The Maid

"Every year, for thirty days during the lunar seventh month, the Chinese believe that the gates of hell are thrown open. Vengeful spirits or hungry ghosts wander among the living, seeking revenge and justice before the gates of hell are closed again for another year." The eighteen years old Rosa Dimaano (Alessandra de Rossi) arrives in Singapore from Philippines to give support to her family working as a maid in the house of the artists of a Chinese opera troupe Mr. and Mrs. Teo (Huifang Hong & Shucheng Chen) on the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. She is welcomed by the family and introduced to their friends and their retarded son Ah-Soon (Benny Soh). Later, Mrs. Teo advises her about their beliefs and how the dead should be respected and honored along the seventh month. However, Rosa sweeps their offer on the sidewalk breaking a basic rule and offending the spirits, and she is haunted by ghosts everywhere. When Ah-Soon calls her Esther Santos and she finds some belongings of the unknown Esther in the house, she discloses a dark and scary secret about the past of her masters.

"The Maid" is an original, scary and very-well constructed ghost story based on a Chinese superstition. The screenplay introduces with an explanation about the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and Mrs. Teo explains the rules to be accomplished to Rosa, giving the big picture about the theme to the viewers like me that are not familiarized with this tradition. I startled many times with the creepy ghosts, and the scene when Rosa is watching the presentation of the troupe sat in the middle of the spirits is really frightening. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Sétimo Mês" ("The Seventh Month")

Sometimes they got it, while other times they sink. That's how I feel about some of the modern ghost features coming out of Asia. 'The Maid' mostly falls in with the former. Yeah it's formulaic by your usual standards, but the low-budgeted slow-burn Singapore entry is sleekly directed with a strong enough platform for the story to open up upon and add some refreshing details to the predictable mixture.

A young maid arrives in Singapore to help out the Teo family, who own an Opera troupe. Her arrival goes hand-to-hand with that of the seventh month known as the hungry ghost month. Soon she's seeing ghosts, and the Teo's are worried she's done something to upset them for this to happen. However she learns that she has a striking resemblance to the previous maid who worked with the family, before she disappeared.

The execution of the premise isn't as good, as it sounds on paper. The concept behind the plot is actually more curious than that of the linear background story about a family with a secret, which when let out is intensely harrowing if customary. The Chinese customs and believes about the gates of hell opening up for vengeful, hungry spirits to wander among the living seeking closure or revenge in the seventh month of the lunar calendar is ideally enthralling and creepy.

Director Kelvin Tong compositional work and placement is a stand-out. Cold, gloomy and haunting imagery is beautifully catered for and Lucas Jodogne's presentable cinematography streamlines the rundown, sapping urban backdrop. The darkness lurking within every alienating corner is shared in the characters' state of minds. Heart-ache, denial and just like the protagonist (wholesomely acted by Alessandra De Rossi) we're left plunged in the dark and distressed by the revelations. The evocative music is skin crawling, as the sound effects have quite a chilling imprint when they break up the silence and terse script with sudden pitches. Some high-strung shocks are foreseeable and shadowy figures flashing by can only do so much. Chen Shu-cheng and Hong Hui-fang deliver rewardingly strong performances.

The maid is about a young girl who is staying with a family to help out with certain chores and such. The Lunar seventh month is here, and that means that the ghosts that get the people who are not doing the proper traditions.

This is a pretty good movie, unlike a lot of oriental horror films, it didn't have a lot of the weird girl with the long black hair coloring her face. It sort a more American feel to it. Lots of surprises, lots of ghosts, and a lot of running away from them. However, the movie works,and has some nice twists. The acting is pretty good, and the setting and location was nicely done. Pretty good movie. I rate it 6/10. (my rating)rated PG-13 for intense violence/terror and disturbing images, and some sexual content

I liked the premise and from what I read on the box it sounded like it would be interesting, and I love a good ghost story. However, I was a bit disappointed by this movie. Not entirely mind you, it had a rather good cast and there was some good ghost moments. Still it was so thoroughly predictable...anyone who has seen say "The Sixth Sense" or "A Tale of Two Sisters" will have no problem with the shocking ending seen here. Other than it might be a bit more graphic than those two movies. The movie of a Phillipine girl who goes to work as a maid for a Singapore couple and starts her job during the time of the year when the locals must observe many customs relating to the dead or experience their wrath. Lots of burning paper and other very nice visuals during this part of the film. The job is quite easy from what I see too as the gal who was hired as a maid only does a little of this and that and when she does try to sweep up she gets in trouble with her employer. At least this gives or gal plenty of time to look after her employer's mildly retarded son and see all sorts of creepy stuff. My favorite was the play where she sat in the front row. So all in all a typical ghost flick with nothing really new to add to the mix except for a mysterious girl who dies by leaping from a food court. Didn't quite understand that one. So if you like this type of movie you may think it is an okay flick if you are looking for something new, this is not it.

A shy, young girl named Rosa (Alessandra de Rossi) gets a position as a maid. She arrives at the house during the seventh month, which, according to legend, is when the "hungry ghosts" are said to walk the Earth.

The family for whom Rosa works seems normal enough. However, she soon learns that her situation isn't quite as simple or safe as it appears to be. Rosa's new employers have a secret that will reveal itself in bizarre, terrifying ways.

THE MAID makes us wonder what is going on, almost until its final frame. A well-made, slow-building, supernatural thriller with a devilish denouement!

A classic creeper from Singapore...