Customer Reviews

Seventh Moon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Ghosthouse released eight films the prior year (similar to the horrorfest releases) and a handful of them were very good or simply wierd and therefore good as a result. I purchased and chose them based off reviews from various horror sights. This year, ghosthouse again has released a few flicks (four actually) and this was rated the second best out of the group. With its star of Amy Smart, cool box cover, and one of the two directors/writers of the Blair Witch film (Ed Sanchez), I picked it up on sale first week of release. Sanchez did a pretty decent film called Altered a few years back so I hoped this one would be as good.

The first half of the film we find out our couple are on their honeymoon in China. The husband's family was/is of Chinese ancestry and he has various family still there. During their time there, a festival of the seventh moon is occurring in which superstition says that the dead are freed from hell on the seventh full moon of the year. As with our Halloween, this festival is a bit similar though more a fair/carnival feel. Anyways, after their fun in the city they head out with their tour guide to the rural section of China to visit the husband's relatives. The trip takes much longer than expected and by the time the tour guide gets lost, it is already dark as night and out in the farms/hills of rolling China, there are no street lights. Eventually they come to a darkened village and the tour guide decides to go ask one of the town folk where they are. This is the beginning of the setup for our movie.

So far so good, right? Well, unfortunately problems begin on three levels. The first and foremost is the camera. The entire film is filmed with a shakey-cam which can sometimes work (see Mulberry Street, Blair Witch, Cloverfield, etc.) but here it is horrible. And there is a reason! Because of the second major problem of this film: night filming. The entire film is in complete darkness. We do not have the filmed at dusk and then digitally darkening the film. Nor do we have night filming with backlighting. It is supposed to be full moon and yet still, no light. With a shaky cam and complete darkness, it is disorienting and terribly hard to follow a lot of the film. This really ruined the enjoyment factor of the film for me.

The third and final fault was the last third of the screenplay. It was not written well at all and we get some sequences that may or may not be dream sequences, that end up causing almost as much confusion for the viewer as the darkness/shakey-cam, and bring complete hault to what was a very suspenseful and action oriented mystery-horror flick.

Though the camera and darkness ruined a lot of the enjoyment, the story was pretty good and had its shocks and scares. The rural part of China and the items used to make suspense worked unbelievabley well ("what was that in the street", a gong like windchime (similar to a church bell), animals crying in the darkness, etc.) But then this grinding halt in the screenplay and what turned out to be a somewhat sappy ending made this film simply mediocre. I really wanted to love this film but unfortunately I only enjoyed it. Is it worth seeing, sure, but don't get your hopes up. Enjoy it for what it is: a technically flawed film with a mediocre third act that had a lot of promise in its rolling hills and its rural village in a far away land, a supernatural occurrance, no where to run/hide, and a nightmare of a night for a young American couple.

Being a major fan of horror films I am always looking to expand my collection. Upon seeing this film at my local store I decided to give it a try. Past Ghosthouse films have had a wide range of delivery in my opinion. Some of these films can range from good and scary, to more bland and cliche resulting in no scares and a tediously drawn out and complicated story. Well I was quite surprised with "Seventh Moon".

The story takes place in China, where a couple is spending their honeymoon together. They hear about a cultural practice and learn about what happens during the full moon of the seventh lunar month. They are told that the dead are free to roam the Earth on this day and sacrifices must be made to please the spirits. This holiday is actually culturally correct. It is called "The Ghost Festival" and occurs on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month in China. This celebration is also known as "Ghost Day" and citizens of China actually believe that their deceased relatives are free to return to Earth for this one day, much like the Mexican tradition known as "Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)". This film builds upon that concept of the dead returning, but elaborates into also suggesting that demons are free to roam the Earth as well.

Focusing on the newly wed couple, the film depicts how desperate the two become when face to face with the moon demons. It seems as if everywhere the couple turns, the demons are close behind, and with none of the locals willing to lend a helping hand, the couple must fight for survival on their own. The story progresses from a large city to a small field and ends at a cemetery/monastery building. The wide variety of scenery is well done and the acting is top notch, allowing you to feel the terror that the people feel when being attacked by "Moon Demons".

During the first 20 minutes of the film, I was not able to view anything. Initially, I found the image was too dark, seeing how the majority of the filming was done in complete darkness, thus not allowing the audience to view the action, or even the actors on screen. I solved this problem by switching my TV's contrast to a more optimal setting and was able to see everything 100%. Once this problem was corrected, I simply restarted the film using the brighter screen resolution, and the film was much easier to view, and was much more enjoyable as well. So, with that problem solved I was able to fully enjoy watching the film and must say that I really enjoyed it once I was able to actually view it.

The story was great, the thrills were decent, and the acting and environment was spectacular. If you are a fan of horror films I believe you will enjoy this movie, just make sure you change your TVs viewing settings to a preset contrast with brighter resolution and you'll be fine.

