Mourning Grave Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After moving to a new school, a guy who can see spirits must figure out why a vengeful ghost is killing his classmates.

Review: Yet again, this is some seriously wasted potential. The director seemingly couldn't figure out what to make of this movie. Is it a fantasy romance? Comedy horror? Serious horror? Lame high school drama? You tell me. None of these elements were blended properly at all, and that idiotic ending sure as hell wasn't helping either. Still, there are redeeming qualities to "Mourning Grave" that make it mildly enjoyable. In fact, had the filmmakers simply committed to one genre as the focus, this could have been quite good. More precisely, the horror aspect was the strongest part, and there were some great scares in there; the ghost specifically was a cool design.

So, right out the gate, the story kind of fumbles with the main guy, In-soo, seeing ghosts but everything has a lighthearted tone to it. People bully In-soo over his abilities which is kind of hard to take seriously. It's also kind of moronic that the ghosts sort of have to figure out on their own that he can see them rather than being naturally drawn to him; this is a plot point later contradicted in the film. Anyway, In-soo returns to his hometown that he once abandoned due to discovering his abilities and solving a murder during his childhood. There are way too many plot tangents for the story to handle which reeks of sloppy editing or script changes late in the game. Tough to say. We also learn that these medium-esque abilities are a part of In-soo's family as we meet his goofball uncle. At this point, the film has presented a comedic tone that suddenly shifts into a drama once In-soo befriends a ghost girl who, sorta, becomes his love interest. This girl, Sae-hee, is really cute and nice so it's not hard to fall for her especially when the only thing that makes her appear dead is being slightly paler than a regular Korean girl (which is even debatable unto itself). I want to say the film could have easily, and safely, transitioned into a fantasy-romance and it would have made more sense...but that's not the route they go.

Once more, In-soo is bullied by dweebs at school. I love how like 5 kids are terrorizing this whole school like it would be impossible to beat their asses. Hell, 3 of them are girls! In-soo said he was lonely and lived in the USA prior to the film's events. Here's what happens...I come to Korea, become In-soo's bodyguard, we kick the shit of these dweebs, fight evil ghosts, and he hooks me up with a Korean girl! Sigh. Okay, where was I? Oh, right, so these bullies led to the death of a student that has become a vengeful spirit that is picking them off. The identity of the ghost is kept hidden in the most absurd of ways which leads the audience to the painfully obvious conclusion that Sae-hee is the ghost. These shenanigans are explained away by saying there are two sides to Sae-hee's spirit which is just dumb. We come to learn that Sae-hee was relentlessly bullied until she committed suicide. Then her ghost possessed her grieving father who wanted revenge anyhow. In-soo tries to free the ghost of her pain which leads to yet another ridiculous twist--that, when they were kids, Sae-hee and In-soo knew each other and she was his crush or something. Good lord...stop...please. Whatever, In-soo frees her spirit and she goes off to Kayako-land or wherever. Despite this melodrama, the movie still tries to give us a zinger scare! What?! How does that even come close to fitting the tone?

Essentially, this was a movie that could have been great, however, it's buried under needless bullshit. The romance subplot was good yet squandered. The scares and ghost designs are creepy yet those are cancelled out by predictable plot twists and weak drama. The lighthearted tone was working until the film tried its hand at said melodrama. All in all, the attempt to bring everything to the table, while never focusing on anything, creates a mess of a story and a film as a whole. Don't get me wrong, there are things to enjoy here, but the way everything comes together is a monumental failure. This script needed some polish and clarity to either commit to straight horror or cut something out. I still think this is worth a watch, however, you need to dial back your expectations big time.

Notable Moment: When the evil version of Sae-hee is appearing in a flickering flashlight. Awesome effect. The tilted camera is a nice touch and the blood smeared on her mask looks like a sadistic grin (intentional or not).

Final Rating: 5.5/10