Bone
House Asia
R1
DVD
Web: http://www.bonehouseasia.com/
“Today
is a special day for the Chinese.
It’s
the fourteenth day of the seventh month…
In
other words, the Chinese Halloween.
So
what’s this all about?
It’s
known that the gates of purgatory will open on this day…
And
the hungry ghosts will be released….”
Kuala
Lampur-based producer Lina Tan is celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival of the
Lunar Seventh Month and has collected many tales and stories of the time when
the dead cross over into the world of the living. He has presented us with four
tales from award winning filmmakers to explore the genre. The movie is
“bookended” by a radio personality discussing tales of the festival and offers
a superb anthology of ghost tales, all of which have a twist in the tale
(tail).
1413 Directed by Low Ngai
1413
opens with what seems to be deadly suicide pact with bodies photographed from
various angles and with a powerful sense of dread and loss. Yuen Mae Ling
regains consciousness and is haunted by a pale figure dressed in red. She does
not remember what has happened or even if she is responsible for her friend’s
death. As she regains her memory, the
visitor becomes more and more real, but is she there to take revenge or to help
? This is a ghost story with a nice twist in the tail.
Waiting for Them Directed by James Lee
Sam
spends her life with people who don’t give her what she needs – a work life
that is less than challenging, an occasional boyfriend too distant to provide the emotional support
she desires, and her depressed friend Ann, with whom she spends long hours on
the phone talking over a failed relationship. As Sam becomes upset over a
despondent phone from Ann she finds her wondering the street and suddenly open
to another realm.
Nodding Scoop Directed by Ng Tian Hann
An
aspiring young videographer wants to photograph a spirit conjured during a
traditional divination ritual known as the Nodding Scoop. He, of course, is
somewhat of a skeptic and wonders if it is all some sort of trick. However when
the participants offend the ghost they have summoned, they soon learn that the
game they are playing is very risky indeed.
Anybody Home? Directed by Ho Yuhang
Obsession
is a dangerous thing and in the modern world, technology can create an
environment in which we are never truly alone. But the question is what is
watching us and can what we don’t know
really hurt us ?
Visits
is a superb example of subtle filmmaking, there is little blood, gore or
violence, with the emphasis on mood, suspense and tension. Each of the ghost
stories is intriguing and deliberately ambiguous leaving a lot to the
imagination. I especially like the fact that they are in many ways “open ended”
and do not offer a traditional easy to understand explanation, but have various
possible interpretations. The cinematography is excellent and the music is
moody and unpredictable. These are intelligent and refined ghost tales which
are set within the context of Asian myth and legend, yet based in the modern
world. Each story offers a refreshing take on an age old horror genre.
The
video is clear and well presented and the subtitles are clear and easy to
follow.
This review will appear in Volume 2:1
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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