Silk (2006) - Horror Ghost

Silk (2006) - "Do you believe in ghosts?" Says the believer to his American skeptic. The reply by the soon to be deceased man is, "If there really are ghosts why do they always have clothes on?" Set in Taipei the film opens with an American ghost hunter entering a big creepy apartment building. He has a special film with Menger Sponge which supposedly captures the ghost energy in it. He does not believe all the hoopla but money is money and if the government wants to pay him to shoot photos in an old building it is a job he will take. This of course is just the setup for what is a ghost story about why spirits stay around and whether this form of immortality is worth going after.
  Our American only has the one scene because for some reason ghosts do not like to have their photos taken. It establishes the idea of ghost and their ability to kill the living and that this apartment building has one. Now the film can move onto the meat of the story and our protagonists can be introduced. There is a team of scientists? or researchers might be a better definition lead by Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi). Now knowing a ghost haunts the apartment they set up there equipment and move into the next room to observe through glass, His team, the anti-gravity team, Su (Barbie Hsu) Ren (Bo-lin Chen) and Mei (Chun-Ning Chang)are fodder in the end but are joined by Det. Tung (Chen Chang) an agent struggling with his own demons about death.

  The film takes a lot of time to set up his back story as a man unwilling to let go of his dying mother. It fits well in the premise of the film which really asks what holds a spirit in this world. His place on the team though is not such a nice fit. He is there to find out who the ghost was in life, a role really below his elite special ops training. He also has a love interest in Wei (Kar Yan Lam),who must at some point be at risk if the arc is to go anywhere. The film is a strange mix, pretend science of the Menger Sponge which takes several forms, a cube which a spirit can be trapped, a film that can capture images of ghosts and a eye drop spray that allows people to see ghosts. The cube is the most interesting if least explored of the technologies. It absorbs the spirit energies and can defy gravity if enough is absorbed. Thinking about the ramifications of this and the uses for an anti gravity device could have been a primary story.

  Silk instead uses the idea to move the motivations of the research team forward but never really gets into the meat of what the ideas could mean in the future. It travels down a road that is in large part about Detective Tung's and his personal story with his dying mother and connects with the ghost boy's own story on a parallel track. The film asks the question what is it that binds us together, can the emotions of one hold the spirit of another in this world after they have died. There are some side things that more distract from this, Su is not so happy to have an outsider working in the group. She never really has her role fully developed so is really a nonfactor when all is said and done.
  Hashimoto has his own motivations, for him ghosts are a form of immortality. He is striving for how to harness that ability. How can one die and still stay in the world? Even better how can they keep their consciousness when they do it. He is looking to be eternal and that is his motivation for researching the ghosts. If he can find out how and what holds the spirit in place he will surely make is own life end with the desire to be a spirit for eternity. Unfortunately the film does not stay focused on the bigger questions it meanders along slowly filling in the information but then the third act becomes a taunt thriller.

   All the set up in the beginning is wasted on a race to save this person or that with Tung and most of the rest of the cast victims of the ghost. Still there is something I liked about this film. It has depth and fully explores Tung's story. The idea of silk threads as a connecting link between the spirit world and this was cool if a bit gimmicky. So in the end I would recommend this film. It may not be the best example of a J-horror ghost movie but it is decent and engaging throughout. Check this one out.

