Seventh Moon [Blu-ray] [Import]

Ghosthouse released eight films the prior year (similar to the horrorfest releases) and a handful of them were very good or simply wierd and therefore good as a result. I purchased and chose them based off reviews from various horror sights. This year, ghosthouse again has released a few flicks (four actually) and this was rated the second best out of the group. With its star of Amy Smart, cool box cover, and one of the two directors/writers of the Blair Witch film (Ed Sanchez), I picked it up on sale first week of release. Sanchez did a pretty decent film called Altered a few years back so I hoped this one would be as good.

The first half of the film we find out our couple are on their honeymoon in China. The husband's family was/is of Chinese ancestry and he has various family still there. During their time there, a festival of the seventh moon is occurring in which superstition says that the dead are freed from hell on the seventh full moon of the year. As with our Halloween, this festival is a bit similar though more a fair/carnival feel. Anyways, after their fun in the city they head out with their tour guide to the rural section of China to visit the husband's relatives. The trip takes much longer than expected and by the time the tour guide gets lost, it is already dark as night and out in the farms/hills of rolling China, there are no street lights. Eventually they come to a darkened village and the tour guide decides to go ask one of the town folk where they are. This is the beginning of the setup for our movie.

So far so good, right? Well, unfortunately problems begin on three levels. The first and foremost is the camera. The entire film is filmed with a shakey-cam which can sometimes work (see Mulberry Street, Blair Witch, Cloverfield, etc.) but here it is horrible. And there is a reason! Because of the second major problem of this film: night filming. The entire film is in complete darkness. We do not have the filmed at dusk and then digitally darkening the film. Nor do we have night filming with backlighting. It is supposed to be full moon and yet still, no light. With a shaky cam and complete darkness, it is disorienting and terribly hard to follow a lot of the film. This really ruined the enjoyment factor of the film for me.

The third and final fault was the last third of the screenplay. It was not written well at all and we get some sequences that may or may not be dream sequences, that end up causing almost as much confusion for the viewer as the darkness/shakey-cam, and bring complete hault to what was a very suspenseful and action oriented mystery-horror flick.

Though the camera and darkness ruined a lot of the enjoyment, the story was pretty good and had its shocks and scares. The rural part of China and the items used to make suspense worked unbelievabley well ("what was that in the street", a gong like windchime (similar to a church bell), animals crying in the darkness, etc.) But then this grinding halt in the screenplay and what turned out to be a somewhat sappy ending made this film simply mediocre. I really wanted to love this film but unfortunately I only enjoyed it. Is it worth seeing, sure, but don't get your hopes up. Enjoy it for what it is: a technically flawed film with a mediocre third act that had a lot of promise in its rolling hills and its rural village in a far away land, a supernatural occurrance, no where to run/hide, and a nightmare of a night for a young American couple.

Being a major fan of horror films I am always looking to expand my collection. Upon seeing this film at my local store I decided to give it a try. Past Ghosthouse films have had a wide range of delivery in my opinion. Some of these films can range from good and scary, to more bland and cliche resulting in no scares and a tediously drawn out and complicated story. Well I was quite surprised with "Seventh Moon".

The story takes place in China, where a couple is spending their honeymoon together. They hear about a cultural practice and learn about what happens during the full moon of the seventh lunar month. They are told that the dead are free to roam the Earth on this day and sacrifices must be made to please the spirits. This holiday is actually culturally correct. It is called "The Ghost Festival" and occurs on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month in China. This celebration is also known as "Ghost Day" and citizens of China actually believe that their deceased relatives are free to return to Earth for this one day, much like the Mexican tradition known as "Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)". This film builds upon that concept of the dead returning, but elaborates into also suggesting that demons are free to roam the Earth as well.

Focusing on the newly wed couple, the film depicts how desperate the two become when face to face with the moon demons. It seems as if everywhere the couple turns, the demons are close behind, and with none of the locals willing to lend a helping hand, the couple must fight for survival on their own. The story progresses from a large city to a small field and ends at a cemetery/monastery building. The wide variety of scenery is well done and the acting is top notch, allowing you to feel the terror that the people feel when being attacked by "Moon Demons".

During the first 20 minutes of the film, I was not able to view anything. Initially, I found the image was too dark, seeing how the majority of the filming was done in complete darkness, thus not allowing the audience to view the action, or even the actors on screen. I solved this problem by switching my TV's contrast to a more optimal setting and was able to see everything 100%. Once this problem was corrected, I simply restarted the film using the brighter screen resolution, and the film was much easier to view, and was much more enjoyable as well. So, with that problem solved I was able to fully enjoy watching the film and must say that I really enjoyed it once I was able to actually view it.

The story was great, the thrills were decent, and the acting and environment was spectacular. If you are a fan of horror films I believe you will enjoy this movie, just make sure you change your TVs viewing settings to a preset contrast with brighter resolution and you'll be fine.

I enjoyed this movie. In short, its the story of a new couple, an American girl and her Chinese husband, who travel to China to meet his parents. They travel during the feast of the 7th moon, and find that the Chinese belief in ghouls that come out on this holiday is true. No spoiler here, check out the box cover. While en route in a taxi to the parents, the couple finds themselves abandoned in an obscure, remote village, then scary things start.
Ultimately, this was very well done. I tend not to enjoy Asian horror at all, but this was an interesting hybrid. It was a chinese story told with an american female lead, and a story that is consistent with western horror concepts. The mood was creepy throughout, particularly at the end when she makes a certain journey. This journey (trying to avoid spoilers here) was particularly effective in its horror element; she takes a walk that has the potential to turn deadly at any moment, and the suspense was great. Further, the movie evolves just slowly enough; it takes a while to understand what is going on, and once you do, the heat turns up. Good acting, good concept, and high production values. Highly recommended.