Every so often you come across something that seems to be a different part of the same genre and story that we’ve seen again and again, but upon reading about the live-action Tokyo Ghoul movie one might actually rethink that attitude a bit since this movie is something quite different that fans and lovers of horror movies might actually get into. The whole idea comes along when a young man has his organs replaced with a ghoul’s and becomes, in a sense, a half-ghoul. Backing it up just a moment to explain, ghouls live among human beings in this world but have to hide their tendencies to eat flesh as it sets them apart and brings the authorities down on them. That being the case they are still out in the open a lot but otherwise keep their practice of eating flesh to themselves. When the aforementioned young man’s date is revealed to be a ghoul however her organs are placed into his body and he becomes a half-ghoul, someone that has to eat flesh to survive, but is also still part human.
If there’s anyone that doesn’t know what a ghoul is at this point then it’s fairly easy to explain. A ghoul is a humanoid that retains some semblance, or in this case, a full idea of who they are and what they are, but still have to consume human flesh in order to survive. Unlike zombies they are still functional human beings, but depending on where they show up they might be stronger, more vicious, or just as human in appearance as anyone else. In this movie it seems that they’re able to blend in quite easily with humanity, at least until they get hungry. Starvation for a ghoul seems to be just as bad if not worse than starvation for a human since while the food supply is ready and at hand, the practice of harvesting and consuming it is slightly more problematic. But this movie seems to get dark very quickly as it leans into the idea that the young man must come to grips with who and what he is.
The tone and feel of this movie, as it’s derived from a manga series, does in fact feel kind of bleak and even manic in some spots since the whole idea of ghouls and the eating of flesh is something that’s inherently dark and doesn’t bring to mind a lot of positive images. In fact if you watch just the trailer you might find that it seems like an utterly hopeless case in which the young man absolutely has to grow used to eating flesh or simply check out on his own terms. The whole issue of being a ghoul that eats human flesh after all is that it would ostracize anyone that was discovered since humanity places a great amount of concern in their citizens when it comes down to a choice between something they don’t understand and the moral decision to save someone in need. Ghouls are obviously a major threat to the well-being of humans, but the fact that in this movie they seem to coexist somehow in secrecy seems to indicate that they’re not quite as big of a problem that people want to worry over. That, or people decide to not notice on purpose.
Be that as it may this does seem like an interesting movie since the imagery in the trailer indicates that there is going to be a great deal of meaning placed within the movie and will seek to explain the details behind being a ghoul in a very big and perhaps nuanced way. The manner by which monsters such as ghouls are treated and depicted in this film are quite different than most anything you’d find in other parts of the world largely because each culture and region has their own interpretation of movie monsters and continue to come up with new and innovative ways to depict them that are quite horrifying when you really think about it. In the eyes of many a ghoul is someone that is made into an obvious threat by dint of looking either very pale, or diseased, or even sallow-skinned and somehow dangerous. This film doesn’t go that route as it instead chooses to focus on keeping the ghouls looking as human as possible. Plus, the type of imagery that is shown throughout the trailer seems to indicate that there will be a great deal of morality thrown into the story to paint a vivid picture of the struggle that the young man is going through and just what kind of thoughts are rattling around in his head as he’s coming to grips with the idea that he’ll have to eat people to survive.
It seems like a very interesting movie.
Follow Us
