Customer Reviews

The Ghost

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Ghost or "Ryeong" is a new Korean horror film, part of the Tartan Asia Extreme line. The film is shackled with the tag line "The Grudge meets Dark Water" and that does a real disservice to the film for a number or reasons. The Ghost doesn't have nearly the scare factor of The Grudge but it has vastly superior characterization and a more complex plot. While the Grudge was a straight horror film, The Ghost is more of a mystery with horror elements.

Min Ji-Won is a student suffering from amnesia. She experienced a traumatic event a year ago and has lost all memories of her past. Something terrible happened but everyone around her avoids revealing the details. Min plans to leave her home and go to school far away to try and get her life back together. This results in an angry conflict with her mother who doesn't want to be left alone and assails Min with a guilt trip. Meanwhile her sometimes boyfriend, Park, does his best to get Min to carry on with life, but he's also unwilling to tell her about her past.

Min has become something of a pariah at school, avoided by her former friends. When those friends end up dying, one by one, apparently of drowning, Min begins experiencing visions and flashbacks. She visits one of her friends who has been hospitalized in a psych ward and she learns about Su-in, who was bullied and humiliated because her family was poor. A shaken Min realizes that she was the ring-leader of her school clique that tormented Su-in, often pretending to be her friend just so they could embarrass her later. A desperate Min tries to unravel the events that led to the tragedy and her loss of memory but Min may not like what she finally uncovers.

The Ghost also gets compared quite a bit to The Ring and yes, we do have that ubiquitous long, dark haired female ghost out for revenge but that's where the comparison ends. There's a distinctly different feel to The Ghost than The Ring and other Asian films. The Ghost really go doesn't go for the quick scares that make you jump out of your seat, preferring a more cerebral approach. You quickly find yourself caught up in wanting to know what happened to Min a year a go that caused her to loser her memories. The ghost became secondary to Min's situation.

Ha-Neul Kim as Min draws upon our sympathies for her dilemma and then promptly turns things upside down when we find out that Min wasn't such a nice girl to begin with. Just when you think things have been resolved, an unexpected twist near the end will change your whole view of the film.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the performances in The Ghost, especially Ha-Neul Kim's and Ran Choi's, who played Min's rather twisted mother. The soundtrack reminded me of old school horror films that had that pulse-pounding quality to it. I suppose The Ghost could be criticized for being a bit slow in spots and it's a valid point. On the other hand I appreciated Director Tae-kyeong Kim's clever plot and character development. Certainly this is a different film than other Asian horror films but give it a chance, I think you will be surprised.

This Korean horror flick is not very different from some of the other Korean horror movies that have flooded the market recently, but it is still worth a watch. Yes, there is the familiar long-haired spectre that haunts the victims in this movie, but the plot is compelling. It revolves around a college student Ji Won who is suffering from amnesia after a terrible accident. She sees troubling visions, and then some of the girls she knew from before the accident start to mysteriously die...i won;t give too much away, but suffice to say that just as you are figuring things out, there is a twist towards the end of the movie involving the concept of reincarnation & possession. Worth a watch for any Asian horror fan.

I bought this movie some time ago but only now got around to watching it. I enjoyed it a lot; I give it 4 stars though because I don't think it was as good as other Korean horror/mystery movies (such as a Tale of Two Sisters). I did not see "the Grudge meets Dark Water" in it at all, personally; and I don't think it's fair to compare it to Ring just because of some images of a drowned ghost girl with long hair. The title is rather misleading cause it isn't really a ghost movie. This movie deals a lot with different themes; jealousy leading to tragedy; relationships between friends; extreme guilt; identity crisis (but not in a boring way); etc, like other Korean movies of this type; It's more comparable to those than to Japanese horrors or the American remakes. If you're looking for something with only scare after scare, then I guess it isn't for you, although there are definitly scares & creepy moments. It's a movie you will be trying to piece together all throughout (so is the main character)...but it won't leave you frustrated in the end. You will enjoy the end! I thought the actresses made you really feel the emotions of the characters too. It is worth watching even if you think you're bored of Asian horror and mystery movies.

