Mourning Grave is basically an Asian horror version of The Frighteners. It is also a movie about a reluctant hero with the ability to see and communicate with spirits. But Mourning Grave isn't as interested in bending genre tropes, and ends up burdening itself with lackluster scares. The film is pretty charming in its sweeter moments, but in the end it is defined by its poor attempts at emulating Asian horror elements.
In-su (Kang Haneul) can see ghosts. This ability has caused him a lot of trouble, leading to him traveling from place to place hoping to find do some peace. He returns to his hometown and moves back into his family home with his uncle, who can also see ghosts. His uncle advises him to just ignore the ghosts, but he befriends one (Kim So-Eun) who urges him to use his gifts to help people out. And it just happens that there is a vengeful spirit on the prowl targeting his classmates. In-su must discover the truth about an incident from a year prior that led to the death of a bullied girl.
The film suffers a bit from an identity crisis. It is somewhat of a horror movie, the language of the scenes clearly indicating that the audience is supposed to be scared of the things popping up in screen. But it never feels more than an obligation. The real pleasures of this film lie in scenes that aren't trying to scare the audience. Instead, they explore the lighter side of being able to see ghosts. The second act of this film is pretty sweet, with In-su learning to embrace his abilities at the prodding of his new ghostly friend. There is a kindness to these sequences that is far compelling than its attempts at darkness.
But the film is ultimately about its ghostly mystery, the plot building to a pair of twists that can be seen from a mile away. The film ends up having to structure itself around these revelations, which means that the climax is delayed with a lengthy flashback that fills us in on emotional content that would have mattered more if it were just placed at the start of the picture. It feels like the movie is introducing new elements in its final moments, rushing towards drama that just hasn't been earned.
The horror content just isn't very well done. The film's ghosts are more or less just a bunch of oily-haired whitefaced people. Their ubiquity in Asian horror has really weakened their impact. And the production doesn't exert much effort in making them more eerie or unsettling. Its main trick is sudden cutaways to closeups of these ghosts, the film not even bothering with the pretense of suspense or atmosphere. The acting is pretty broad, but it actually works pretty well for the film. The performances shine through the extra barrier of Tagalog dubbing.
The final moments of Mourning Grave reaffirm its misguided commitment to the horror genre, teasing a final scare that doesn't really have anything to do with what the characters went through in the last eighty or so minutes. The film just isn't very good at being scary, and it doesn't really feel like the filmmakers have any particular passion for the genre. Their sensibilities are better served in the sweeter moments of the movie, where the ghostly elements become the source of weird romance and deadpan comedy.
My Rating:
