MUMBAI: Ghoul, an evil spirit as per Arabic mythology, is the second offering from Phatom films on Netflix, after the extremely popular Sacred Games. Radhika Apte who was also a part of Sacred Games, plays the lead in this series, consisting of only three episodes.

Radhika plays Nida Rahim, a top performer at a military academy, where she turns in her father who is an apostate and practices sacrilegious beliefs. She gets a call of duty at a military interrogation center where her father was also kept, and that’s where the story starts. A grungy location, gives more of a feel than a regular military set up.
Ghoul takes us in a dystopian world where sectarian violence has reached a crisis point and a military clampdown is in effect. Ghoul also implicitly addresses Islamphobia and rising nationalism.  

Ghoul takes the cliché zombie concept and presents it in a unique manner. Though typecasting it as a horror series will surely upset fans of American Horror Story or The Walking Dead. Ghoul manages to add the suspense and builds up tension as the series progresses.
The flickering light bulbs, spooky sound effects and good old-fashioned jump-scares race up your heartbeat. The sound design by Anish John and background score by Benedict Taylor and NarendraChandravarkaris outstanding. The camerawork by Jay Oza is commendable and takes the show up many notches. A few slow-motion shots and sentimental music might remind you of Indian soap operas.Writer and director, Patrick Graham, clearly knew where his ship was sailing. This is Graham's first big project and he surely knows how content on OTT works.

As for the cast, Radhika Apte seems to have mastered the art of portraying complex characters with ease. As Nida, a daughter caught in a dilemma to choose between her father and the nation and later to choose between her colleagues and the right, is phenomenal. She is well supported by ManavKaul,a troubled colonel Sunil Da Cunha. After his last popular role as VidyaBalan's husband in TumhariSulu, he proves his caliber yet again. The surprise package though is RatnabaliBhattacharjee, who plays nationalist lieutenant Laxmi Das. She effortlessly makes you want to hate her every time she doubtsRadhikaApte. Apart from Radhika's father S.M. Zaheer, the rest of the cast could certainly have been better.

Ghoul leaves a tease for the second season. You won’t regret spending your time on three episodes.

I go with 3.5 out of 5 stars for this thriller.