Death Train

Good ghost movies are hard to find. I love a good ghost movie, but normally most turn out to be teen-slashers, or just plain silly. This one is very enjoyable. It's not terrifying, and it will not make you hide behind your sofa or think too much, but it is creepy and well-paced. There are some jumpy moments, but the real stress is on a slow build up. For some time the presence of anything sinister is only hinted at. We see characters interacting, dark shadows in the corner, and glimpses of the past, mostly experienced by the main character, a female conductor. It is her first trip as a conductor, and the last trip for a train on that particular line, on which a terrible accident has happened years earlier. There is an atmosphere of menace, which slowly becomes more threatening as more of the characters' fears and backgrounds are revealed and the train gathers speed. There are clichéd scenes, such as someone innocently picking up a coat out of which falls an important newspaper clipping, but they are not bad enough to render the film ridiculous. The effects are well done and sometimes scary, and the slow pacing, accompanied by the constant sound of the train and the subtle cinematography, make for a great atmosphere. If you enjoy spookiness and ghosts you will like this.

It's not as good as the big ones like One missed call,The Grudge or The Ring

but it's pretty scary and have good effects so i would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes Asian thrillers!

Sometimes it's a little dull ( i feel asleep) halfway through it!

But that could have been just me being tired (or maybe i was so scared i passed out ^-^

As usual in Asian thrillers it's kinda hard to follow in the plot and it leaves you with a vague feeling of unsatisfaction..

Did I or Didn't I get the end right?

But if you just relax and enjoy the movie its scary enough in itself and the actors are good and believable. I gave it an 7 out of ten cause i'm sure it will get even better when i watch it again (without falling asleep this time!)

In this too stupid ghost on a train story, the heroine sees ghosts. Of course, the ghost have issues and, as in many flicks of late, only our heroine has enough sense to figure it out. She gets a little help from another everyday gal with psychic powers along the way, but it's the spirit world that has to intervene for the sake of the none-too-bright living. Not too much that's original in this Korean flick that tries to generate tension but never really succeeds. It moves slowly and never pays off. I think I would have written less, but the guidelines require ten lines. This movie doesn't deserve 10 lines. What a silly rule.

OK so here are a few more lines to fill out the space required. If you get a chance to rent this DVD as a special, and you're bored, go for it. Otherwise, rent something else.

BOne of the best Korean horror? ... Are you kidding? Let's disassemble this train.

Acting was so poor and naive, like one in a B-class 60-s, say, Chinese communist comedy about countryside life.

Camera panning was weird and again naive... Looked like the only editor they could afford had taken a lifetime vacation so they just cut the film with kitchen scissors without any idea of transitions.

Sound is fine... if only one can live with a full-silent background in cabin of a high-speed train on the move.

Naivety of the script was shining bright in the climax full of pathetic (around 15-minutes) dialogs sort of "Oh, daughter, forgive me" "Oh, father, we will stay together forever". Oh, man, it was so damn romantic.

The other thing I liked about this train except decorations and the only somehow impressive scene with a girl out of the pool of blood were weak exploitations of claustrophobic fears with shots in dark tunnel, classic trick with lights turning off one by one and so on.

I would rate this as a B-class Asian horror, nothing in common with higher-class Ju-on, Ringu and more representative genre specimens from Korea like A Tale of Two Sisters or Doll Master.

Having lost her father in a train accident at a young age, "Oh Mi-sun" (Shin-yeong Jang) grows up and volunteers to work on the very same train her father served on previously. As it so happens her first job occurs on her birthday and also on the last run for this particular train before it is deactivated. Essentially, what Oh Mi-sun needs is closure and she believes this is her one and only chance for it. However, things don't quite go as planned because mysterious events begin to occur which only Oh Mi-sun and a young female passenger named "So-hee" (Ji-min Kwak) are able to partially discern. Not long afterward people begin to die in mysterious circumstances. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting film which was hampered by its ambiguous direction. That said, perhaps some of this confusion could have been resolved had more time been spent providing greater background detail. In any case, although the movie lacked sufficient clarity it was still entertaining to a certain degree. Additionally, the presence of several pretty actresses like the aforementioned Ji-min Kwak certainly didn't hurt either. Be that as it may, and despite its rather obvious faults, I rate this movie as about average and recommend it to those who enjoy horror movies of this type.