The Heirloom (2005) Horror Ghosts

The Heirloom (2005) - The little lesson that is shared at the beginning of the film is important for understanding this Taiwanese film. It explains that Hsiao Guei (literally "raising child ghosts") A folk practice prevelent in Chinese societies where by dead fetuses are worshiped in urns and fed the blodd of their master. Child ghosts possess great power to bring their master fortune. Someare so powerful they can even kill, but for such dark arts a price must be paid.
James (Jason Chang) returns to Taiwan when he inherits a very large but run down house. Being an architect he is not interested in selling it and instead plans to move in. His girlfriend Yo (Terri Kwan) is a dancer who is thinking about traveling so there is an immediate tension between the two. This is just a red herring though as she decides to stay and move into the house with him. It is a large house and they spend some time exploring. Upstairs is the family shrine a wall lined with the images of the ancestors of James' family. The early scenes of a group of people hanging in the house without explanation is so we know that this house has some sort of ghosts. We don't know the exact connection to James but we know they were probably his former relatives.
So from the definition that we got in the beginning does this mean that someone had it in for his family and used their Hsiao Guei to get them or are they worshiping their own and the price was drastically high. When our main couple has their friends over, Yi-Chen (Yu-chen Chang) and Ah-Tseng (Tender Huang) things start getting strange. After they spend time in the house at midnight the next day Ah-Tseng mysteriously appears in the house under the bed with no memory of how he got there. The scenes of James finding him there was scary and tense as he follows footprints to his location. The same thing happens with Yi-Chen she mysteriously is suddenly in the house at midnight with no memory of how she got there. Director Leste Chen keeps the tension up by cutting in scenes from the past hangings and flashes of a young boy in a blindfold. First time writer Dorian Li's story is a bit confusing but I think part of this is the editing decisions.
What could possibly happen next? Since Ah-Tseng was the first to feel the effects of the house he is the victim as the house apparently not just happy with stealing his memory and bringing him home now decides to hang him with no rope. This involves the police and the head detective Detective Wu has to suspect James since he was the last person with Ah-Tseng. When Det. Wu later shows the effects of having been to the house, that is he comes awake in the house at midnight with no memory of how he got there, then he gets serious. Cameras are installed so they can try to figure out the mystery. That is not the only thing going on though, Yo and Yi-Chen go to look at old newspapers detailing the past deaths in the house. Reports that the victims tried not to sleep because sleeping they would end up in the house.
Det. Wu does his best not to have a repeat performance the second night but unfortunately his cuffing himself to a radiator did not solve the problem as he intended it to. You have to see the scene to really appreciated it. You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with Hsiao Guei? Well that is one of the problems with this film. It winds its way towards the answers but they are slow to come. While we eventually get the full picture of the Yang family, (James is a member) and the fuller story of what happened in the earlier flashback to the group hanging it takes quite a bit of time to get there.
The urns in the attic are discovered and James and Yo have to deal with the deaths of their friends. The discovery of the crazy family story is convoluted and told through multiple flashback scenes. Then they attempt to end the curse but the final twist in the story leaves the viewer on more of a downer note. Overall the movie is enjoyable, the music is effective but it is really low rent as far as the effects. The story may go on a bit longer than you want and the tenuous connections may frustrate some but as a whole it is not bad. The subtitles on the version I had were quick so I hope you can read fast.
Rating (5.4) 5.0 and up are recommended. So Rent it!

Witchouse 3: Demon Fire (2001) - Horror Witches

Witchouse 3: Demon Fire (2001) - The third in the series happened after Full Moon Pictures started a partnership with Tempe pictures, this one was done by the Tempe people. Shot in California there seems to be no connections to the first two in the series other than the character of the witch Lilith Le Fey. I was wondering after the finality of the ending in Witchouse II: Blood Coven how a third in the series was going to resurrect Lilith, and the answer is just make unconnected shit up. It has the same writer and director as Blood Coven but man this is not really a trilogy. They up the attractive quotient by bringing in the beautiful and talented Debbie Rochon (Stevie) as well as Tanya Dempsey (Annie) and Tina Krause (Rose) closing out the cast is Paul Darrigo as Burke and Brinke Stevens as Lilith.
This story begins with Burke hitting Annie while arguing. This bit of domestic violence sets Annie off to stay with her friends, Rose and Stevie who live on the coast. She arrives to see her friends engaged in filming some sort of witchcraft ritual. Really though they are just playing as Stevie is making a documentary about local witches groups. She explains all about her work while having drinks in the hot tub. Since Stevie has been into witchcraft and Goth stuff since her teen years it is only natural that she would get a job documenting people who really think they are witches. Once properly lubricated the three decide they should try a spell from a book Stevie owns. The spell attracts the spirit of Lilith LeFey.
Rose starts seeing her in the shadows but when she turns there is no one there, but the message left behind "Burn Witches Burn" must mean something scary since it shows up so the turn has something to turn on. Not limited to Rose both Stevie and Annie have encounters with LeFey. An incident in a parking garage, and the women are on edge. They don't know why this is happening but Stevie throws out this little bit of wisdom. Its perception vs reality, because they believed in what they were doing, that belief is what made it a reality. To balance the supernatural with more earthly reasons for the goings on we have boyfriend Burke who tackles a jogging Stevie on the beach. She struggles free being the tough nut she is and then he says he just wanted to talk. Really? Tackle wrestle, uh how about "Excuse me Stevie can we talk?" He explains about Annie being one crazy bitch and that he is not abusing her. Stevie doesn't really believe it and sends him away.
This is the setup, and from there you have to figure, either Burke is speaking the truth and Annie is nuts or Lilith is in control making it look that way. There is a definite twist in this story that shows you this movie is in no way connected to the first two stories in this series. In fact this film was disappointing just for that point alone. Granted the first two films are bad with the second at least making an effort, I was just hoping for a build on that. So in the end Soresport movies has taken the bullet for you and you never have to see any of these three. Unless of course you are a glutton for punishment.
Rating (3.3) 5.0 and up are recommended in the Zombiegrrlz system I would say SKIP IT!

