Film Review: RED EYE (2005)

From South Korea comes the haunting thriller Red Eye (2005) from director Dong-bin Kim, who directed The Ring Virus (1999) and The Sleepless (2012).  In this haunting ghost film Mi-sun (Shin-yeong Jang) is a new railroad attendant who is working the night shift when on an overnight trip through Korea she starts having strange feelings and soon she starts seeing things and people who can’t possibly be there.  When she starts to investigate she learns that the train she is on was involved in a horrible crash sixteen years ago in which 100 people were killed.  Now, as the night looms on Mi-sun must discover the truth about what happened sixteen years ago as well as what is happening on her train now before it reaches its final destination of the night.

For fans of haunted and ghost films this film may be a little too tame as it relies more on drama than actual thrills and suspense.  It is not a film designed to scare audiences directly but it is designed to create mood and atmosphere especially considering the single location.  Dong-bin does an excellent job with the cast as they all give equally captivating performances but sometimes I feel as though they didn’t have much to do as the second act seems too long.  It is in the third act that the film really hits its stride so if you can handle the long journey, the payoff will come.

For those who have already seen too many haunted/ghost films in this ‘00s cycle then there is little here that will be of interest.

Film Review: IT FOLLOWS (2015)

Slow burning horror films are all the rage when it comes to film makers wanting to make a sophisticated horror film which is exactly where the film It Follows (2015) finds itself.  The film follows Jay Height (Maika Monroe) who should be having fun on her break from school but ends up having an innocent sexual encounter with someone that leaves her the latest in a long string of supernatural hauntings. 

A curse was passed to her in which she must pass it to someone else or risk dying herself.  The only way she can pass the curse to someone else is by having sex with them.  The only thing that can help her is her friends and as time passes she realizes that she can’t keep running from the curse forever.

Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell the film follows the same style of films like Teeth (2007), Contracted (2013), and I, Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain (1998), which is that of a slow burning film in which the main character are the driving force behind the story.   This works in the films favor as the curse is a slow one at that as the entity that follows Jay is probably the slowest one in history.  The film is definitely for the crowd that enjoys a film that takes its time and doesn’t rely on gore and blood and if you are that type of person then this is the film for you.

Now the film was one of the hugely critically acclaimed horror films of last year that left horror fans evenly divided.  I can only fathom that this is because the film has a great premise only is slow at getting to the point especially since audience members probably can’t reason why Jay just doesn’t pass the curse on immediately after realizing she has it.  Instead, she spends most of the film running and screaming and then running some more and screaming some more which gets repetitive.  This is not an entirely negative assessment but the film is filled with dread and style that permeates through every frame of the film including the amazing score, so, I forgive the short comings of this film as it will be remembered for these aspects alone.

I took a friend of mine to go see the film who never goes to see horror films but this one was creepy and created a mood of dread while never being gory or excessively violent.  She happened to love this film and I can see why so many general audiences have gravitated to the film as well.  Sometimes people who watch a lot of horror films get numb and jaded since they’ve seen more than the average viewer.  I believe that this film had an effect on general audiences that is undeniable and that it will resonate for years to come and I think that Mitchell is definitely a film maker to keep an eye out for in the future.

Film Review: WE ARE STILL HERE (2015)

There are no such things as evil houses, just evil people, which is what we are always told but that is not the case in We Are Still Here (2015) which follows Anne and Paul Sacchetti (Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensening, respectfully) who rent a New England home to get over the death of their child.  They’re not long in the house before they start experiencing strange things leaving them to believe that maybe their child has returned to them somehow. 

Their friends May and Jacob Lewis (Lisa Marie and Larry Fessenden, respectfully) show up and they all decide to have a night on the town not realizing the strange glares they get from the locals.  It seems that Anne and Paul’s appearance at the strange house has been orchestrated and that they are part of a nefarious ritual that occurs every thirty years when the spirits of the house need to feed.   Now Anne and Paul must decide whether or not it’s more important to find a way to be with their child or survive the fate that lies before them.

The film has a very interesting premise and a great cast but it’s a slow burn with lots of exposition.  Unfortunately, this is one of those films that you actually don’t want to be a slow burn as it spends too much time on characterizations.  This being said the film has a fine cast and it’s always great to see Fessenden chew on the scenes.  It’s also another welcomed appearance from Crampton as well as a distraught mother who embraces the paranormal.  She’s been gone from the horror scene for far too long and it’s good to know that she’s back.

There are some great moments to be had in the film but it just takes its time getting there.  If you’re willing to take your time with the film then it will be worth it as the climax is a bloody good mess.

Film Review: A BLOOD PLEDGE (2009)

When you’re a teenager, life can be hard especially for four young girls who decide to make a suicide pact that goes horrible wrong in the South Korean thriller A Blood Pledge (2009).  Jeong-eon’s sister Yoo-jin’s (Yoo Shi-ae and Oh Yeon-seo, respectfully) suicide is anything but normal.  As she investigates further into the death of her sister she realizes that Yoo-jin and her friends Soy, Eon-joo, and Eun-yeong (Son Eun-seo, Jang Kyeong-ah, and Song Min-jeong, respectfully) entered into a suicide pact the night of Yoo-jin’s death but only she ended up going through with it.  As Jeong-eon gets closer to discovering the truth each of three remaining women are hunted down by Yoo-jin’s ghost who want them all to finish fulfilling their pact.  The closer Jeong-eon gets to the truth, the more she discovers about her sister and of the nature of the pact itself. 

Written and directed by Jong-yong Lee the film is an atmospheric thriller that follows the trend of other revenge ghost stories.  This is but one of several Korean ghost stories that takes place in a school in the series that started with ‘98s Whispering Corridors and includes Memento Mori (1999), Wishing Stairs (2003), and Voice (2005).  These are all films that delve into haunted schools or people haunted by other people yet take place in and around schools.  This film is very much in line with those films and if you’re a fan of this series then you’ll at least enjoy this one.

This is not one of the stronger films in the series as it doesn’t provide anything different than what came before it but it is a well done film with high production values and an interesting story that entertains and never drags despite containing the typical ghost story clichés.  Most fans of Korean horror films will immediately take a liking to the film but casual watchers will be turned off by how mundane everything is presented especially in terms of the fact that this film deals with the real life tragedy of suicide.