As a detective, Chris, (Meeten) investigates a double murder, the case begins to indicate the best way to follow up leads is to go undercover as a patient seeking psychotherapy for depression. What follows is a sinister story where nothing and no one seems reliable and Chris begins to doubt himself. An intense psychological thriller, with a panoply of shady characters and an unsettling score that ramps up the tension, The Ghoul is a debut feature for Tunley and made on a tiny budget.  It’s also a fine example if indie filmmaking and London noir grabbing 4 stars from reviewers again and again.

The titular ghoul is metaphoric and allusive. “I like that the title has a B-movie energy to it,” says Tunley. “And even though it’s not a horror film, it owes a huge amount to the genre. Horror and detective stories have intersected in all sorts of interesting ways in the past, going all the way back to Edgar Allen Poe. I think they come from the same part of society, to some degree.”

“London is shot by DP Benjamin Pritchard, often at low angle, as a disorienting labyrinth that engulfs and entraps Chris as he tries to find his way through a perplexing puzzle created by his own fugitive mind.” Anton Bitel, British Film Institute

‘Gareth Tunley’s terrific shoestring debut as writer and director creates a pleasingly perplexing enigma of a movie.’Wendy Ide, The Observer