Director – David Blyth (My Grandpa is a Vampire, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Starring – Yoson An (Grace, Path of Exile), Rebekah Palmer (Group, Coverband), and Fiona Feng
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 2/5
Tagline – “Till death do us part”
Most of you may have noticed this by now, but I have a soft spot for Asian horror. To be more specific, Asian splatter but I am open to them all. I have been lucky enough to check out some great Asian horror flicks from Korea, Japan, and Thailand. However, I have never seen an Asian based horror flick filmed in New Zealand by a non-Asian director about Chinese folklore around Chinese immigrants. The film I am speaking of is the 2013 horror thrillerGhost Bride. The film was recently sent to me by my friends over at Midnight Releasing. I was curious how this film would play out so I tossed it in over the holidays to check out.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows the son of two Chinese immigrants named Jason (An) who has been secretly seeing a beautiful white girl named Skye (Palmer) for well over a year without his mother knowing. His father passed away not long ago and his mother wants him to find a girl from their home country so she hired a Chinese matchmaker. Unbeknownst to them, the matchmaker is going to use magic to bring her deceased daughter back to life and join them in holy matrimony. Her daughter then starts haunting Jason and Skye forcing Jason to stand up for his secret love and stopping this supernatural menace from killing the one he loves.**Spoiler Alert**
The Asian films I love are always gruesome and anarchic. However, there are a few of these films that I have seen that are serious in nature and offer up some great atmosphere. Sadly, this Asian influenced horror film from New Zealand was unable to deliver anything worth watching.
The acting in this one is outstanding. The entire cast is great but the film hinges on the chemistry between Yoson An and Rebekah Palmer. The two work so well together which makes their scenes very entertaining. The remainder of the cast does a solid job but they are no where near the level as these two.
The story for this one has so much potential but the film goes a confusing route. The story following the Chinese matchmaker trying to get Jason hooked up with her deceased daughter. This was a great story but there was several elements that threw the flow of the story off. The first being that the viewer has no idea that she is alive of dead. If she is a ghost then how in the fuck did Jason strangle her? Also, what was the point of the ritual that her mother performs to bring her back to laugh but it’s actually not bringing her back to life. The film has the potential but the team behind it was unable to capitalize on it.
Finally, those of you looking for great kills and splatter will not find it here. Also, if you are looking for a film with some great atmosphere then you will be left feeling let down. Overall, Ghost Bride was a huge let down. The film has a great cast and a story that could be so much more only to go the mediocre path with a film that is barely watchable. I do not recommend this one.
