Director: Zhao Xiaoxi
Year: 2013
Country: China
Alternate Titles: Zhen bian you zhang lian
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
After his sister goes missing, a man gathers his friends to go in search of her looking into her claims of a long-lost jade artifact found in a remote village, but when they arrive are confronted by a strange and malevolent ghostly presence keeping them there and must find a way to get out alive.
Review:
For the most part, this was a serviceable enough if not a standout Asian ghost effort. One of the better aspects here is the general sense of atmosphere and suspense created around the central village which is a wholly eerie and chilling setpiece that captures the abandoned and desolate vibe effectively. Stuck in the middle of the jungle, accessible only through an arduous trip and completely enveloped in fog, the area around the village is the perfect fodder for ghost movies before taking its layout into question. The confusing nature of the pathways leads into strange sections of the village, decrepit and falling down interior structures containing crumbling artifacts, and all manner of creepy occult paraphernalia litter the remains they stumble upon. When we get some kind of backstory information on the area, the storyline in place involving the ritualistic burying of bodies with masks to prevent spirits from attacking them fills in the gaps incredibly well.
This setup allows the film to work out a far more impressive run of shock and suspense scenes than expected. Most of these are centered around the outright creepy designs on the masks left behind in the village. With someone in the group coming upon a mask left behind while on their search, either lying in plain sight or inside a cabinet or container of some kind, there are some really suspenseful moments regarding whether or not the ghost is hiding behind it or not. The suddenness of its appearance as the whole thing turns out to be real offers some strong shock jumps-scares with it coming up behind an unsuspecting victim and they realize too late what's going on. Several other fun scenes involve the ghost manipulating the area around a victim to attack which has some fun to it, and the final featuring the revelation of what's going on in the village brings out several other fun moments here for its likable aspects.
There aren't too many flaws here but it does have some minor issues. The main drawback is the repeated use of the all-too-common trope of Asian ghost movies regarding the long black-haired ghost girl with a white face running around killing people. Despite some genuinely thrilling moments when it appears out of nowhere, the fact that it trades for the usual stand-by found in the genre can be seen as immensely repetitive. Rather than doing something new, there's a reliance on the genre's past which makes for a somewhat troublesome time for those that have grown tired of utilizing that trope once again. This also causes the film to become slightly formulaic in the second half where the endless sightings and encounters throughout the village fail to signal any kind of haste to leave the village for their own self-preservation. That lack of sense is the only problem here as there's more than enough evidence of something malicious going on yet the groups' reluctance to leave for very valid reasons in favor of staying there. These issues are what end up bringing the film down overall.
Overview: ***/5
Formulaic to a fault but with enough positives to overcome that, this one is never more than a serviceable-at-best example of an Asian ghost movie that doesn't have too many real issues. Fans of this particular style of genre fare or who appreciate Asian ghost movies in general will have the most to enjoy here while most others out there that don't like this approach should heed caution for other better films in the format.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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