I enjoyed this movie. In short, its the story of a new couple, an American girl and her Chinese husband, who travel to China to meet his parents. They travel during the feast of the 7th moon, and find that the Chinese belief in ghouls that come out on this holiday is true. No spoiler here, check out the box cover. While en route in a taxi to the parents, the couple finds themselves abandoned in an obscure, remote village, then scary things start.
Ultimately, this was very well done. I tend not to enjoy Asian horror at all, but this was an interesting hybrid. It was a chinese story told with an american female lead, and a story that is consistent with western horror concepts. The mood was creepy throughout, particularly at the end when she makes a certain journey. This journey (trying to avoid spoilers here) was particularly effective in its horror element; she takes a walk that has the potential to turn deadly at any moment, and the suspense was great. Further, the movie evolves just slowly enough; it takes a while to understand what is going on, and once you do, the heat turns up. Good acting, good concept, and high production values. Highly recommended.

I'm originally from Southeast Asia (Singapore/Malaysia) and am quite familiar with the significance of the Seventh Month of the Chinese calendar, its rituals, and superstitions. When I saw this at the rental store, I decided to give it a try as it sounded promising. Well, to say i was disappointed is an understatement... the movie is badly shot and the story, though initially promising, quickly sinks into a mess of a movie, the only saving grace being the lead actress (Amy Smart).

The story begins with a honeymooning couple. Amy Smart plays a newlywed who is on honeymoon somewhere in China with her Asian American husband who still has roots in China. They procure the services of a benign looking and friendly guide to take them into the Chinese countryside so that they can visit the husband's relatives. Hours later, the wife wakes up to find that their car is stranded in the middle of the countryside in a village, and it's dark. The guide tells her they are lost and that he will get help and return as soon as he can. An hour later, there is no sign of the guide, and so the newlyweds scramble out of the car and go in search of him. Before long, they discover that all is not as it should be and there are sinister goings-on - strange chiming sounds reverberate through the night, animals are tied up as some sort of offering, and they return to their car to find it has been splashed with some sort of bloody substance of indeterminate origin! This is no ordinary night either - it is the night of the full moon on the seventh month of the Lunar calendar where the spirits of the dead are released from the gates of Hell and visit the living, feasting on the offerings, and in this case, expecting something more substantial.

Sounds like a great horror story right? Well, it could have been, except that the movie is shot mostly in the dark with insufficient background lighting which makes it hard to make out what exactly is going on. The creature effects are average, but the jerky camera movements really make this an annoying and frustrating viewing experience. The acting by the guy playing the husband was sub-par, and only Amy Smart delivers a credible performance as the anguished and horrified wife trying to figure out how to get themselves out of the mess. Final verdict - barely watchable, with not many surprises. If you'd like to watch movies that focus on the seventh month and/or the supernatural, then check out:
The Maid
Chinese Ghost Story
Rouge (Limited Remastered DTS Edition) DVD

I have to be totally honest- all the negative review for this film are a bit baffling to me. Seventh Moon is actually a pretty darn cool movie.

It's about a couple who visit China, and eventually they find themselves running for their lives as they must avoid all kinds of demonic creatures.

What absolutely FLOORS me is how incredibly effective the suspense is. It's so good (perhaps because it really takes advantage of the Chinese culture) that I can't help but completely fall in love with the film as a result.

When you see, for example, the couple running through fields while hearing the crickets in the background, there's definitely a very eerie atmosphere taking place. The demonic creatures themselves are just part of the fun- the suspense completely floors me.

This is what makes it so hard to join in with everyone else and hate this movie- the high amounts of noticeable suspense.

Sure, the majority of the storytelling takes place in dark areas (and in some cases, REALLY dark areas to the point you can barely view anything) but it's usually not dark enough that you can't tell what's going on. The storytelling flows pretty nicely too.

Darn this is one creepy movie. I seriously love it to pieces and highly recommend it to fans who love the Grudge in particular. It's almost as scary as that film.

If you don't know the name of Eduardo Sánchez, you most likely remember "The Blair Witch Project." He was co-director of the 1999 surprise mega-hit, and this time again has made a horror film shot with a hand-held camera, about the people lost in the middle of nowhere. The difference is, the story is set in China and the film stars Amy Smart ("The Butterfly Effect").

Two Americans Melissa (Amy Smart) and Yul (Tim Chiou), traveling around in China on their honeymoon, come across the traditional local festival. Later on the full moon night, Melissa, Yul and the tour guide Ping (Dennis Chan) are stranded in a village where they learn, much too late, that the Chinese myth about the roaming spirits are all too real.

The script is not bad. It is actually serviceable, if not special. The "creatures" (or whatever they are) are creepy. However, the film's shaky camera, probably intended for realism like "Blair Witch," only creates motion sickness. Moreover, most of the events take place at night, so you sometimes don't know what is going on. Eduardo Sánchez, in fact, heavily relies on the techniques used in "Blair Witch Project" - fast editing, lighting, and even repeated use of f words, none of which really works.

