The Ghost | DVD Review

Somebody should really tell Asian filmmakers (and the North American studios who snatch up the remake rights) that the once-fearful long-haired-ghostly-apparitions-with-bulging-bloodshot-eyes schtick is starting to lose its effect. Even while incorporating this cliche into The Ghost, Korean writer/director Kim Tae-Kyung has tried to fashion more of a psychological thriller than a straight-on horror film.

Much like Ringu and Dark Water before it, The Ghost also uses water (lots of it), including in the promising opening scene where a character sees a sink full of water that also contains a huge wad of hair. This is just before the camera shows us what’s lurking behind the character. Can you guess what it is? The point here is that this film doesn’t have much in the way of originality going for it, although the first-time director gives it his best shot by including a main character suffering from dissociative amnesia. Ji-won (Kim Ha-Neul, My Tutor Friend) is a college student whose memory of her past is blank, and as her old friends start dying mysterious deaths preceded by a vision of our long-haired friend, she begins to try and piece things together with the help of Jun-Ho (Jin Ryu of Korean TV series Scent of Summer), a guy who seems to have a crush on the lonely girl. What’s disappointing is that Kim Tae-Kyung has fashioned a compelling story with a rather creative twist at the end, but it’s very difficult to get past the paint-by-numbers inclusion of ‘soaking wet long-haired ghost girl’. Surely he could have come up with more original imagery to convey the idea that these people are being haunted by a spirit from beyond.

This is not to say that The Ghost is not a good film; it’s just not that original. Kim Tae-Kyung’s use of color (green hues for interiors, grey for exteriors) is spot-on, as is the soundtrack, which amps up the volume at just the right moments in order to amplify the fright scenes. The acting, especially the performance of Kim Ha-Neul, is solid and the story itself is quite strong. To his credit, the director uses no gore whatsoever (unless two scenes of people vomiting copious amounts of water can be considered gory), proving that a thriller needn’t contain buckets of blood for it to be frightening. Sure, blood and guts have their place in the hearts of scary movie enthusiasts, but it is sometimes refreshing to see a film that doesn’t rely on it to get its point across.

The Tartan Asia Extreme imprint on a cover of a DVD always means that the audio and video aspects of the disc are impeccable, with a beautiful digital transfer and DTS 5.1 sound. The problem with this release of The Ghost is that there are no real special features to speak of. There’s a five minute “Cast Interviews” featurette that only has interviews with Kim Ha-Neul and Jin Ryu explaining their characters and playing up the film’s fear factor in an effort to get horror fans to go see it in theatres. There’s also a “Behind the Scenes” featurette that looked promising at first glance, but just when you’re getting into it, it’s over. Two whole minutes of behind the scenes footage. Why bother? Also includes the original thatrical trailer and some Korean TV ads for the film, as well as some previews for other Tartan Asia Extreme releases.

Even though The Ghost has a lot going for it in terms of story, acting, and some good edge-of-your-seat tense moments, it’s just too hard to get past the fact that director Kim Tae-Kyung needlessly included our old friend, the long-haired ghost girl. She must be in the union or something. Come on, Tae-Kyung. You had something here, and you all but ruined it by going this unoriginal route. The Ghost would no doubt be considered a classic if it was made ten years ago; instead, it’ll be remembered as just one more unoriginal entry into the constrictive subgenre of Asian ghost stories.

Movie rating – 2

Disc Rating – 1