Emily, a troubled spirit, haunts her own house every day, wondering why she can't leave. With the help of Sylvia, a clairvoyant hired to rid the house of spirits, Emily is forced into a 'patient/therapist' relationship, uncovering disturbing mysteries about her past that may help her move on to 'the next place'.
I Am a Ghost, is a 2012 American horror film directed by H.P. Mendoza. It debuted at the 2012 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.
The plot is extremely simple to explain: the title says it all. "I Am a Ghost" is about a ghost, trapped in the house she once lived in. She repeats every day in similar fashion. But there is someone on the other side ("our side") trying to help guide her out of there. This is an easy thing to grasp, and in some ways you might think of "The Others", but they couldn't be more different!
First of all, this is a drama. It's an extremely emotional and invested look into how it could be for a ghost. They might be victims and not out to scare us. Maybe they're as scared as we are! Our lead, Emily, is a very nice young girl. We quickly fall for her because of her innocence, and the longer we follow her the more curious we are about what happened to her when she was alive. And how will she be able to leave the afterlife? I think a movie like this saves itself by working with repetitions. Being a ghost movie, we expect repetitions so it never comes off as annoying. Rather we are trying to puzzle things together for every repeat and see how things slowly change. The most interesting scenes here are actually dialogue-driven, and that speaks highly of how well-written the movie is.
Anna Ishida carries the movies on her shoulders. Besides the voice of an unseen medium, all you see is Anna. She deserves every credit for making this movie work. Without her strong performance (and Mendoza's directing), this movie would not work. Mendoza uses music to add suspense and manipulate the tone of the film. There's a lot of quiet moments made better by the music. "Emily's Theme" adds to the atmosphere.
Conclusion. This is a smart, gorgeous, underrated must see! A single actor throughout most (if not all) the film. Wonderfully directed by H.P Mendoza, showing off his style by not filming what is not needed, then giving us visual chocolate. An incredibly eerie and haunting soundtrack that fits into place like a Soul-mate. And most of all, an ambiguous ending.
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| One need not be a Chamber to be Haunted. One need not be a House. |
Trivia
The song Emily is humming when she returns from her errands is "Greensleeves" (also known as "What Child Is This?" --a popular Christmas Carol).
