Ghost Theater (TV Show) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: An anthology series, covering a wide spectrum of horror tales, intended to promote a film of the same title.

Review: I'm not sure on the fine details of this show, but there appears to be only these ten episodes in total. Each episode is introduced by this guy from the movie version of "Ghost Theater," and there is a continual reminder to check out the actual movie so we can conclude this came out first. Other than that, many sites list that the cast is primarily comprised of girls from the hugely popular J-pop group, AKB48. I'm not much of a fan of that group, however, the girls here are all pretty good looking so I'm going to assume that these really are girls from that group; if you're a fan of AKB48 then this will be a tremendous bonus. Finally, I want to acknowledge that Amazon Prime done goofed and has episode eight playing twice rather than all ten episodes in completion. It's almost ironic really since the episode that they play twice is called "Recurrence" and is about a girl stuck in a time loop. Get your shit together Amazon!

Enough of the intro bullshit--what about this series itself? Surprisingly, this show is well above average as far as these kind of shows go. The effects aren't half bad, and most of the stories felt original enough even if predictable. The constant use of the same music can be annoying, yet, each story offers a wide variety of ideas to play with. The cute girls certainly help, but the pacing is on point when telling consistently positive stories. While not every episode is a hit, most are going to keep you engaged. So let's take a look, shall we?

Episode 1 - Burial: To kick the series off, we have a drunk student being passed off to the quiet girl in class after a party. Of course, the quiet girl has more going on than meets the eye as the two go to her cool-looking house to sleep off the booze. After hearing some noises, and being told not to go into a particular room, the drunk girl discovers a third, tied up girl as well as the implication that the quiet girl is a serial "kidnapper" as they say. Can't it just be a killer? The obvious twist is that the quiet girl captured the real killer who was tied up and is now freed. After the revelation becomes clear, the drunk and quiet girl put up a pitiful struggle against the killer who later buries them alive. Overall, this was an okay episode in comparison to the rest but still a decent way to start.

Episode 2 - Final Hour: A girl staying at the hospital for whatever illness comes to notice a dark figure in the photos of other patients. Big shock, the patients then die shortly thereafter. When the girl realizes that the figure is after a little boy she has befriended she tries to stop his death. Inadvertently, the girl exchanges her life for the boy's, and the figure finally comes for her later on. I mean, the plain as day implication is that this figure is the grim reaper so why fight it? I'd put this on the weaker side of the segments, but it's still not too bad despite the cookie-cutter nature of the plot.

Episode 3 - Idol: This time around we have a dad begging an old friend of his daughter for help. The daughter has become a shut-in obsessed with a dead pop singer. The old friend tries to snap the girl out of her obsession, but she becomes more crazed as time goes on. The two decide to meet up with other fans of the dead idol only to discover that the fans kill themselves on the anniversary of said idol's death. When they do not go through with the suicide, the ghosts of dead fans appear to awaken and kill the old friend--the obsessed daughter feeling some kind of sense of retribution for the friend getting her into the fandom in the first place. Eh, the ending is a bit weak yet effective nonetheless.

Episode 4 - Carrion: Changing up the pace considerably, this story tries to be more comedic with emphasis on the horror elements being extra ludicrous. The most popular girl in school is a model and used to be friends with the biggest loser in the school. When the two cross paths one night, the model accidentally knocks the loser off a bridge and leaves the girl for dead. The next day, however, the loser is back at school and has become some kind of zombie. Using the guilt of the model, the loser then forces the two to become friends again to the surprise of the school. As the loser continues to rot, they try to hide her appearance while the model also attempts to date her co-worker, also a model. The loser ends up going full zombie and eating the boyfriend who was actually more interested in the loser--emphasizing the zany antics. At the end, the girls fight once more at the same bridge and both fall over. To the loser's joy, and the model's great dismay, the two have both become zombies together. This was one of the better episodes to me, but I can see the tone annoying others who want pure horror tales. The model was one of the best looking chicks in this series, and there was something about the loser too. She has some crazy teeth, but, I don't know, there's something about her look--I kinda like it more.

The model in the foreground, and the "loser" in the background. Wish I knew the actresses' names.

Episode 5 - Fate: From night to day, the next episode tries to be overly serious and is maybe trying to make some kind of societal statement. A girl regales her school psychiatrist (?) with a tale where she posted a picture of a supposed voyeur online. Unintentionally, the pic went viral leading to the man committing suicide with his reputation destroyed. When it is revealed the guy was innocent, people begin stalking and hounding the girl. While I thought this story was leading to some kind of big twist, we simply come to learn the ghost of the man is after her too...seemingly. And that's really it. Hmm, I'd say this is one of the worst segments when all things are considered, however, it does have good atmosphere and keeps you interested in where this is all heading; unfortunately, the story was heading nowhere.