The Vault (2000) - Horror

The Vault (2000) - A teacher takes a group of detention serving students to an abandon high school to document its history before it is torn down. The story is that the school was originally used as a depot for slave being brought into the country. Horrible treatment of the slaved marked this period of the building. Then after the civil war it was converted into a school for former slaves to teach them to read. After this the building became part of the school system until age finally made it necessary to close it down. So with only a few days before demolition a teacher Mr. B. (Ted Lyde) brings Kyle (Michael Cory Davis), Desaray (Shani Pride), Willy (Austin Priester) and Zipper (Kyle Walker) to the building.
After seeing a mural on the wall with nondescript figures they are warned by a security guard, "I don't think having these kids in here is a good idea." What? High school age kids wandering around a dilapidated building, what could go wrong? On top of this Desaray is having a bad feeling about being there. Several scenes allow the audience to get to know the kids. Kyle tough on the outside but struggling to keep himself together dispite his drug using parents. Desaray the pretty girl who can't see past peoples exteriors. Willy the jock everyone loves and Zipper the nerd who can't stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth. Then there is Mr. B. who has recently lost his wife and surprisingly came to the school to walk down memory lane. The school is where he graduated high school and met his wife. None of the characters get much more developed than that but honestly Kyle seemed to draw the most emotional connection of the kids.
When things get weird it happens a little at first before going full tilt. When Mr. B. is talking to the security guard there is this point where he recognizes him as a janitor during the time he was a student at the school. He also has not aged a day, I wonder why that is? Later Desaray and Willie are walking down this nicely (cheaply) lit corridor of red and blue light, they don't notice that each door they pass closes. Finally after being warned not to go in the cellar, the two are in the cellar and find the titular door. Naturally Willy just has to know what is in that locked door but there is no key. Lucky for the story that Desaray is possessed by some sounds in her headphones and punches a wall revealing a key...to the lock...to the vault...of course.
When the lock is off a horrible banging on the door starts up and then breaks out, Willy and Des see inside the room are shackles on the walls. You see in the past slaves were kept in these rooms. In fact there is at a later time a story shared that a witchdoctor was put into one of the rooms back in slave days but her killed the other five slaves in the room as part of a ritual of power, the ritual was incomplete though and his soul was trapped in the room. The kids have now released it and he will try to complete the spell by killing a new six people.
The first is the van driver who did not even come in the building. The kids do notice though that his face is now on the mural they saw earlier. In fact each of the group that is killed appears in the painting, so the kids must try to find a way to get the spirit back in the room and lock it before they are all killed. This is not a horrible plot. It is a shame that the budget for this film was so small because I think the idea can work. There are some very nice CGI and practical effects including a pipe through a chest, a head cut in half, and some glowing red eyes. The pace picks up as the film goes on but the early scenes really dragged this film down with its less than effective character development. The negative of the are a drawback but I think director James Black did a decent job on this film not really going to recommend it because the production value is not up to par, the characters are too cardboard and there is way too much just following people as they walk around to make the compelling story compelling enough.
Rating (4.2) 5.0 and up are recommended.

Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) - Horror Ghost

Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) - The remake House on Haunted Hill (1999) was a rethinking of the original 1959 version. but similar enough to attempt to capture the spirit of the story. With a fairly decent cast including Geoffrey Rush, Framke Janssen, Ali Larter and Taye Diggs the story followed original close enough, the one large change was the story of the house and its mechanical system that locks it down. The film was an okay but not great attempt at a remake. This new film is a poor substitute for that mediocre film. There are no actors of note and the story is contrived. In it the sister of the Ali Larter character form the 1999 version, Ariel (Amanda Righetti) and her boyfriend Paul (Tom Riley) are kidnapped by a gang of art theives lead by Desmond (Erik Pallidino) and taken to the house in search of a valuable artifact. Also at the house at the same time is Dr. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs) and two of his students who are also looking for the statue. The ghosts of the house very quickly lock the groups in and soon they are searching around and dying gruesome deaths. If there is value in the film it is that some of the deaths are just gross. Innards ripped out, face cut off, torn into quarters or head crushed by a refrigerator deaths are bloody good. Sure they effects can always be improved on but hey this was not bad for that.

The story ends up a real survival story with everyone trying to find a way to end the slaughter. We learn that the statue is the power of the house and the only way to get out is to somehow get it out of the house. Being locked in is a problem but our ever resourceful Ariel has a solution and really the movie is centered around which characters survive to see that solution executed. I guessed correctly about half way through. We know the main character is Ariel so at least she will survive, who else though hmmmm....

Not a very compelling film nor a particularly entertaining one this dud will leave you scratching your head. Even if you see it it probably will not satisfy.

Rating (4.1) 5.0 and up are recommended, in the Zombiegrrlz system I say Rent it for the gore.