Notable Cast: Kim Bo-ra, Kim Jae-hyun, Shin So-yul,
Oh Jin-seok
As the old adage goes, what’s old will always be new again.
The same is very relevant for film cycles and, if I’m being honest, the
resurrection of the various trends in horror from the early 00s has been a
delight.
When The Ghost Station first crossed my path, the
fact that it was co-written by Hiroshi Takahashi (Ring, Ring 2, Ju
On Origins) and Koji Shiraishi (Noroi, Carved, Sadako Vs.
Kayako) is what caught my eye. The sheer amount of awesome J-horror films
that those two have crafted in the last 30 years is essentially jaw-dropping -
so the two coming together to work on this one immediately caught my attention.
Fortunately, Well Go USA picked up The Ghost Station
for distribution in the US, and it’s a welcome addition at the end of the year.
The Ghost Station is pure 00s J-Horror through and through, wrapping up
classic inspirations into a love letter of spooks, spins, and spiritual horror
hijinks. Its mileage will vary drastically depending on your love of the
throwback J-Horror. Mainly since this is a Korean film and some expectations
come with that, but it also suffers from some of the same drawbacks that
hindered the genre back then. Still, it was a pleasant trip down nostalgia lane
that hit many of the right buttons.
Like many of these ghostly curse films, The Ghost Station
never hides from the tropes. Its narrative follows a young journalist
(naturally), played by Kim Bo-ra, as she finds herself in a tight squeeze at
work to deliver the next viral news sensation. In desperation, this leads her
to start looking into a local suicide at an old Oksu station and a little
ghostly girl (naturally) that is appearing there. With the help of a couple of
friends who work at the station, she unravels a series of connected deaths
(naturally) that may or may not stem from a curse on the station itself.
At this point, just reading my own synopsis of this film
might as well be playing MadLibs with the J-Horror blueprint. Journalists,
little ghost children, a cursed place, and a mystery that needs to be solved to
release their spirits from, you guessed it, a well. Yet, instead of feeling
like a knockoff of superior J-Horror classics like Ring or Ju-On,
The Ghost Station feels far more like a love letter to them. Sure, an
abandoned well plays a role in the story, but it fits into its narrative to
some extent with the mystery. Yes, there’s a cure that is passed on to people
who enter the “area,” but the scratches that appear on the people and the
ghostly children jump scares are fun even if it never reaches the genuine
unease and anxiety of the Grudge series. For fans of the genre, there’s
plenty of fun to be had in “find the reference” in its narrative, even as it
starts to drag out a bit too long in the second act.
The big obstacle that The Ghost Station struggles
with is that there seems to be a lot of humor buried in the script, which isn’t
surprising considering Shiraishi is involved and embedded a fantastic sense of
humor into both Sadako Vs. Kayako and Carved, and director Jeong
Yong-ki seemingly underplays so much of it. From the off-putting undertaker who
seems to know way more about the mystery than he lets on to the almost
overzealously evil editor for our protagonist that throws down massive “asshole
boss” vibes throughout, the film is littered with dark humor that the film
never plays up. Considering how much fun those performances seem to be on top
of it all, it's an odd choice and one that The Ghost Station struggles
with.
Besides its familiar narrative beats and some fun secondary
performances, The Ghost Station gets a few great scare moments into the
mix for fans. The opening sequence promises more fun kills than the film
ultimately provides, but the film smartly keeps up the body count, and some
great moments pop up. In particular, a bathroom sequence (it’s always in the
bathroom, huh) really stands out and showcases some fun visuals.
Going into The Ghost Station, fans need to temper
their expectations. It’s not the expensive-looking and tightly wound horror South
Korea is known for exporting, but it feels like a lower-budget J-Horror from
2005. Its throwback look carries over to its narrative as it embeds its story
and characters with references to the genre classics and only really misses out
in embracing the offbeat humor that is present throughout. While it’s
easy to see that The Ghost Station might not catch on for most horror
fans, it grabs the nostalgia of the early 00s J-Horror boom in a fun and entertaining way.
No comments:
Post a Comment