Episode 6 - Ruins: This was a damn fine episode with some commendable scares to boot. After showing the audience a couple of kids being picked off by some ghost known as the "bandage woman," we are introduced to a traveling family whose car breaks down at the same site the kids died at. When exploring these ruins, if you will, the parents are picked off in cool ways. The mom specifically is killed using a great scare that also serves as an awesome camera trick; I give a lot of praise for that scare and it's simplistic effectiveness. The ghost does get the remaining two girls after we get a final, cool reveal/scare involving a sound you keep hearing. This is how you do an anthology segment, people. Asian horror cliches? Sure. But are they done well? You bet your ass. If you only watch one episode of this show then let it be this one.

Episode 7 - Hallucination: A rising pop star goes on a radio show to promote her album only to be haunted by a spirit from her past. The buildup is admirable as the ghost appears to be getting closer and only the pop star can hear her voice. Everyone else thinks the pop star is losing her mind until they all disappear, leaving the pop star alone with the vengeful ghost. We come to learn the two were friends until the price of stardom led to their friendship shattering and the one girl being pushed in front of a van. The ghostly encounter turns out to be some kind of delusion or trick by the ghost to admit on the airways that she is guilty. The pop star goes completely fucking nuts at the end which is okay, because she's like the cutest girl in the series.

Episode 8 - Recurrence: I'd place this episode toward the top and maybe another contender for the best depending on your outlook. A girl wakes up in a strange building--clearly the one from the "Ruins" episode--and attempts to find her sister and escape. As the two sisters try to find a way out they come across a large group of shadowy figures that block their path. With each instance of the girls failing to escape, a time loop of sorts resets. We are shown the main girl trying different strategies to escape but to no avail. Eventually a man appears--some kind of psychic--and he reveals to the main girl that she is a ghost trapped in a memory. She was burned to death in a fire, but she was actually successful in saving her sister who is now grown up. Those shadowy figures are malevolent spirits of other victims who are angry, and they seek to kill the adult version of the sister. Once more, the main girl saves her sister, her spirit seemingly able to rest. There's a lot to appreciate in this segment, and I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of a benevolent spirit since we so rarely get those. Likewise, we finally get some different music during the revelation scene which let me know the editors also knew this moment was too powerful for the typical ambient music heard in every episode.

Episode 9 - Longing: Now, keep in mind, Amazon Prime lists this as episode 10, but we know the truth! A young actress is practicing on the stage with the help of her mentor, a retired actress herself. Somehow the presence of these women awakens a kind of manifestation of negative energy. It's hard to explain since it's not really supposed to be a specific ghost as much as bottled up anger and jealousy. Regardless of the explanation, the mentor somehow becomes possessed by this energy and goes apeshit. The two actresses clash with the younger coming out on top...or you'd think. In typical fashion it is revealed at the end that the younger actress is somehow possessed too or that the mentor is now possessing her. I like the basic concepts here, but the general premise is muddled by shenanigans and a lack of clarity.

Episode 10 - Eternity: Again, if you're watching this on Amazon then you will need to find an outside source for this story. I went with Asiancrush as they had it on their site. As for the episode itself, sadly the series goes out with arguably the weakest segment of the bunch. Maybe that's why Amazon got rid of it?! A housekeeper starts work at a house only occupied by a young boy and his apparent grandmother. Surprise, these goofballs are not what they seem. The boy is some kind of spirit or creature or something; it's never explained what exactly he is. The grandma was just the last chick he kept at his house for like 50 years or something until he needed a younger replacement...which is where the main girl comes into play. Little is explained as to why any of this is happening or how. For example, if the boy keeps these girls locked up until they're old women then how do they have food or pay for the house or anything?! And how long has this shit been going on for? Ugh, what a mess. I'd say, this is probably the worst episode and easily skipped.

As a whole, I enjoyed watching this series and looked forward to each episode. Some episodes are on the weak side, but there was far more positive than negative. Of course, having those cute girls in every segment works wonders for me! Again, if you want to give one episode a try--to see a general glimpse at the quality--go with "Ruins." There are only ten episodes in total and each segment is probably like 20 minutes total if you cut out the bullshitting with the intros, closing credits, and previews...so you could easily binge-watch them all in one sitting.

Notable Moment: During the "Ruins" episode when the bandage woman looks like a little girl and runs toward the camera only to become her true form at the last second. There is a scene extremely similar in "Annabelle," however it works slightly different here. Very effective and creepy nonetheless.

Final Rating: 6.5/10