An amnesiac, Ji-won(Ha-Neul Kim, playing the character as vacant and lost as possible)troubled by a traumatic past which is slowly unraveling memories, begins to realize that a ghost, possibly of a high school girl, Su-in(Sang-mi Nam)is killing former friends who ridiculed this girl because of her low-income status. What Ji-won doesn't realize is that her "past self" was a nasty rich bitch who treated those less fortunate, from a financial standpoint, like dirt while her "rat pack" would join in on the festivities of name calling among other cruelties. Along with her boyfriend, Ji-won will indeed seek out the truth behind the deaths of her former friends and who is behind them. Soon, the complete mystery tucked away in her subconscious, will reveal a horrifying drowning that perhaps shapes what has been taking place to her former school chums. Each of Ji-won's high school friends die by drowning shortly after the ghost appears to them in a vulnerable state unable to find help from their menacing visitor.
As you've read throughout the user comment section already, "The Ghost" is stylishly directed and rather well acted. The film looks great and the cast doesn't disappoint. There are even a few scares here and there..but it's all rather familiar. The twist at the end saves this film, I believe, from completely feeling "been there done that." It's a mind-boggling doozy of an ending, I'll tell you, where someone isn't who they appear to be..it's the case of "identity crisis" where jealousy can drive the motivations of a cast-away so longing to have the life of the one they envy. It's the kind of twist that takes you right back through what you just have seen, putting a new light on the story and central character. The film is designed like "The Grudge" as a spook film, so there isn't any graphic violence, the emphasis is on creeping the audience, not blood-letting. The ghost, as can probably be pictured in the minds of those who have seen numerous Asian horror flicks, is a girl with long black hair which splits to reveal this discolored eyeball that peers at a potential victim. When her hands reach out, and her feet walk across the floor, water is shown soaking off, foretelling to the viewer this restless spirit's fate. I felt the director skillfully crafts the story, supplying the memories of a past conveying to us just the kind of loathsome person Ji-won was, and how Si-un was treated by her. This back-story is supplemented as the story comes to the obvious confrontation between Ji-won and the ghost. I think one can rightfully criticize how similar this film feels to others that have came before it, but at least we get a back story into their lives and what motivates the horrors to those who kept a specific secret one fateful day.
As you've read throughout the user comment section already, "The Ghost" is stylishly directed and rather well acted. The film looks great and the cast doesn't disappoint. There are even a few scares here and there..but it's all rather familiar. The twist at the end saves this film, I believe, from completely feeling "been there done that." It's a mind-boggling doozy of an ending, I'll tell you, where someone isn't who they appear to be..it's the case of "identity crisis" where jealousy can drive the motivations of a cast-away so longing to have the life of the one they envy. It's the kind of twist that takes you right back through what you just have seen, putting a new light on the story and central character. The film is designed like "The Grudge" as a spook film, so there isn't any graphic violence, the emphasis is on creeping the audience, not blood-letting. The ghost, as can probably be pictured in the minds of those who have seen numerous Asian horror flicks, is a girl with long black hair which splits to reveal this discolored eyeball that peers at a potential victim. When her hands reach out, and her feet walk across the floor, water is shown soaking off, foretelling to the viewer this restless spirit's fate. I felt the director skillfully crafts the story, supplying the memories of a past conveying to us just the kind of loathsome person Ji-won was, and how Si-un was treated by her. This back-story is supplemented as the story comes to the obvious confrontation between Ji-won and the ghost. I think one can rightfully criticize how similar this film feels to others that have came before it, but at least we get a back story into their lives and what motivates the horrors to those who kept a specific secret one fateful day.