jesse o
As someone who loves horror movies and the horror genre in general, in all its forms, it might be surprising, to others who are looking from the outside in, that I'm certainly not a believer of the paranormal. It's an interesting subject to explore and watch videos on YouTube about, but I don't believe it. There's many things about this world that we do not, and cannot understand. That's precisely what some people say when they say X or Y photo/video is proof of the paranormal, but the fact that science, or basic logic, can't explain something does not instantly mean that it is proof of the paranormal. And that's a fallacy that a lot of people fall into, particularly if you're heavily religious. Science can't explain something, so therefore that's proof god exists. Same thing applies to some people who are believers of the paranormal. But I digress, the way this movie was described to me made it seem to be more like a South Korean Ghostbusters. Though, really, not every comedy/ghost film ever made is like Ghostbusters. The point is the fact that this movie, realistically speaking, has very little in actual common with Ghostbusters. The only thing that both have in common, at least from a western point of view, is that both have Ghost in their titles. That's it. The similarities end there and, really, this movie isn't even about ghosts as it deals more with a demon that's been haunting this village for decades and this demon's presence has led to mysterious deaths and accidents all over the area. South Korea's top 50 shamans (though there are also exorcists, doctors and priests among the group) all descend on this village to try and help rid it of this evil. The shamans perform this ritual to, hopefully, stop the demon from ruling over this village. Things go awry, however, when the demon attacks the shamans, causing all kinds of explosions and shit. This forces all but 5 of the shamans to leave. With the remaining 5 is also this disgraced journalist whose father just so happened to have been investigating this village 20 years ago and died under mysterious circumstances. This is where the movie really begins. As far as what I thought of the movie is concerned, I really do not know what to think. It's certainly lighter in tone than just if it was a straightforward horror story. But it's also not as consistently funny as to be called just a comedy film with some horror elements. It sort of falls somewhere in between. As far as that goes, when it relates to the film sort of switching genres on the fly, it wasn't as tonally jarring as it might be in other flicks. The movie can take itself seriously in certain scenes because it does have the wherewithal to realize that you need some of the goofier moments to help give the more serious scenes a little more heft. And if you've watched 100+ South Korean movies (as I have), then you know that they sure as shit enjoy a lot of forceful dramatic heft in their films. This is one of the things I complain about the most, their reliance on histrionics. Admittedly, though, this movie doesn't have that. Well it does, in one scene halfway through the movie and maybe a few moments in the climax. But I applaud them for simply just not giving in to their worst tendencies. Then again, why should I applaud them for something that, realistically speaking, they shouldn't do if they want to tell a good story with strong character development. I digress. Having said all of this, I still don't know how I would exactly rate this movie. I think the fact that it doesn't really commit to being either a paranormal horror movie or being a comedy, it doesn't mix its horror and its comedy quite as expertly as Shaun of the Dead did, keeps it from being truly effective at either of them. And that definitely holds the movie back, in my opinion. If I end up giving this 2.5 stars, which is what I'm leaning towards right now, then I'll just say that I certainly liked this more than the rating implies. The cast is full of talented actors and they all deliver fairly solid performances. Nothing you really need to go out of your way to see, but they're enjoyable nonetheless. I just think the movie wants to be too much of a jack of all trades when it relates to comedy and horror. It doesn't mix the horror all too well with the comedy. Again, it's not a jarring tonal shift, but it's no great shakes anyway. I'd give this a recommendation if you know what you're getting yourself into. And that movie is certainly very flawed, but if you're able to shut your brain off for a couple of hours, while only just decent, there's still some fun to be had here. That fun isn't always consistent, but at least there's some.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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