Ed Wood loses Bela Lugosi. His "Plan 9" wasn't what he thought it was, nobody seems interested in his hopes to create something meaningful, and so he decides to return to the Gothic horror films he loved as a child, in some sense, maybe, possibly, slightly, to start afresh. And he fails. Again.
Night of the Ghouls loses a lot that makes "Plan 9 from Outer Space" so endearing. It's corny premise has no world-changing theme to back it up. Bela Lugosi can't add his particular brand of screen presence to at least make the film digestible. Others of his stock company aren't even talking to him. Thus, Wood makes up for lost encouragement by adding more silly lightning strikes, a floating saxophone (oh yeah, you can see the strings, just like the flying saucers in "Plan 9"), a man in a sheet as a ghost, and even worse sound editing and acting to basically reach what I feel is his lowest and most incompetent results. Is it possible the man is just trying to fail?
If there's anything redeemable in this, it's that Ed Wood still believes with all his heart that Tor Johnson is scary, and that helps make Night of the Ghouls just as charming and cute as his previous features. Also, this film is at least more interesting than "Jail Bait" because Wood's imagination is out to provide the most random and outrageous results. "Night of the Ghouls" is, and should always be, one of Wood's lesser known works, but for any Woodheads out there it's still worth the rental it undoubtedly remains.
--PolarisDiB
Night of the Ghouls loses a lot that makes "Plan 9 from Outer Space" so endearing. It's corny premise has no world-changing theme to back it up. Bela Lugosi can't add his particular brand of screen presence to at least make the film digestible. Others of his stock company aren't even talking to him. Thus, Wood makes up for lost encouragement by adding more silly lightning strikes, a floating saxophone (oh yeah, you can see the strings, just like the flying saucers in "Plan 9"), a man in a sheet as a ghost, and even worse sound editing and acting to basically reach what I feel is his lowest and most incompetent results. Is it possible the man is just trying to fail?
If there's anything redeemable in this, it's that Ed Wood still believes with all his heart that Tor Johnson is scary, and that helps make Night of the Ghouls just as charming and cute as his previous features. Also, this film is at least more interesting than "Jail Bait" because Wood's imagination is out to provide the most random and outrageous results. "Night of the Ghouls" is, and should always be, one of Wood's lesser known works, but for any Woodheads out there it's still worth the rental it undoubtedly remains.
--PolarisDiB