Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: In need of money, a girl agrees to become the bride of a dead man only to discover she is getting more than she bargained for.
Review: "The Ghost Bride" is an unrefined mess that feels more like a first draft than a feature length film. While the core premise is cool, it has been tackled before and done better; for example, check out "The Maid." Don't get me wrong, there are positive aspects to "The Ghost Bride," but the overall presentation is blander than it should have been given the subject matter. Ghost Month has become the Halloween of Asia, but it still needs a true, legendary film to do the holiday justice. This is not that film sadly. On the bright side, that little cookie from "The Healing," Kim Chiu, serves as our lead chickadee which certainly helped me to slog through the overly long running time.
The story starts off interesting enough except that the main ghost looks like a rejected member of the Royal Flush Gang. People are getting their hearts ripped out and the ghosts appear to be running amok. However, the movie will have a ton of holes by the end with characters seeing supernatural occurrences yet shrugging them off like no big deal. Speaking of which--dear lord--there are way too many damn family members. I don't know who the fuck half these people are or what is their relationship to Mayen, Ms. Chiu's character. Mayen's drama with her boyfriend is also ludicrous and should have been cut entirely. And was her cousin trying to marry her? Who was that pink shirt-wearing jackass exactly? And if that weren't enough, Mayen's ex(?) pops up at the eleventh hour to save the day, and we only heard his character mentioned like twice.
The main problem here is a lack of focus. The story is too chaotic and is structured nonsensically. The reveal that Mayen married something akin to a demon was nice, but we are not given context about who or what the ghost is or why it wants Mayen specifically. There is essentially an entire international group of henchman working for this demon yet what is the point? If killing someone while wearing that dumb bracelet sends them to hell, why even bother with this ghost bride scheme? It was amusing when Mayen is suddenly an incredible swordswoman out of nowhere and can beat four bitches at once. Uh, okaaaay. What were the filmmakers actually trying to accomplish here?
Ultimately, there is a lack of vision and direction with "The Ghost Bride." The ghosts are CGI instead of makeup effects which looks atrocious. The movie is too long, has too many tangents, and is not told coherently. Still, I do like certain aspects and can appreciate the effort. Ms. Chiu is as cute as ever and was probably the best part. Underneath all the mistakes, the Ghost Month plot is intriguing and could have been done well. I can't really recommend this when you could get a better experience from "The Maid," but if you're slightly curious maybe go in with low expectations and hope to be surprised.
Notable Moment: When Clinton dies. I actually thought he looked scarier than the ghosts.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
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