A good solid ghost-story, but the ghost in itself is too noisy and blunt

Rating: 6/10 (30 April 2013)

The best thing about this horror movie, was the fact that it contains a real, good story with a beginning and an end. There is a mystery to be solved, and it IS solved and everything is put to right (in a way...) in the end. In that way, this movie is a traditional Gothic ghost-story - which is what I like. This is not so usual in horror movies any more.
What I did NOT like, however, was the ghost. In a great ghost-movie, it takes a long time before you even see the ghost for the first time. The suspense builds up, and what you are afraid of is to BE afraid. It is very subtle. The ghost itself does not do so much - only its sudden presence is scary. Also, in our Western understanding of ghosts, they cannot really hurt anyone (except from scaring them to death), and they cannot move any objects in our world, etc.. If you try to touch them, your hand goes right through them. They can only be seen and their presence felt, and sometimes speak.
The ghost in this movie was more of the Asian variety, that crawls on the floor and even on the walls in a low position, wrestles down living people, throws them down stairs, changes shape etc.. It is a very material and noisy kind of ghost, and that destroys the scary feeling for me.
The actors were all very good, and especially the child actors. It is unusual to be able to get children to act that naturally and believably.