The Lessons Not Learned in Ghost Month: A Movie Review

Director/writer: Danny Draven.

Cast: Marina Resa, Shirley To and Akiko Shima.

Once in a while, a filmmaker will see fit to remake an Asian J-Horror product. Some will prove mildly successful, and others are best forgotten. For a select few, including Ghost Month, they are stuck in a zone where it can be better if only it paid more attention to the details.

The original treatment, The Maid (2005), is generally well received. It reveals some of the ancient Chinese traditions of how the dead should be honored during the seventh month of the lunar year. Much like the ancient Celtic tradition of Halloween, ghosts are said to freely roam the land. These ancestral spirits are greatly respected. Without some kind of spin to the customs, a movie cannot be made. In both films, they are also greatly feared.

With Ghost Month, the tale is a cautionary one of how curiousity can kill the cat. In this case, it’s also in how Western eyes interpret Eastern traditions. A very reclusive Miss Wu (Shirley To) hires a housemaid, Alyssa (Marina Resa), to take care of the homestead. But when the estate is neatly tucked away in the middle of the Nevada desert, the isolation that Alyssa craves proves to be damaging to her mental health. Although she is escaping her psycho boyfriend, Jacob (Jerod Edington), this particular subplot is not fully explored.

All he does is demonstrate how much he craves a fitting end to their relationship instead of trying to work through his already damaged psyche. Had there been more, viewers would understand why Jacob is what he is, than that of a homicidal train-wreck.

But most of this movie centers on Alyssa. Resa comes through as very likable and the character she plays is very cat-like. She pokes around too much. Even the neighbours are not inquisitive like her. They do not understand or try to inquire why Miss Wu and her often-silent aunt (Akiko Shima) burn paper and incense every night, during the same month every year. Eventually, her boss explains why but that happens after Alyssa breaks a cultural taboo. The story would have fared better if the two sat down, and Alyssa received a lesson in Ancestor Worship 101.

But one look at the rites being performed show that the two Chinese characters are performing their rites out of fear than respect for the dead. Viewers will pick up on that fine bit of acting, and in what Alyssa witnesses, she does not take the time to question what they are doing.

Wu says these ghosts are mostly friendly, but there will be some who want to stick around after Ghost Month is over. She even mentions there are a few malicious entities, and that’s why the mirror hangs at the front door. But had this film taken the lesson in cultural beliefs further, they should be fed too. These “hungry ghosts” would leave and be on their merry way. In the real tradition, a final rite is to place a candle lantern on a paper boat. When the flame goes out, they are supposed to return to the Netherworld.

But viewers who understand the Cantonese language will have to chuckle when the ghosts start talking to Alyssa. They are literally asking her for help, and she does not realize it. Instead, she is prone to fainting and dreaming of being in a strange brick cage. Her many mistakes, like stepping over a pile of ash and then cleaning it up, get the attention of both worlds.

She winds up being scolded by Miss Wu. Oddly enough, she’s never fired from the job. Even though she never gets a full lesson about these ancient traditions, what she learns during the film does not help her. Joss sticks (incense) can be used to feed the dead as well as repel them. Hell money (which can include super thin gold foil) is sent to the other side so the dead have currency to spend. Suspiciously missing are the offering of simple fruits and alcohol to the unfriendly spirits. Maybe the spirits would not be so vindictive if they received the full rites. If paper effigies of gold bars, clothing, houses and cars were also passed over, the undead can go cruising down the highway instead of sticking around.

But Miss Wu has a dark secret to explain why she is being haunted. Ghost Month is the worst time of the month for her surviving family. The mystery, its clues, and red herrings are nicely introduced one by one. But the way this film develops gets lost when the ex-boyfriend interrupts the flow of the movie. The film might have been more fun if the hungry ghosts found an ally and went after him instead. Given his problematical nature, they would have indigestion.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

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