The Marsh

(2006) **1/2

Popular children’s book author, Claire Halloway has been struggling with recurring nightmares about a dilapidated country house, shadowy figures, and an overgrown marsh. After her shrink recommends that she take a sabbatical, Claire rents the Rose Marsh Farm house in a small rural town. This sabbatical proves to be anything but relaxing when almost immediately there is a sharp increase in her visions and nightmares. At the same time she begins to notice that parts of the Rose Marsh Farm resemble drawings from her children’s books. With the aid of ghost hunter, G. Hunt (get it?), and local newspaper publisher, Noah, Claire begins to piece together a mysterious incident from her past. Just what is a ghostly little girl trying to tell her and more importantly who is the malevolent ghost pictured above?

The Marsh is yet another rip-off in a series of Asian cinema ghost story rip-offs. There is nothing new here and if you’ve seen movies like The Ring, Dark Water, The Eye, JUON, etc., you’ve already seen much better versions of The Marsh. The “mystery” is not all that interesting although there are a few effective scares along the way. Ultimately The Marsh is ruined by its third act. For two-thirds of the film Claire slowly pieces together the puzzle of her childhood while frequently running into resistance by the Marsh’s denizens. The motivation, which at times includes attempted murder, for the townsfolk to keep the “secret” of the Marsh from Claire never makes much sense, as the consequence of Claire learning about the tragic incident from her childhood would not result in any culpability for anyone. Weak.