David Blyth is a New Zealand filmmaker rather well known for his bolder, edgier cinematic fare such as Angel Mine and Wound. While I'm far from a Blyth expert, I'm familiar enough with his works to appreciate his effort here in a more traditional, Asian-tinged effort that centers around a young man, Jason Chen (Yoson An), whose mother desires for him to have a traditional Chinese arranged marriage. Jason, however, is in love with Skye (Rebekah Palmer), a native Kiwi and pretty much the direct opposite of his dead father's wishes. Jason's mother takes him to see Madam Yin (Geeling Ng), a Chinese matchmaker, who finds for Jason the perfect match, May-Ling (Fiona Feng).

Jason, however, chooses to go against his mother's wishes and proposes to Skye. The two begin seeing a ghost and the two are forced to take action to deal with this haunting.

Ghost Bride is an ambitious film that succeeds primarily on the strength of its cast, including relative newcomers like An, Palmer, and Feng. Palmer, in particular, gives a solid performance that makes you hope somebody comes along and starts casting her in bigger projects.

This type of film is incredibly difficult to pull off on a lower budget, but Blyth is clearly a gifted director with a clear vision and a sense of the cinematic. What there is lacking in technical achievement here, Blyth largely makes up for with creativity and talent.

Ghost Bride was picked up for release by Midnight Releasing and should please most hardcore fans of Asian horror, especially those with an openness to its more indie/low-budget side.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic