A space captain embarks on a dangerous mission to a prison planet in the wonderfully silly sci-fi serial throwback, The Galactic Ghoul. Directed by Simon Harrisson, it’s presented through the Fantasia International Film Festival.
The Galactic Ghoul is a loving homage to classic B-movie sci-fi of a certain, silly, serial type. Following a space captain and his crew as they take down an evil galactic queen is a blast of over-the-top do-it-yourself crackerjack energy. The Simon Harrisson-helmed film, with banger performers from Katherine Isabelle and Vincent Hoss-Desmarias, is presented as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Not unlike the similarly green-screened New Jack Fury of last year’s SIFF, Galactic Ghoul leans into everything that has been parodied to oblivion in this sort of film. But parodied with a sheer love of the do-it-yourself filmmaking, pure will of design, and the best of energy. It’s the sort of thing from the 50s with Commander Cody and its ilk (often riffed on MSt3k), the sheer chutzpah that Ed Wood at his “best” could push out if he went more sci-fi outside of some aspects of Plan Nine From Outer Space. In the modern era, one can pull connections to the series of Holodeck episodes of Star Trek Voyager that cast Paris and forever-Ensign Kim as heroes against Janeway’s evil queen, Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, or last year’s Vampire Zombies… from Space! Very different sot of thing, but take all that and mix with Hundred of Beavers and its method of madness.
This is what Simon Harrisson and team bring to Galactic Ghoul. It’s overloaded with infection energy, going 100% in style and method. The story finds space adventurer Oscar Bravo and his right-hand man Lieutenant Foxtrot traveling to the planet Toum, led by Queen Xaltalusia XXIII. It’s a tough road to freeze her and take her down, but he’s in for the long run, dealing with all sorts of alien creations, weird tech, and anything else that can be pushed together with hot glue and a hoarder’s garage.
The homespun hilarity powers The Galactic Ghoul’s engine. Cobbled together costumes, props, ships, and more with handmade sound effects (and at least one Wilhelm Scream), all placed in front of a green screen (thus the New Jack Fury reference, for that early 90s throwback was fully green screen as well). One may scoff at “green screen sets,” but it works, setting the tone as much as a cardboard set in the titles riffed upon. The artificiality is the key, leaning into the “we are not trying ot make it look real in the last bit… dammit, have fun with us.”
Everyone overdoes it to just the right level, with quirky reading and peculiar accents. There’s nothing natural, and it rocks. Vincent Hoss-Desmarias plays both of the male leads with great energy. The character of Oscar Bravo is an over-the-top lending on pompous ass, in a good way, and as Lt. Foxtrot, hilarious and just perfectly timed line readings with the exaggerated Mid-Atlantic accent. Katherine Isabelle of Ginger Snaps and Freddy Vs Jason plays perfectly well, replicating Vampira in Plan Nine with the peculiar way to hold her arms, and I loved her styling of performance.
As one would expect, that’s not the only reference. It’s a fun game of “what film is this from?” with one example the ping pong ball eyed mosnters of Killers From Space. Building up the monsters as puppets, creatures in costumes, and more lends a visual delight of cheap and not-so-cheap-but-invoking-cheap effects. Smiles all around with each just right choice.
The Galactic Ghoul is overlong, though, but I get it. With a film like this, it’s tempting to take every single idea and put it on the screen when you have the chance. It’s never boring, and it does set up and pay off gags and story bits well (the scripting isn’t slapdash; the full set-up is there). But something so visually impressive and screaming at the viewer wears down. It can get overwhelming at a long stretch.
The Galactic Ghoul is a blast of sci-fi serial throwback silliness. Simon Harisson has a great love of B-movie cheesiness, and it shows. It’s a blast of energy in replication and homage, with so many little touches and jokes to keep things moving in fun ways, even if it goes on a tad too long. But for anyone interested in anything in this write-up, it’ll work for you. Now featured at the Fantasia International Film Festival, running in Montreal from July 16th through August 2nd, let’s hope Galactic Ghoul beams home soon.