The Ghoul (1975)

The Ghoul is a 1975 British Tyburn Film Productions horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, John Hurt and Alexandra Bastedo. In the United States, the film was released as Night Of The Ghoul and The Thing In The Attic.

Plot
In 1920s England, a party of friends, Angela, Geoffrey, Daphne Wells Hunter and Billy, take part in a motorcar race to Land's End. Daphne and Billy run out of petrol, so Billy goes to look for help, but takes so long that Daphne ventures out on her own to find him. She locates a mansion owned by Mr. Lawrence, a former clergyman. He invites to stay for the night and sends his caretaker, Tom Rawlings, to find Billy. Tom finds Billy waiting in the car for Daphne and pushes the car over a ravine, killing him.

While Daphene is sleeping, Lawrence's Indian servant, Ayah, lets out a ghoulish-looking man from the attic, who brutally murders Daphne. Ayah then cooks Daphne's flesh and feeds it to the ghoul.

The next day, Angela and Geoffrey learn of Billy's death from the local police sergeant and set out to find Daphne, unaware she is dead. They too run out of petrol, so Geoffrey goes to look for help. Angela is found and abducted by Tom, who sexually assaults her and holds her prisoner in Lawrence's house. Geoffrey finds Lawrence's house and inquires about Daphne. Lawrence convinces him that Daphne safely made it back into town.

Tom is sent to help Geoffrey with his car, and seeing this as an opportunity, he tries to kill him, but is subdued and forced to explain his actions. Tom admits Daphne was eaten by something living in Lawrence's attic that feeds on human flesh. Geoffrey confronts Lawrence, who reveals that the ghoul in his attic is his son Simon, who has been a cannibal since he was possessed by a satanic cult during a family trip to India. As a result, Lawrence's wife Harriet committed suicide and Lawrence lost his faith. Ayah is a sacrificial cult member who Lawrence hired to prepare Simon's food. Lawrence kept Simon alive because he promised Harriet he would do so. Geoffrey confronts Simon, who kills him and escapes.

Meanwhile, Tom attempts to rape Angela, but Simon brutally murders him. Unwilling to let more people die, Lawrence reluctantly decides to break his promise to Harriet and kill Simon, saving Angela, who escapes. Heartbroken that he now has no one left to live for, Lawrence committs suicide to be with Simon and Harriet.

Cast

 * Peter Cushing as Mr. Lawrence
 * Alexandra Bastedo as Angela
 * Ian McCulloch as Geoffrey
 * Don Henderson as Simon Lawrence
 * John Hurt as Tom Rawlings
 * Gwen Watford as Ayah
 * Veronica Carlson as Daphne Wells Hunter
 * Stewart Bevan as Billy
 * Dan Meaden as the Police Sergeant
 * John D. Collins as the Party Guest