I realy liked this movie. I don't think this movie is cliche or follows the basic patterns of other asian horror movies. It might be slow at some times, but the other parts of the movie more than make up for it. Throughout the movie it makes you wonder "What the hell is going on?!" and when you think you figured it out, the end twist blasts your mind away(or at least it did mine). I also liked the fact how most things are explained, unlike american horror movies, by the time it ended. I also like how they made it so you can feel sympathy for the ghost(or at least at first...), and having general charractor developemant all around. One more thing I like is how they give "hints" and "tells" before the "big revreal". If you watch enough asian horror movies, you might figure it out: I know I didn't.
Overall I would realy recomend this movie to watch. I believe it is as good as Silk and The Eye.

Many people criticise Asian horrors for the over use of female black-haired ghost, but... how many of those that stray from the path are actually good? Just saying "Well, the IDEA was good" or "It COULD have been good" doesn't cut it.

This movie is very typical in this genre, but if you don't like the ghost movies why are you even watching? I found this one to be great, with not too slow of a pace and an ending that makes you say "What the hell happened?" --- in a good way.

Many discussions of asian horror and korean horror mention Ryeong (the Ghost); after watching the Tartan Extreme DVD, I can see why. The plot is 99% formulaic, without any of the flourishes that other k-horror movies add to differentiate themselves.

However, this means that it's a perfect specimen to study all the conventions of Korean horror: it covers the usual physical representations, such as the young girl ghost with the long dark hair and the preoccupation with water, but also the deeper cultural issues that differentiate Korean horror from, say, Japanese horror. These include the search for identity and missing memory; a sense of shame about oneself or one's origins; a high school setting (Korean high schools are notoriously difficult and high-pressure); and a group of girls ganging up and victimizing a weaker girl.

The by-the-numbers plot covers all these things as if the director had been working from a checklist. Sadly, it also suffers from the problems that often plague asian horror films, including a paper-thin story and ridiculous non-explanations for key events.

If I was just rating Ryeong on the story or thrills, I'd give it a generous two stars and recommend that you look elsewhere for entertainment. If you're interested in studying asian horror/Korean horror, then this is like cinematic cliffs notes.

Asian movies are far more frightening to watch than the american version of their stories. This movie was predictable in many ways...a ghost with long black hair over her face, the deathly pale hand that grabs the victims shoulder, and young teenage girls dying. However, this story also had a plot that could fit any time period. After all, there is always the quiet nerdy girl who wants so badly to fit in and be like the leader of the pack that she will do almost anything...she might even die for it!

Asian filmmakers are still trying to milk the ghost story for everything its worth. Over the last couple of years these movies have taken a major downfall. While not horrible it's just the same basic story with different actors.

Some have been enjoyable, but more often than not they just aren't working as well. Director Tae-kyeong Kim really doesn't try and offer much of a difference than what has come before.

He follows the same basic format of films past, while that did work for a while because it was new and when it started to get a little clichéd, filmmakers were able to put their own twist on it, but now there isn't much that can be done differently you just hope the movie can be entertaining.

The Ghost really isn't a bad movie it's just we have seen it done before and seen it done better. Tae-kyeong Kim manages to put together some solid suspenseful moments, but again it just suffers from being too much of a rehash.

The concept while clichéd was interesting, but it just came out too slow paced and not enough set up on the story. The characters were interesting, but they just didn't have enough of a well drawn out plot.

The Ghost can be quite slow at times and the script was rather weak; when it came down to suspense it sort of works, but I already explained why it doesn't totally work. The scares are predictable, but some work well and others come out decent.

The scene in the movie theater was an excellent and creepy scene and showed the potential The Ghost had. There were other moments like that that help The Ghost come out a little better than maybe it should have.

The final act was a bit weak; obviously you know there is gonna be some kind of twist there always seems to be. The twist was alright and not too confusing, but it just doesn't seem to work.

If you aren't sick of the Asian ghost flick The Ghost might be worth watching; for the rest check it out at your own risk. For those new to these movies The Ghost will probably deliver, but you can do better.

In closing, The Ghost really isn't a bad movie by any means. The acting is pretty good, but the script is weak and while there are some suspenseful moments it's just the same movie we have seen plenty of times. Decent watch, but forgettable.

Does anyone remember that we started watching asian horror because it was fresh and different? Now they all seem to fit a standard pattern. Subtle tones, creepy longhaired brat, drag in the middle, stunning realization at the end. I'm starting to long for zombie flicks and torture genre's of good ole USA.

The movie was not that great. It jumped around a little too much. It was no SILK