Glenda, or Plan 9 from Outer Space (which is one of those films like Citizen Kane, Seven Samarai, and the Godfather, that every good film buff should see). The monsters only seem to kill people who had done something wrong. At times, Wood overwrites, and/or seems to be reaching for camp!!! Nevertheless it still has that weird dialougue, bargain basement special effects, and mismatched footage. Check out his more popular movies, if you like what you see move on to this.
Rating:
Summary: Ed Wood is the King of Ineptitude
Review: You gotta love this guy: He is the Wile E. Coyote of filmdom: He got battered at every turn;rejected by mainstream Hollywood,but he never gave up.He continued to produce the most god-awful, and therefore,wonderful movies ever.This is one of his best.Just the scene of the old guy and his wife "driving" on the country road is worth the price of this DVD.And that's only the beginning!
It's odd,though: Intellectually you are fully aware of how horrible his movies were,but you can't help but love what he did,I guess because he was such a nice guy himself,and he was blessed with eternal optimism. I have all of his movies that are available,plus a couple of "Misties,"and I never tire of watching them.I really love this one in particular.It's cheesiness rating is "10," and it's fun quotient is 20.
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