I Am a Ghost

I Am a Ghost (2012) is a movie I watched for free off Amazon Prime last week. The storyline focuses on a woman, Emily, who is a ghost that gets randomly contacted by a clairvoyant who is trying to release her as a spirit within a house. To convince Emily she is indeed a ghost and walk her through how to leave the house the clairvoyant will need to walk Emily through her death, her life that led to her death and help her overcome her inner demon(s). This movie is directed by H. P. Mendoza (Rodents of Unusual Size) and stars Anna Ishida (Bitter Melon). The storyline for this picture is actually pretty interesting and a unique take on the poltergeist genre. The movie dragged during some parts in the middle but I really enjoyed the ending and how the pieces/parts came together. I strongly recommend watching this if you're looking for something different. I'd give it a 7/10.

I'm going to open by saying, none of the positive reviews on this movie are "fluff reviews" they are genuine reviews by people who watched this movie and enjoyed it like I did. Now that that is out of the way, on to discussing the move at hand. I think my biggest enjoyment was getting to watch something original and not formulaic or that has already been done 100 times. Not that I'm against that, when a formula works, it works and you keep using it. It's just hard to find new creative ideas for movies this day in age and this movie has done just that. There is no twist in my opinion, this movie is very open and upfront about what it is. We the viewers are experiencing the "ghosts" side of the story as opposed to the living and "mediums" side which is how almost every other ghost story is told. I'm going to leave it at that because if that doesn't interest you enough to go watch this movie, then you probably wouldn't have liked it anyway. My only complaint really is the opening sequence gets a little mundane and could've been shortened and if time needed to be added to make to for that, we could've delved into the back story of the main character more, because they're are questions that get brought up, but never answered. One big question that is brought up though, but not verbally answered I feel is answered by the movies scenery, props, and the main characters attire. The ending is left a little open but I think if you sit back and take a little time to think about it, you can come to your own solid conclusion of what happened. That being said, I think that's why the director took the ending in that direction. In closing, I felt I need to write a review about this movie due to the not so intelligent people leaving negative reviews about not understanding what this movie is about and making false accusations against the positive reviews left about this movie. Currently, it is available for free, with ads, on vudu. So go watch it

While the vast majority of Hollywood movies are made on a budget of millions, an amount of money I can't even fathom seeing over the course of my life, the budget for I Am a Ghost couldn't even afford you a decent used car. While this doesn't excuse a boring picture, it seems amiss to not at least consider when judging the success of the film. So it does occasionally look cheap, especially in the effects of the eventual "monster" and for some reason the obvious wig that near solo actress Anna Ishida wears throughout. It also greatly overplays it's hand at repeating various scenes. While I understand this is a plot device used to show the redundancy of the ghost's rituals, one can't help but wonder if the filmmakers leaned into this to pad out an already lean run-time to feature film length.

Otherwise, the movie does succeed beyond it's limitations. There's a clever premise at the core, flipping a haunted house movie to the ghost's perspective, which I can't say I've seen explored much before. Anna Ishida does a bang up job expressing the confusion of the situation. There's a pleasant, Lynchian abstraction that floats around the movie, and even the aforementioned repetitive editing does effectively convey how the fabric of reality has broken down. This is all the more impressive when you realize what they were working with and makes it easy to forgive many of the film's shortcomings.

If you appreciate a movie that pulls you in, all the while requiring you to think; at the same time eliciting strong feelings in you that you do not expect and might rather not feel, then this is a movie for you. Simply presented, economically fashioned, and searingly executed it is soul-freezing in its directness; subtle in the manner of a systemic disease that presents as a seemingly innocent bump while complications reveal themselves only as you begin to pay closer and closer attention. This is sophisticated psychospiritual horror. It had (has?) me wondering if I was (am?) a Ghost. It is not a quickly developing story, but the pace befits the subject and the shifting rhythm carries you along until patience definitely pays off. I would suggest a mild warning for those who have issues of a traumatic nature. This movie may be an unsuspected trigger (that is cocked and ready...and loaded).

I'm a fan of paranormal and ghost movies. I Am a Ghost felt "new", a unique voice standing apart from other films. I had no idea what to expect and I wasn't disappointed. It lingered with me for days. I don't want to give anything away, but the movie provides a slow moody build up before unfolding its mystery. I want to watch it again to catch clues. Initially, you watch the main character Emily go through daily, mundane routines at home, and there is repetitiveness in order to illustrate an important point. Throughout these daytime scenes, you quickly realize that something is awry. There were some truly scary parts. The main character is living in this creepy, out-of-time, old house. Even in daylight, the house manages to feel oppressive and terrifying.