A young journalist stumbles upon a story that blows up as she starts publishing it. Soon, she finds herself entangled in a story of ghosts, untimely deaths, and grudges.
Written by Horang, Yong-Ki Jeong, and Soyoung Lee, with Yong-Ki Jeong directing, this take on the vengeful ghosts with a grudge is fairly entertaining, has a few spooky moments, and overall moves at a fast pace. The story will not exactly surprising to anyone who watches a lot of Asian ghost stories, you know the Jurei kind, the cursed spirits, the Ju-On, Ringu, Dark Waters of this world. The Ghost Station is a decent entry in the sub-genre hailing from Korea. Is it the most original? No. Is it the scariest? Also, no/ However, the formula, the pattern, and the story here make it something that is entertaining to watch. Yeah, you’ll likely guess what happens before it does if you don’t switch off your brain, but it’s not something that is hard to do these days with all the overstimulation that we’re all under. So, the story is basic, it has a few twists and turns that may be predictable, but the film is still enjoyable.
The cast is a large part of why the film is enjoyable here. Lead Bo-ra Kim is charming and has an energy about here that keeps the attention on her whenever she’s a part of any scene. She’s fun to watch, she gives the right performance here, she’s a good lead for this story. Helping her along the way is Jae Hyun Kim as U-won who gets to have a bit more action than the rest of the supporting case. The performance he gives here is not as solid as the lead, but it’s decent. Shin So-yul as Tae-hee gives an interesting performance, adding to the entertainment value of the film.
In terms of special effects, there is not a ton of gore or practical effects in general, so it’s not the film to reach for if that’s what you want here. The film does have some effects, most of them rather decent. What it does have however is solid cinematography. The viewer can easily see everything happening, in bright and darker sequences, in the metro tunnel, in the well, etc. The work here is done consciously to have everything look good, but also allow the viewer to see what is going on. The cinematography by Sang-jae Seon is good, really good here.
The Ghost Station may not be the most original or scary grudge ghost film out there, but it’s decently entertaining, has some good performances, and solid cinematography. Is it something most will love and adore? Probably not. But for fans of the genre wanting something on the lighter side that still has a few scenes with a serious punch to them, The Ghost Station is a good choice for an easy evening of horror entertainment.