Ghost Mansion (2021) - A Review

 

Ghost Mansion is a decent Korean horror movie.

Ghost Mansion (also known as Grotesque Mansion and The Night Shift) is a South Korean horror movie released in 2021. It stars Sung Joon, Kim Hong-Fa, Kim Bo-Ra, Lee Chang-Hoon, Sojin, Seo Hyun-Woo, Kang You-Seok, Lee Suk-Hyeong, and Won Hyun-Joon. Ghost Mansion was written and directed by Jo Ba-Reun.

Sung Joon as Ji-Woo. He gets in over his head in this one!

In Ghost Mansion, Sung Joon plays Ji-Woo, a webtoon artist looking for inspiration for his horror comic. He goes to a creepy apartment complex where he meets Kwon Ri-In (played by Kim Hong-Fa), the person in charge (seemingly) of the place. Ji-Woo wants to hear some stories about the apartment, as it has a reputation for having paranormal incidents and missing tenants. Each story told is a chapter in the movie, and there are five chapters: The Writer, The Pharmacist, The Seller, The Student, and The Caretaker. Determined to make his comic a success, Ji-Woo delves deeper and deeper into the lore of the apartment complex...

Kim Hong-Fa plays a very...peculiar character.

Ghost Mansion is a horror anthology movie where every chapter is connected. Every chapter leads to the final chapter, which explains why the apartment complex is 'haunted'. The movie is moody and atmospheric, and there is a certain sense of dread throughout. This is especially apparent when Ji-Woo is at the apartment complex itself; the complex is dark, shadowy, and dank while his apartment is brightly lit and cozy. I will say, there are a lot of jump scares in this. Trying not to spoil the movie here, but there are many types of...paranormal entities in this movie. Some are spooky, some are weird, and some are gross. Whatever type of ghost creeps you out, it's in here.

One of the more intriguing chapters...

Each chapter features a flawed protagonist. Besides Ji-Woo and his girlfriend, every character is not a good person. Considering the history of the apartment complex, why these particular tenants are affected by the paranormal activity makes sense. The actors all do a good job, with The Writer (played by Lee Chang-Hoon) being a stand out. I hated his character at first, but I realized he was just a very impatient and frustrated person. Lee played that character a little too well! Sung Joon as Ji-Woo is a very sympathetic character; you want him to succeed with his webtoon, but you kind of want him to stay away from that apartment...

So, should you watch Ghost Mansion? I would say...it depends. If you are a hardcore horror movie fan who has seen almost everything, I would skip this one. If you want an introduction to Korean (or Asian) horror, this is a good one to start with. It's not gory, it's not graphic, there's no sex or nudity; it's all about the atmosphere and the ghosts. I liked this movie enough. It's not the best horror movie ever, but it's pretty entertaining. I will say, you have to pay attention because there are clues and characters that tie everything together at the end. Check it out and give it a chance!

Reviewed by David Williams