The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 21, 2023

When does "homage" pass over into "parody"? That's probably an unfair question, since tastes and/or reactions can obviously differ, but it may be the central question facing those who come to The Ghost Station, a film which owes more than a tip o' the hat to franchises like Ringu Collection and/or Ju-on: The Grudge Collection (note that this latter link points to a UK release, since it's the one I reviewed). Those two franchises are sterling examples of so-called J-Horror, and some might jokingly call The Ghost Station a somewhat less stellar example of K-Horror, with a plot that revolves around a seemingly haunted subway station in Seoul. The fact that The Ghost Station was co-written by Hiroshi Takashi, who was responsible for the first two Ringu movies, may help to explain this film's unabashed "recycling" of ideas, imagery and ultimate plot mechanics of those movies.

Some may want to engage in a drinking game when either reading about or actually watching this film, with one sip accorded to each aspect that can be ticked off as part of the Ringu franchise, though alcohol poisoning may ensue. A muckraking journalist named Na-young Kim (Bo-ra Kim) works for what might be termed a tabloid and is on the hunt for the next big story she and her paper hope will go "viral". A series of perplexing deaths has occurred in Oksu Station and becomes her focus, and suffice it to say there are potential conspiracies to uncover, though the film doesn't shirk from offering yet more "ghost children" and (heaven forfend) what might be termed a haunted well. It's probably unintentionally hilarious that this film's trailer begins with the self revelatory "the ghost story you know". I'll say.

The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Ghost Station is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Probably unsurprisingly, there's not very much if any technical information online about this film as of the writing of this review, and the closing credits also didn't have a camera listing, but this is a competent digital capture that I'm assuming had a 2K DI. There's a kind of intermittently odd digital appearance here where it can look like humans are in front of green screened backgrounds, even if I kind of suspect they actually always weren't, leading to passing anomalies like strands of hair momentarily disappearing and the like. Detail levels are generally quite good, at least given the film's conceit of much of the story taking out in the dimly lit confines of a subway tunnel. Several scenes have been graded toward a kind of sickly looking yellow-green.

The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Ghost Station features a reasonably immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Korean. The soundtrack can be as cliché ridden as the film itself, and so there are some undeniably effective if still pretty standard startle effects tied to jump cuts, and a soundtrack that utilized motifs like someone is playing a string patch on a synthesizer while manipulating a mod wheel. Ambient environmental effects, especially those in the subway tunnels, are rather well handled. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:22)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

The Ghost Station Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When even the subtitles of this production keep referring to a "grudge", you can't help but have a bit of a "been there, seen that" feeling. Lovers of these kind of ghost stories may find a scare or two here, but even those frights are going to seem like carbon copies lifted from other films. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.