LOVE GHOST

Reflecting the universal terrors of entire cultures and the more intimate anxieties of the individual, the ghost story has long scared and challenged audiences with its exploration of not only death and the afterlife but, in addition, its ability to question the very heart of existence with its spectral examinations of the complexities of the shadowy human heart. Love Ghost continues this traditional examination of the otherworldly in a format devoted to adolescent angst, drama, and Search-for-Self. A modern fear fable of re-imagined occult conflict, menacing magic, and the supernatural, this admittedly teeni-bop targeted hormonal horror movie is just as focused on questions of peer pressure, the isolating effect of rumor, and the all-too-real conflict between tragic pasts and haunted presents. In a story that challenges our concepts of everyday existence, the spectral Other-World, and perception -- devoting equal time to dread and tragedy -- Love Ghost manages to appeal to the over-emotional hysterics of adolescent culture while satisfying the more sophisticated narrative demands of mature audiences.

Achieving unease through carefully constructed moments of suspense, pathos, and supernatural dread, this sensitive re-imagining of traditional supernatural folklore and Asian horror elements explores both universal fears and the intimate anxieties of its wonderfully complex characters, reflecting in the lens of the unknown the instantly recognizable turmoils of an everyday world just as terrifying in its search for passion, compassion, and hope as the eternal reoccurrence of both souls and places which this film so eloquently evokes. Devoting an admirable amount of time and effort on characterization, its complex approach towards plot is lent additional substance by a story that plays with our concepts of time, space, and perception, changing the rules on us just when we think we've discovered the fundamental elements which energize this story of cyclical Karma and redemption. Serving to mystify and lend further tragedy and emotional resonance to emotionally painful, darkly beautiful thematic elements of murder, sin, and love. Presenting us a narrative where a deliciously demented spirit world exists parallel to our own, a murder provoked by jealousy, the troublesome nature of identities, and characters who don't even truly know themselves or what they are capable of, this is terror and emotional fear at its dramatic finest.

Revealing in its spiritually menacing context and touching yet not over-sentimental imagery of friendship, perhaps the movie is most accomplished as a thrilling, nightmarish statement on the power of past transgressions, mistakes, and fears to cripple the present, murdering possible futures not only by physically haunting the guilty (and even more disturbing, the innocent) but by infecting the mind. Love Ghost just as powerfully turns its unblinking eyes on the terrible dangers and terrifying nature of love, freeing it from its candy-stripped, Walt Disney-like safety and revealing it for the often abusive, tormenting monster that it can be, using the anxieties of our younger selves (and of our children) to magnify the insecurities we have about ourselves and each other while raising goosebumps!

In a story whose uniqueness echoes beneath character motivation, subtle differences of theme, and bold twists on pre-assumed logic rather than on a loud or abrasive surface plot, Love Ghost is a vehicle for expressing contemporary folklore, recycling and envisioning traditional urban legend with the sordid geography of the heart. Returning to the town where she grew up -- a physical environment that formed as much of her character as the emotional experiences that soon trap her in a web of culpability and emotional attraction -- attractive if unconfident student Mindori finds herself reunited with Ryuske, a troubled, mysterious boy from a childhood which she only partially recalls, and with nightmarish flashbacks that threaten the stability of her waking life. Not quite fitting in with her classmates, missing a father she never knew, and troubled by an oddly shaped mold on her bathroom wall, Mindori is even more frightened by her mother's reaction when telling her about her old friend Ryusuke. Besides earning the undeserved ire of her female classmates by grabbing the attention of a popular boy, Mindori struggles with the uncertain fear that Ryusuke is more than he seems. Meanwhile girls who practice an odd sort of fortune telling by a haunted temple slit their throats, cursed by 'the Handsome Boy,' a revenant whose fate is somehow connected with Mindori and Ryuske . . .

Of the central premises which pump the heart's blood of this complex, satisfying story, the conflict between appearances and hidden truth is fundamental, as is the haunting nature of memory and the inability of the human mind to accept devastating truths. As a particularly disturbing thread is the emphasis on 'Tsujiura,' a folk-belief/form of minor prophecy that the girls perform in front of a tragically haunted well (site of several suicides) in attempts to find out their luck in love. This, coupled with a mysterious kidnapping from years past, a promise never kept, and dark rumors whispered at chimney corners concerning a young boy is as satisfyingly involving as it is taunting in its ability to stay ahead of you. Telling an original story whose themes are old as sin, this modern masterwork is a general success in its thoughtful screenplay, surprisingly fine acting, and clam, even assured direction. Moody, evocative, and surreal, the filmmakers herein have crafted a walking fantasy equal parts dream and nightmare which immerses itself in the seemingly commonplace world. Love Ghost is also a cinematic representation of shared experience, charting the mysterious movements of the heart, human behavior, and the spirits of memories stronger than the present.

A remarkably clean looking print, the movie is presented in widescreen without any noticeable surface blemishes or distracting depth/image problems. Colors are moody and icily convincing, helping evoke a feeling of intermingling everyday existence with the occult, painting the movie into a context of adult faerie tale. Sound is likewise soothing, well balanced and crisp. Of course coming from Media Blasters we're anxious to see what extras are on the table, and while the disc isn't generously stacked, including only a handful of trailers, the dark beauty and shocking moments of the feature itself makes up for any such lack.

Review by William P Simmons