Customer Reviews

Ghost Gate (2003)

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a heads up for anyone interested, Ghost Gate is dubbed, there are no audio options. When I press play on the trailers it stops the dvd.
You have been warned.

"Ghost Gate" commits the unforgivable sin of a foreign-language DVD; There is no original language track. There is absolutely no reason for a DVD to be produced that doesn't contain a subtitle track along with the original voice track, in this case Japanese. On that basis alone, this is a one-star DVD.

This film is the first in a six-part series called "Series Kyofu Yawa" ("Series Horror Night Tale") that includes Demon Hunting, The Last Coffin, Legend of Ogre, Melocholia and In the Site. Fortunately, I think "Ghost Gate" is the only one in the series to not come with a Japanese-language track, and the remainder probably do not have that problem. The films are all fairly amateur, filmed on video and utilizing a cast with few if any professional credits. One gets the sense that they are largely the director and his friends getting together to make a movie. There is nothing wrong with that, and the results can be a lot of fun to watch. I really enjoyed "Legend of Ogre", and the others I have seen in the series are worth a watch.

"Ghost Gate" director Yamaguchi Makoto is also not exactly a skilled professional, and his only non-amateur credit is the ill-received TV series "Kyofu Gakuen" or "Frightful School". Still, he obviously has a passion for horror and makes good use of limited special effects. Unfortunately, his lack of skill shows as boom mikes and crew-member limbs pop up from time to time taking you right out of the scene.

The story has a group of students spending a weekend in an ancient castle to investigate a murder, for which a 50,000,000 yen reward has been posted. The group fancies themselves as amateur ghost hunters, and this is not their first foray into the spooky unknown. Inside, they find a cellphone with pictures of people getting murdered by a mysterious ghost figure in the background. The group tries to make a speedy exit, but the castle door snaps shut, trapping them inside and the game is on.

I have to say that this was the worst of the "Series Kyofu Yawa", not only for the bad dubbing but the movie as a whole. Like the rest of the series, there are a few Japanese bikini models making appearances, in this case Yabe Miho being the main attraction. But looking good in a bikini doesn't make you a good actress, and she keeps all of her clothes firmly on. There really isn't too much here to recommend, and getting one of Miho's photobooks would be a better use of your money. Definitely one to miss.

ITS MADE BUY SOME KIDS AND A CAMERA BORING IT MADE ME FALL ASLEEP ME AND MY BROTHERS IN LAW I JUST SPENT $16.95 FOR NOTHING.