The Ghost Station - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Ghost Station



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
As a big fan of Asian horror movies (especially ghost movies) I had high hopes for Korea’s The Ghost Station that came out last week from Well Go USA. I grew up with Ringu or Juo-On (The Ring and The Grudge when remade for American audiences) so I was ready for a popcorn munching good time with what seemed like a Korean take on the age old ghost grudge story. Unfortunately The Ghost Station feels more like it was parodying those films, giving us a somewhat less than stellar example of Asian horror, blending elements of both the above mentioned horror franchises with silly references and what seemed like an action movie ending that leaves little to no tension on the table.

The 81 minute film is thankfully short as can be, and that alone made me give it a boost from 2/5 stars to 2.5/5 stars simply because I’m not sure I could have taken much more of this (sometimes short films are a blessing). The story starts out with a Journalist named Na-young Kim (Bo-ra Kim) working for her tabloid newspaper, only to end up in hot water when she accidentally takes an exclusive photo shoot with a drunk person who ends up suing them for misgendering her (or him as the story teases us). However, in the process of tracking down the person to apologize she and her inside source start to witness some mysterious deaths on the Oksu train station. Each time Na-young starts to unravel the mysterious clues of the deaths she comes closer and closer to finding out the truth about WHY people are taking their own lives.

The story itself is silly and just as truncated as my synopsis above. I actually almost want to play a drinking game where you take a shot every time the story uses a trope from either the Ringu or Ju-On series of films, but I personally value my liver a bit more than that. It gets to the point of ridiculousness as you watch them play the stereotypical ghost child game, complete with “grudges” (actually point blank stated that in the film) as well as shifting of curses to other people in a way that seems to hold no tension whatsoever. The first act or two of the film isn’t that bad, but the final 25 minute act just falls apart without any help at all. All of the mystery is gone as they basically slather on an over the top expository narrative explaining away all of the mystery, then end everything with a single scene where Na-young transfers the the curse to another person and then walks away in slow motion like she’s Antonio Banderas in Desperado.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The 2.39:1 AVC encoded disc looks quite nice on a technical front. There’s not a lot of information out there (unsurprisingly) on the cameras used or final resolution of the master, but I’m guessing a digital shoot of some sort followed by a 2K master as is the case for most Korean low budget horror movies. There’s a very typical “digital” look to the film with glossy edges, smooth and clean detail levels and strong black levels combined with a more mahogany brown ambient color grading. There’s some minor banding in the underground shots or on the train tracks themselves, otherwise this is a very competently done encode.









Audio:

The film employs a relatively solid and immersive 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix that thrives off of creepy sounds in the background, as well as strong vocals. It’s not going to be a massively explosive track, but there are a few jump scare moments (such as unearthing the graves near the end) that really add some LFE boom to the mix. Dialog is crisp and solid up in the center of the room, and the surrounds and main channels have a good amount of activity from the busy train station, or the active Tabloid office where Na-Young is employed. Maybe not perfect, but still more than engaging enough.












Extras:

• Well Go USA Previews
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score:
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The Ghost Station is a sadly a very forgettable and cliché ghost story and not a great introduction to K-horror. It’s not overly offensive or over the top bad, but it doesn’t even hide the fact that it’s literally ripping off beat for beat plot points from other well known Asian horror movies. Part of me almost wants to treat this like the Scary Movie franchise and laugh along like it’s a parody, but I can’t get over the fact that this is played about as straight and serious as can be. Ah well. At least the Blu-ray looks and sounds really good on the technical front (although we have the near non-existent extras that most Well Go USA titles have). Personally I’d skip it.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bo-ra Kim, Jae Hyun Kim, Shin So-yul
Directed by: Yong-ki Jeong
Written by: Horang, Yong-ki Jeong, Soyoung Lee
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Korean: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 81 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: December 19th, 2023

Recommendation: Skip It