Seventh Moon (2008)★★★☆☆

I’ll admit that I haven’t read up much on the mythology behind this one, and it’s less enjoyable watching it without someone who can translate all of the Cantonese, but this is still an okay movie. Or maybe it’s just that I like Amy Smart so much. And there’s a lot of Amy Smart in this movie.

It feels and looks low budget, but that mostly works for this one. You feel like you’re right there with the couple in this unfamiliar country at the absolute wrong time. Or the right time, depending on how you look at it.

I do wish they had spent a little more money on the camera, though. The shaky camerawork gets a bit dizzying and obnoxious pretty early on and doesn’t really get better. It does at times make you feel much more a part of the action, but not enough to make up for the disorientation.

The pacing is kind of weird – it starts to drag on towards the end…and towards the beginning. The background music is mostly okay and the acting is believable. And there are some downright scary moments in this film that don’t rely on too much graphic violence or gore. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some disturbing scenes, because there definitely are.

Overall it’s worth watching, though you’ll probably appreciate it more if you understand Cantonese or are familiar with Chinese mythology and superstition. I was impressed with how much I liked it given the relatively low budget. I’ve definitely watched worse.