Movie Review: The Ghost Game

I recently watched the Korean horror film The Ghost Game, and going into it, I already had a feeling I knew exactly what kind of movie this was going to be. College kids, YouTube content, viral challenges, and “let’s summon something we absolutely shouldn’t” energy. And honestly? My instincts weren’t wrong.

The premise is very straightforward — almost too straightforward. Ja-Young (played by Yeri) and her friends decide to fake a supernatural ritual for a YouTube contest with prize money involved. Typical setup. But things shift when Ja-Young suggests they actually try to communicate with the dead, driven by her unresolved trauma surrounding her missing older sister who disappeared during her childhood. From there, what was supposed to be staged quickly turns into something much darker.

The first half of the movie didn’t really do much for me. It felt bland and uninspired, leaning heavily into familiar horror tropes we’ve seen countless times — shaky curiosity, bad decisions, and the inevitable “this was a terrible idea” realization. Nothing particularly stood out, and at some point I was just waiting for the movie to finally start.

That said, I’m glad I stuck around.

Once the story progresses, the twist starts to reveal itself, and while it wasn’t completely shocking, it was handled well enough that it didn’t feel lazy or predictable. It’s not the first conclusion you jump to, and I appreciated that the film didn’t overexplain itself. The gory moments were surprisingly effective, and for a movie like this, I actually enjoyed how far it was willing to go visually.

Scare-wise, The Ghost Game is adequate. It won’t traumatise you or make you sleep with the lights on, but it does enough to keep the tension going. It’s more unsettling than outright terrifying, which works in its favour. By the end, I found myself appreciating the film more than I expected — not because it reinvented the genre, but because it knew exactly what kind of horror movie it wanted to be.

Overall, The Ghost Game isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a decent watch if you’re in the mood for a modern Korean horror with some gore, a familiar setup, and a slightly smarter twist than expected.

I’m giving this movie a 6/10.