 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | ADV FILMS | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 90 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV MA | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 07/17/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 07/1672007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Ghost Train centers around an average high school student named Nana. She’s almost ready to leave her home for college, but a series of odd events prevent her from spending much time planning for her future. Nana and her younger sister meet up with a young boy they know at the subway station and he mentions that he has found a lost rail pass. He seems a bit shaken, and explains to the two girls that a woman in black just told him that he would soon die because of his finding of the lost rail pass. The girls don’t think much of it as he is just a kid and may not be telling the truth – they tell him to hand the rail pass into the lost and found and forget about it. As Nana and her little sister leave the station, the young boy is dragged onto the rails by some indistinguishable creature or spirit. No one sees this happen, and he disappears from sight.
That’s how the movie starts out, and the plot thickens slowly as more and more people “disappear.” The police have no leads on the young boy, or the seemingly dozens of other individuals that have gone missing in and around the station. This doesn’t overly concern Nana until her little sister goes missing. Nana’s mother is in the hospital because she has a weak heart and is totally bedridden; her father may not be part of the family anymore, as he is no where to be seen. Nana feels alone and isolated when she can’t seem to find anyone who knows where her sister may have gone, but she slowly pieces together the facts – facts that indicate there is something evil lurking beneath the ground in the subway tunnels she frequents. With some help from a handful of new friends also affected in various ways by the disappearances, Nana braves the tunnels to find out what exactly has taken her sister – the only question is who, if anyone, will make it back. Japanese horror films are actually pretty scary for the most part. The Ring and The Grudge were both remade films of original Japanese concepts – both of those movies are hugely frightening with their use of imagery and storytelling. Ghost Train plays up on a lot of those quintessential Japanese horror themes, making it not terribly original, but still certainly very scary. There are going to be a number of times during this movie that most people will want to turn away – the Japanese are great at making some pretty horrific and/or chilling imagery pop right up in front of you when you least expect it! Ghost Train is no exception to the rule, with its creepy dark places, characters in isolation, and frightening long-haired spirits. Even more than that though, it’s what the director won’t show you that can be the most suspenseful – you’re always waiting for something terrible to appear and suck the life out of whatever poor victim is wandering around alone in the subway tunnels. As for gore, it’s not really a gore movie. The scares are mostly based on creepy visuals, and rarely any show of blood and guts. There is one suicide in the film, making it completely inappropriate for younger audiences. But this film should be able to scare people of all ages, so if that’s your kind of thing, give this one a once over. Besides being scary, the overall acting is also pretty good, and the story moves at a fast enough pace to keep interest throughout. Those are all good signs that this film should serve its purpose in entertainment. EXTRAS:
A “Making Of” for the film, English voice actor’s commentary, Japanese trailor, US trailor, ADV Previews, DVD Credits IN SUMMARY:
Ghost Train follows many of the Japanese horror themes that have become so popular in recent years. It may not be the most original horror film you’ve ever seen, but it is without a doubt SCAREY. Don’t watch alone.
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