DVD REVIEW: GHOST BRIDE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: DAVID BLYTH / SCREENPLAY: DAVID BLYTH / STARRING: YOSON AN, REBEKAH PALMER, FIONA FENG / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 4TH
David Blythe directs his own ham-fisted script, neither living up to the thriller or supernatural tags it’s been lumped in with. Ghost Bride doesn’t even benefit from being so bad it’s good, relegated instead to the so bad it’s bad camp.
Yoson An is a sorry excuse for a leading man as Jason, a Chinese immigrant raised in New Zealand. He’s torn between the traditions and rituals of his ancestry and his own cosmopolitan values. Feeling guilty following the death of his father, he’s emotionally blackmailed into seeing a matchmaker by his mother, despite his girlfriend Skye (Palmer), which he’s kept secret. The two start seeing his match May-Ling (Fiona Feng) in unlikely places.
The production values are cheap despite the pristine digital camera that gives it an altogether sanitised feel. Blyth doles out stock effects, bulging lens, and frequent slo-mo, making Tales from the Crypt look cutting edge.
The acting is especially poor, with the cast awkwardly delivery lines to one another and chewing the pretty scenery, during plenty of pointless scenes padding out a dull film.
Blyth tries fantastically hard to be David Lynch, using familiar weirdness and roaring sounds, though coming in a slow second even against Lynch’s worst. Hungry for scares, Blyth copycats his way through the ghost of chillers past but comes up blank, leaving the audience blanker.