"Seventh Moon" is not a terrible film. It is just that the film has great potential that is lost in the misguided use of visual techniques.

This movie is great for the blind...or those who wish to be blind. Much like constipation, this movie is a ton of effort that ends up with some blood, a convulsion or two, considerable pain, and a resolution of bewilderment.

Newlyweds honeymooning in China, Yul (Tim Chiou) and Melissa (Amy Smart) are planning to visit Yul's relatives during Hungry Ghost Festival, a bizarre ritual similar to our Halloween - seemingly more serious - when superstitions submit that evil spirits are released from hell during the seventh moon of the Chinese calendar to chow down on live offerings. Maybe it's actually more like a Chinese Thanksgiving instead of Halloween. Anyway, their tour guide Ping (Dennis Chan) gets lost and strands them in a remote rural village. It's up to them to survive a night that makes the superstitions all too real.

Unfortunately, this interesting setup full of intrigue as well as historical and cultural significance is completely squandered by incompetent direction, atrocious camerawork, and amateur cinematography. Given my belief that The Blair Witch Project is unprocessed horse manure, I should have known going in that I wouldn't like this film. Director Eduardo Sanchez is milking that cow for all it is worth, and he managed to ensnare Amy Smart on his way towards regrettable memories and wasted time. What was a promising setup quickly and completely unravels by the time it gets to the third act. Stupefying choices abound. As for the filming itself, simply put, cinematographer Way-Chuen Lam should not be allowed on a movie set and film editors Michael Cronin and Johnny Rice should be restricted from developing film, much less editing it. The majority of the movie is shaky-cam overload, and when it's stationary the choices made are unimaginably bad. Blurred vision, bouncing ball movements, "nose hair counting"-close-ups, and a chase scene that felt like looking out of the car window while driving on the autobahn are only the tip of the iceberg, because the darkness of this film could sink the Titanic. During one portion of the movie Amy Smart is spelunking, I presume, but it's so dark that I thought someone pulled a Tyler Durden and slipped in a colonoscopy video between frames. Yes, I just compared the very cute Amy Smart to a turd. It comes as no surprise that Cronin's job following Seventh Moon was "My Big Redneck Wedding." Probably pro bono work for a relative.

Aside from a few audio and visual scares, a startling "what the F just crossed the road"-scene, and the always enjoyable Amy Smart, there's just too much wrong with this film, particularly the camerawork, to give it a recommendation. Watch with MST3K intentions or don't watch at all.

Jason Elin

This movie started off rather good, but then quickly loses itself in an unbelievable story. There's simply no explanation as to why these strange creatures attack the couple. And the whole story seems far too contrived to be believable. The suspense was there at times, but even it couldn't save the movie from falling flat on its face. With all the horror flicks out there, you don't have to get or see this one.

Potentially could have been a great film, but the shaky hand-held camera work made it difficult to watch. The second major problem was that most of the action in the film was in almost complete darkness. It was so dark that you could barely make out anything. What a waste of film. You would have thought after they shot a roll or so of film, they would have realized it was just too dark and would have re-shot that portion and used more light in future shooting. Nope. It never gets any lighter. Could have been a great horror film if you could have seen what was happening. Also the ending was so ambiguous that it was impossible to figure out what actually happened. A complete and total waste of time. Not even as good as Blair Witch Project, which I hated. The costumes, the actors and the locale were all great, but totally wasted.

I rented this movie because of the director's previous efforts. I liked Blair Witch enough (though somehow I haven't had the urge to see it again) but something about Altered really got to me. I thought "this guy can go places if he keeps this up." Well....this effort I liked for the most part but some of the previous reviewers, particularly Phillip Perron, were astute in pointing out the films flaws.

When the movie started I was about as impressed as I could be. I liked the filming. The dialogue sounded very natural to me and it did manage to build tension. The story of the newlywed mixed couple (him Chinese, her Anglo) on their honeymoon in China, who find themselves engulfed in a Chinese myth come to life, unfolded in a very realizable fashion. There were a lot of small devices, both seen and heard, that helped build the sense of terror and dread. I also felt it a wise decision to show the demons as near nondescript blurs running at a quick pace through the reeds.

As things progressed however the film started to break down. I wasn't as perturbed by the hand held camera as other viewers seemed to be, but it did get too dark and what was good dialogue in the beginning nearly disappeared as the film progressed. I don't want to say the story fell apart at the end but it just didn't do the first half justice.

This is by no means a bad movie and is well worth look for fans of the genre. I liked it more than most horror movies I've seen (and I've seen my share), but I doubt it will ever reach classic status. I do hope the director keeps going and honing his craft. He is by no means a hack and can hopefully bring greater twists to his projects.