Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Nigel P It's entirely possible I am over-familiar with Universal's better known horror films from the 30's and 40's, so watching one for the first time is a doubly pleasurable experience. Tremendous actors like George Zucco, Evelyn Ankers and Turhan Bey often play supporting characters, but in this they take centre stage without a Chaney or a Karloff to share the limelight with. And it impresses what a huge amount of dialogue they are given in each scene, and how convincingly they convey it. Lesser-known David Bruce is the titular creature here, playing Ted Allison, who becomes a slow thinking, shambling zombie-like henchman for Zucco's Alfred Morris and his nefarious activities, a ghoul who is reliant on the life-force from human hearts to avert his death.The film itself is slim, never designed to be a blockbuster, and comes complete with typical wisecracking cops and journalists, luckily only featuring briefly. And so it is Morris we are captivated by, and his machinations. His idle playing of the piano waiting for his student to fall under the power of the deadly steam in the next room is a good example of his evil – he craves the love of Isabelle (Ankers), Allison's disillusioned beau. The 32 year gap between them was more acceptable then than it seems to be now – and Allison is a likable character, not saddled with the bland smugness of hero-types of the time. However, when Morris discovers Isabelle has eyes only for her pianist Eric (a slick and fascinating Turhan Bey), he instructs Allison's alter-ego to kill 'the Turkish delight', as Bey had been dubbed due to his suave ways (at only 21 years old, he was the baby of the picture).'The Mad Ghoul' is reminiscent of 'Man-Made Monster' from a couple of years earlier, wherein Lionel Atwill conducted similarly debilitating experiments on Lon Chaney.The finale, when it comes, is solid and includes just desserts for Morris, who succumbs to the lethal Mayan gas. He transforms into a shambling ghoul and is last seen clawing at a grave in a bid to find a vital life-giving heart, but runs out of time. His death is cut off too quickly by the over-zealous end credits.

Michael_Elliott Mad Ghoul, The (1943)** 1/2 (out of 4) Decent Universal chiller has a doctor (George Zucco) experimenting with a Mayan gas that can bring life to the dead. He uses the gas on his partner (David Bruce) turning him into a zombie-like creature but one who still has feelings for his girlfriend (Evelyn Ankers). It also turns out that the gas eventually wears off so the doctor is constantly in search of fresh hearts to keep his zombie/assistant going. THE MAD GHOUL will never be confused with the Universal classics but at the same time it's actually on the mark with many of the studios outings from this period. I think the biggest problem with the film is its actual screenplay because once "The End" comes up you'll realize that not too much happened throughout the 65-minutes. Many elements are borrowed from 1935's THE RAVEN including the relationship between the doctor and his assistant. As in the Karloff-Lugosi picture, the relationship here as the doctor being the evil one and the film tries to get us to have sympathy for the monster who is actually the innocent victim. One really shouldn't come into this thing expecting any sort of logical story because once you really look at the material you'll probably have quite a few unanswered questions including how the zombie, who isn't suppose to remember anything, still manages to be a brilliant surgeon in his dead state. I'd also question how on Earth the doctor was able to discover this mysterious gas but that's another issue. What makes the film worth viewing are the performers as they all fit their roles nicely and add to the entertainment level. Ankers wasn't the greatest actress in the world but there's no doubt she was the Queen of this period of Universal films. Whenever she appears you can't help but have a smile on your face and in the films she's not in you often find yourself wondering why the studio didn't put her in the part. Bruce is pretty good as he manages to make you believe he is this smart character and he also handles the part of the monster and makes us feel for him. Zucco could play this type of role in his sleep so he delivers the goods as usual. Robert Armstrong appears briefly as a newspaper man trying to solve the case. He gives a good performance but I think the film could have done just fine without his comedy bit. Jack Pierce's make-up effects are rather cheap but effective. I liked the white face make-up and the skeleton like look that he gave the actor.

gftbiloxi Lovely concert singer Isabel Lewis (Evelyn Ankers) is engaged to marry medical student Ted Allison (David Bruce.) When she unexpectedly falls in love with her pianist Eric Iverson (a very suave Turhan Bey), she turns to Ted's laboratory boss Dr. Morris (George Zucco.) But it happens that Dr. Morris is in love with Isabel himself, and he decides to get rid of his assistant by subjecting him to ancient Mayan gas! Unfortunately for Ted, this gas is of a particularly nasty sort: it transforms him into a zombie-like creature. Under the control of Dr. Morris, Ted then participates in gathering the human hearts he must have for injections that allow him to return, temporarily, to normal.The idea for this story seems to arise from a number of sources, most particularly the silent classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, the various versions of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and THE RETURN OF DR. X--the latter a particularly peculiar B-flick featuring an unexpected Humphrey Bogart as a lab-created vampire of sorts. It other hands, the concept might have worked quite well, but although the cast is accomplished and the production values are generally quite good, the make-up effects are hardly up to the Universal standard, the pace is slow, and the script is quite dire.The film makes no effort to create any sort of "transformation" when actor David Bruce goes from golly-gee lab assistant to shambling zombie; it is a straight cut-away, cut-back-to shot, and the latter finds him in uninspired make-up and with very untidy hair. Director James P. Hogan maintains a pace every bit as leaden-footed as the zombie, and as for the script... well, it is probably this sort of script that Evelyn Ankers, the studio's "Scream Queen" of the 1940s, had in mind when she walked away from Universal a year later. Given the talents of the cast and the overall look of the film, which (make-up effects aside) is handsomely mounted, I find it difficult to give this film less than three stars. All the same, I greatly doubt that THE MAD GHOUL will have any appeal for those outside the circle die-hard Universal horror fans.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

BaronBl00d Of all the Universal stars and stock character actors, the one that seems to get lost in the shuffle the most is George Zucco. It is a shame as I can never say I saw him give a bad performance despite the lack of depth in the cinematic vehicle he was appearing in. Zucco is the star of Mad Ghoul and does a wonderful job playing a man obsessed with a pretty singer played by Evelyn Ankers. Zucco works with the fiancee of Ankers, both scientists working on what keeps life after death..in a zombie form at least. Ankers, however, is not quite sure she loves David Bruce still, and is having a relationship with the pianist touring with her, Turhan Bey, who has little to do in his role. Zucco somehow induces Bruce to become a zombie/ghoul at times...thus telling his pretty fiancee things that cool down the relationship so old George can have a crack at her..or so he thinks she might be so inclined toward him(not knowing about Bey of course). The Mad Ghoul is a wonderful film because it has some great scenes and dialogue for George Zucco. Zucco shines as a sinister man with a battle between moral conscience losing to his base desires. The rest of the cast is good(look for Robert Armstrong of King Kong fame), the scenes and graveyard sets in particular are very appropriate. Don't forget the Mad Ghoul when catching up with your list of Universal horror films. It is worth seeing if for no other reason than seeing Zucco in one of his finest performances.