Kim Da-kyung (Joo Hyun-young, The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract) is a YouTuber whose views have recently plummeted. Viewers have lost interest in her horror channel—”Da-kyung, The Horror Queen”—as Beauty YouTubers have become the new hot thing. In search of new content, Da-kyung meets with the station manager of Gwanglim Station (Jeon Bae-soo, The Wailing), which is rumored to be haunted.

In exchange for some rare Silkworm Spirit, the station manager agrees to recount some of the horrific stories that have occurred at the train station. Da-kyung starts to suspect there may be some truth to these stories, especially when she receives an ominous warning that she should take the videos down, but with her views starting to skyrocket, she just wants to hear/post more. Meanwhile, Da-kyung pines for co-worker Woo-jin (Choi Bo-min, Gory: A Horror Tale), but he’s dating rival Beauty YouTuber Lina (Choi Ri-na).

Ghost Train is part anthology, part twisty horror film. The first half of the film finds the station manager recounting three short 10-15 minute creepy tales to YouTuber Da-kyung. Here’s a rundown of those stories:

• A college dropout travels on the train and keeps seeing this odd woman with long black hair who just stares at the door and bangs her head on the window. Whenever he tries to move away from her, she still seems to be right there, in the next car, at the platform, etc.
• College student Mi-ju sees a young woman in a hospital gown whose face bandaged from plastic surgery. The woman keeps staring at her with an unsettling smile, telling her her nose is pretty, and holding a glass full of acid. No matter where Mi-ju runs, the woman chases after her with an eerie gate.
• A down on his luck homeless man living in the station finds a red coin and an unusual red vending machine nearby. He discovers that the vending machine has a very unique property that may be able to turn his luck around, but at the expense of others.

The second half of the film is a little more straightforward, delving into the past of this station and why it might be haunted. We also see some short tales filling in the gaps of what happened to other characters such as Lina, the station manger and Da-kyung. These ultimately bring things full-circle, connecting to the events of the film’s cold open sequence and the original three seemingly-disparate tales. It may feel a bit odd at first with the sudden change from the initial anthology setup to delving into the lives of the characters from the framing device in the second half. However, I think the film does a nice job of ultimately connecting these stories, with characters from one story appearing in the background of another, giving the viewer this sense of the larger connection.

The film does a nice job of setting up this creepy and mysterious tone, even if some of the scares and visuals feel like things we’ve seen before. That said, I did enjoy the film overall, especially the twisty tale of the homeless man.

Ghost Train will be available on Digital February 17, and will release on Blu-ray & DVD exclusively through Amazon the same day. Normally in my reviews, I would comment on the audio and video presentation of the release, but since I watched this film via a watermarked screener, I’m not sure how it compares to the final quality of the consumer product. The film is presented in Korean, with English subtitles. The subtitles are generally well-written and easy to follow. The release does not appear to include any bonus material, however, the film is worth checking out for fans of this style of bloody, supernatural and twisty Korean horror film.

What’s Included:

Digital specs may vary by platform/retailer.

Film: (1:34:59)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Korean Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

No bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Ghost Train is an entertaining horror film with an unusual format. While it starts off as more of a anthology of short creepy tales, in the second half, it switches to more of your straightforward horror. Ultimately, I think the filmmakers do a nice job of bringing the story full circle and connecting all of the elements. The film is presented in its original Korean language with English subtitles. While there is no bonus material included, the film is worth a look for Korean horror fans.