Don't let the generic title put you off. If you're a fan of ghost stories, you won't want to miss this slow-moving but effective supernatural spooker.
When young mom Sarah (Jaime King) and her half-Chinese son Sam (Regan Oey) arrive in San Francisco for a family funeral after having lived in Shanghai for six years, the little boy starts seeing ghosts.
Turns out they landed in Chinatown during the traditional Hungry Ghost Festival, in which it is believed the doors to heaven and hell are opened and the spirits of deceased ancestors visit the living.
Mom and son are soon embroiled in a murder mystery that's steeped in a past tragedy, and discover some of the people closest to them may be hiding terrible secrets.
Usually a bit player, King carries the movie as the troubled mom who can't begin to comprehend the culture she's immersed in.
But the star of the show is that culture itself, and how expertly Chinese mysticism is used to creepy effect. Even the jump-scares are effective.
Uniformly strong performances and decent special effects are all the better reason to cue this up, grab a snack and prepare to sleep with the lights on tonight.
When young mom Sarah (Jaime King) and her half-Chinese son Sam (Regan Oey) arrive in San Francisco for a family funeral after having lived in Shanghai for six years, the little boy starts seeing ghosts.
Turns out they landed in Chinatown during the traditional Hungry Ghost Festival, in which it is believed the doors to heaven and hell are opened and the spirits of deceased ancestors visit the living.
Mom and son are soon embroiled in a murder mystery that's steeped in a past tragedy, and discover some of the people closest to them may be hiding terrible secrets.
Usually a bit player, King carries the movie as the troubled mom who can't begin to comprehend the culture she's immersed in.
But the star of the show is that culture itself, and how expertly Chinese mysticism is used to creepy effect. Even the jump-scares are effective.
Uniformly strong performances and decent special effects are all the better reason to cue this up, grab a snack and prepare to sleep with the lights on tonight.