MOURNING GRAVE (2014)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: OH In-Chun
Cast: KANG Ha-Neul, KIM So-Eun, KIM Jung-Tae, HAN Hye-Lin, PARK Doo-Sik, JU Min-Ha, JOO Da-Young, KWACK Jung-Uk
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Coarse Language and Horror)
Released By: GV
Official Website:

Opening Day: 30 October 2014

Synopsis: In-su (KANG Ha-Neul) has the special power to see ghosts but he became a loner ever since he left his hometown after he saw the ghost of his dead childhood friend. Tired of feeling alone, In-su returns to his hometown to live with his exorcist uncle Sun-il (KIM Jung-Tae). However, In-su's school life is not so easy because of his former elementary school classmate Hae-chul (PARK Doo-Sik) who keeps harassing him. Then one day, In-su meets a girl ghost (KIM So-Eun) who lost her memory and roams around the school. He opens up to her as they build up a quite special friendship and gradually accepts his power to see ghosts which he once thought of as a curse. In the meantime, students mysteriously go missing one by one while the story of the strange bloody mask ghost spreads throughout the school. While In-su follows the incidents, he slowly becomes aware of the horrible truth behind the relationship between the girl ghost and the mask ghost that even the girl ghost was afraid of.

Movie Review:

The opening scene in the train itself well sets the tone of the film and the addressing of the young protagonist.

Set in a picturesque sleepy town in Korea, and of course the school where the plot develops at, Mourning Grave bears a social message that the entire 90 minutes nail. It is almost a lifeblood in today’s era where bullying, be it of the cyber or the classroom sort, is rampant.

The riveting theme and plot pins the masses, right from start till the end. Very cleverly peppered with some really funny scenes that were not meant to be deliberately comical but still adorable and funny. The gist boils down to a grudge long-borne and the death of an innocent girl that no one wants to ever discuss about. The tone is set light but the scares take a malefic guise, inducing an impressive number of jump scares. It leaves us hanging to decide if the power to see supernatural beings is a boon or a bane.

Mourning Grave bears a good deal of hallmarks of a Korean drama, the classic head knocks, the cross-legged, nostalgic way of dining and those cutesy uniforms rivalled only by manga series.

Albeit having a clichéd kind of romance, it is still romantic with snowflakes craftily falling from above to give a feel of wintry romance. The old school scare tricks from the classroom act to the infamous toilet scene to the train back home at night dominates the storyline.

One of the other elements that you might get visually accustomed to, during the course of the movie is the hand that slides onto the window evoking a similar scene in Titanic, except this one is bloody and grudge-harbouring (and not steamy like the former).

More than the cast mates delivering a remarkable performance, the director’s choice of cast outshines the rest.

The 24-year-old cuteness overkill (Kang Ha-neul) did a brilliant job in portraying the lily-livered character who is too afraid to hit back but not to unmask the truth. Kim So-eun who plays to be the undead love interest of the aforementioned, delivers her personal best in slipping into two roles of polar opposites.

And to render a finer finish, the comedic chops of the cast both supporting and leads were notable.

The theatrical poster may be lacking a lot in the appeal department but it can be purely excused for its compelling counterpart – the trailer. 

Being a prime-time season for supernatural content to make their debuts, Mourning Grave completes a perfect Halloween scream-a-thon, with a long line-up of scary movies for 2014 sans Paranormal Activity 5, that is slated to be released next year. 

Movie Rating:

(Definitely a perkier and slap-stickier horror comedy. Still a better love story than Twilight, with an allusion to internet memes)

Review by Asha Gizelle M