NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (1959)
Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Image Entertainment

Ed Wood, often incorrectly quoted as being the "worst director of all time" (by viewers who obviously have not ventured further into the cult film genre), made two for the history books with BRIDE OF THE MONSTER and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Both films featured many of the same cast members, appropriately inane dialogue, and trademark bargain basement special effects. But for years, the third installment in the unofficial monster trilogy, NIGHT OF THE GHOULS, remained a rumor in the filmographies of all involved. Only in 1984 did it emerge to be seen by the public. Such a shame it isn't worth the wait.

Lt. Bradford (Duke Moore, who never made movies for anyone else but Wood) is called out to investigate a double murder at a ghostly mansion inhabited by fake medium Dr. Acula (western star Kenne Duncan) and his female companion Sheila, aka the White Ghost (Valda Hansen, who resembles silent star Lillian Gish in some of her longshots). Also on hand is Lobo (the enormous Tor Johnson, playing this character for the third and last time), a deformed strongman and Kelton the Cop (Paul Marco, playing this character for the third time), who bumbles his way through the film like a lost Bowery Boy.

NIGHT OF THE GHOULS doesn't actually contain a plot. The events of the film take place in one night and never stray from two sets, a police station and the haunted house and its surrounding grounds. While the majority of Wood's films are at least stupidly entertaining, GHOULS doesn't reach the heights of so-bad-it's-good. Instead, it's just plain bad. Sure, there's the usual wooden acting, shoddy special effects, and stilted dialogue, but all these elements do not fuse together as successfully as Wood's earlier epics. On the plus side, there is some impressive lighting and camerawork by William C. Thompson. And Valda Hansen is a lovely starlet, who surprisingly would graduate to skin flicks like NORMA and WHAM BAM THANK YOU SPACEMAN!!! In the end, NIGHT OF THE GHOULS is worth a rental for curiosity's sake, but you could do better with BRIDE OF THE MONSTER or GLEN OR GLENDA, both of which are on also on DVD and offer a much better view into the twisted world of Edward D. Wood, Jr.

The print used for the disc's presentation may be the only one in existence. Legend has it that the film was never released theatrically because Wood couldn't afford to pay the lab processing bill, so it languished in a vault until 1984 when Wade Williams acquired the film. The transfer is crisp and acceptable, with little dirt or scratches. The mono mix, on the other hand, is incredibly weak, you'll have to crank the volume for this one.

As with many Wade Williams titles, the extras are slim to none. Because NIGHT OF THE GHOULS was never released theatrically, there is no theatrical trailer offered, but viewers do get to see previews for other Wade Williams discs like BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, SHE DEMONS, MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL, THE FLYING SAUCER, and THE CRAWLING EYE. (Casey Scott)

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