Seventh Moon (2008)

Melissa and her Chinese American husband honeymoon in China during Hungry Ghost Festival. At night at a village they discover, the legend is real.

Review

Very much a one horse show, Seventh Moon is a pretty solid horror film. It's very much in the mold of many others - people overseas doing stupid things - but has elements over and above them. There is, shall we say, little in the way of plot here. A young couple end up in the middle of no where, fighting for their lives, with basically everybody wanting to kill them. The writing is fine. There are some stereotypes that I could have done without as the film draws on, but aside from that it sits pretty well.

The crux of enjoyability however comes down to the ability of the cast and the scares. The film is shouldered by Amy Smart. At the time this was made she was running on a high and looking like she might become an A lister having been in the likes of Mirrors, Crank  and The Butterfly Effect. She's good in it too, and more than capable of carrying schlock horror. Co-star Tim Chiou (Crush the Skull) has less to do, but is just as good.

The film is thin on gore, but ramps up the tension and scares pretty well. There are a couple of seat gripping moments. It's high stakes, low brow film making.

Overall, the film is pretty thin - it is all about tension with little substance, but sometimes that is no bad thing. It's enjoyable, turn your mind off and don't worry about it cinema. Thoroughly watchable if you're looking for nothing more.