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ok hauntedtony.....just to prove I'm a fair guy
another review
Many have tried, most have failed. Incorporating Asian
ghost stories into Western horror flicks is a tricky
thing to do and here's a movie that actually succeeds
in doing so. Sure, the whole ghost story thing has
been milked dry by now and it takes a lot to impress
even the least experienced horror fan with a ghost
story these days. Well, They Wait is a refreshing
surprise. This turned out to be a terrifically creepy
chiller which puts recent remakes like One Missed Call
and The Grudge 2 to shame. Some may find it a tad slow
but if you're into Asian horror, here's a movie that
definitely pays respect to their movie culture.
They Wait takes place during the Chinese hungry ghost
month, this alone impressed me because they've got all
of the facts right. The hungry ghost month does indeed
exist, it's previously been portrayed in the movie
"The Eye 10". Anyway, so Jaime King plays Sarah, an
American woman who's married to a Chinese guy named
Jason. Together they have a son called Sammy who's
very interested in the hungry ghost month. Perhaps a
little too interested. It doesn't take long before an
evil spirit puts Sammy in a coma and the only way to
wake him up is for Sarah to find out the truth about
the ghost - something which proves to be easier said
than done. It may not be the most original horror flick
out there but it's suspenseful, it provides a couple
of good scares and it has a terrific atmosphere.
Jaime King pulls off such an amazing performance that
she alone makes this movie feel worth while. Previously
we've seen her in teen roles but this time she has to
play a more adult character and she nails it. She
really does. Director Ernie Barbarash has found some
inspiration from Asian ghost flicks but he's also
incorporated his own flavour to it. In fact, in most
new ghost movies you can usually see which movies
inspired the movie in question, but this is not the
case with They Wait. It feels like it was written
without the help of other successful movies and that
really was a nice surprise.
They Wait is a genuinely creepy horror flick with the
heart in the right place. It's been a long time since
I saw a ghost flick with this much passion put into
it, hopefully this will get a theatrical release in
the states but since it's all ready been released on
DVD in Germany, I find this highly unlikely. Either
way, this is a definite purchase for any fan of
Asian horror flicks - but who likes to watch movies
without subtitles.
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