This film is a curiosity in the classic horror field and it easily gained a cult-status for some very simple reasons. First of all, because "The Ghoul" was the very first British horror film with sound, and that's quite spectacular since Britain would later become one of most eminent horror-producing countries (with Hammer, Tigon, etc
). Secondly and more importantly "The Ghoul" was considered a lost film for many decades, so when a reasonably undamaged copy was discovered, naturally many Boris Karloff fans wanted to see it right away. So, purely talking trivia, this film is well worth a purchase. On the other hand, however, it's a very uneven and lacking thriller that doesn't deliver many chills. Especially compared to other classic Karloff-titles of that period (like "Frankenstein", "The Mummy" or "The Old Dark House"), "The Ghoul" is slow-paced and unmemorable. The film stars Boris Karloff (with an impressive pair of eyebrows) as a dying professor who believes an Egyptian jewel will grant him immortality. He wishes to be buried with it, but when his servant steals it from his tomb, the professor resurrects as a zombie on a quest for revenge. Half way through the screenplay, the story all of a sudden turns into a comedy with a whole bunch of bizarre characters that're all chasing a treasure they don't know. Some of the dialogues are very well written but the film lacks action and atmosphere. Simply put, "The Ghoul" is really tedious whenever Boris Karloff is not on screen. And, unfortunately, that's for about 75% of the entire length.
