Night of the Ghoul #3 Review

More of the truth slips out.

Creative Staff:
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Francesco Francavilla
Letterer: Andworld Design

What They Say:
Filmmaker T.F. Merrit has spent decades confined in a retirement facility, which he claims is run by The Order of the Fly, a cult organization from his very own movie. And as the night goes on, Forest Inmann and his son Orson find themselves falling deeper into his cinematic nightmare.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I was definitely keen on Night of the Ghoul with its first issue as it plays in the realm of horror, something that I get to see a fair bit of but not enough with talents like these. Scott Snyder is certainly capable of working in this genre and the diverse stories he’s told over the years with his various works, and in more mainstream books, has shown that clearly. The second installment really ramped things up and this third issue takes us to one of the money shots with what’s going on. With this series, which I suspect might be the shortest of the projects, he’s paired with Francesco Francavilla. I adore Francavilla’s artwork in general and the color design he uses, making it an easy purchase just for that. He’s ideal for this story that takes place at night for part of it and in the past for others, which is sepia-soaked.

The events of this issue continue to deal with the past and present pretty well. The past is intriguing as Kurt’s son and his friend engage with Professor Holloway to try and find out more about the ghoul. She’s not exactly willing at first because we know there’s a price paid to those that have followed it in the past, and the loss of her legs is just a reminder of that. It plays well to get more of a history of the ghoul and to put Alex clearly on the hunt for what’s causing his father so much pain. And it’s why when they go to several of his former fellow soldiers to try and get an assist. The idea slowly forms around a kind of group to try and hunt the ghoul, but convincing them of the reality of it is going to take some time.

The storyline in the present plays in a different kind of creepy way with Forest continuing to try and get details out of Merrit over the film and what happened in the past. But the interruption at the end of the previous issue by the administrator that’s clearly fully in control throws it askew. Even worse, Forest’s son Orson is caught snooping below where the bodies of children are, though there’s naturally a cover story that works there as well. This just puts Forest into a panic over his son combined with being interrupted and being caught that he’s not who he said he was. There’s a lot that comes out over the fallout of all of this, but Forest is foolishly redoubling his efforts to make a name for himself to find out about the film, but it’s just drawing him into the reality of the Ghoul all the more.

In Summary:
There’s a lot of good stuff going on here, especially the brief but critical moments we get between Orson and his father over what Orson’s mother is going through and how that changes the course of the investigation. There’s a lot of familiar movements here in how Forest and the director handle their discussion but it’s executed well with the art style while the material set in the past is interesting just to build up the lore of the Ghoul, even if it is again a familiar and kind of generic thing in a way. The execution is what’s driving this more than the actual story because it is a familiar thing, but it’s done so well and with enough hooks to draw you in that you want to see it unfold and have some kind of hope for the characters, especially for the younger ones like Alex and Orson.

Grade: B+

Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Best Jackett Press / ComiXology Originals
Release Date: December 21st, 2021
MSRP: $3.99