Film Review: Ghost Train (2024) – When Not Every Journey Can Be Stopped

Ghost Train | 2025 | 1h 34m
Genre: Horror/Mystery | Country: South Korea
Director: Se-woong Tak | Writer: Jo Ba-Reun
Cast: Joo Hyun-young, Jeon Bae-soo, Choi Bo-min
IMDB: 5.2
My Rate: 7/10

In an attempt to regain her fading popularity, Da Kyeong—a horror YouTuber—investigates the dark stories surrounding Gwanglim Station. The investigation leads her into a chain of terrifying tales that slowly drag her into a curse, trapping her without her even realizing it.

Warning:

Contains scenes of violence, suicide, strong language, and alcohol use

Synopsis:

Da Kyeong’s popularity begins to be overshadowed by a beauty YouTuber from the same agency. Wanting to win back viewers’ attention, she—known for horror content—searches for a chilling story that hasn’t been widely explored. Her choice falls on Gwanglim Station, a place rumored to be linked to strange incidents that often claim victims.

Her interview with the station master opens the door to a series of dark stories long kept hidden. Feeling she’s struck gold, Da Kyeong boldly carries out a direct investigation with her colleague. The video successfully boosts her popularity.

However, as her viewer count rises, a threat appears. One viewer demands that all videos about Gwanglim Station be deleted—or something terrible will happen to her. Despite her doubts, ambition and obsession slowly overpower her fear. Da Kyeong continues to pressure the station master for more stories, unaware that she’s going too far.

Will Da Kyeong’s popularity keep rising, or will she become the next story to be told?

Review:

Have you ever heard of a ghost train—an invisible train that passes by unnoticed from time to time? Imagine accidentally boarding it one day. That’s the kind of horror Ghost Train tries to deliver through a series of interconnected mystery stories.

From the start, the film quickly builds a tense and eerie atmosphere. Characters are introduced subtly, and each case comes with its own sense of tension. While some stories feel a bit illogical, overall they still function as a consistent narrative foundation.
The main conflict centers on Da Kyeong’s emotional turmoil. Jealousy and obsession slowly cloud her judgment. A similar pattern appears in the key characters of each story, as if the film wants to emphasize that human downfall often stems from unchecked inner desires.

The ending is delivered in a fairly satisfying way, with Da Kyeong forced to face the consequences of her choices. The punishment she receives feels harsh, but it works as a logical conclusion and ties together the mysteries shown from the beginning.

Structurally, Ghost Train uses a layered storytelling approach. In the first half, Da Kyeong mainly acts as a connector between different mystery stories, before her personal conflict resurfaces toward the end. This approach is interesting, though it does cause her character to feel somewhat sidelined at times.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with presenting many mystery stories. However, the film would feel stronger if it focused not only on “what happened,” but also on “why it happened.” As a YouTuber, Da Kyeong should have been given more room to dig into the background of each story, making her role as the main character feel more complete.

The same applies to her relationship with her rival. Developing this dynamic further would help viewers better understand Da Kyeong’s jealousy—especially if the rival were portrayed not just as visually appealing, but also genuinely deserving of her success.

On a technical level, the performances feel natural and convincing. Cinematography, camera movement, lighting, music, and sound effects are all handled well. The fear is built gradually, rather than relying solely on jump scares.

In the end, Ghost Train works not only as a collection of horror stories, but also as a reflection on ambition, envy, and the choices that push people toward a point of no return. The film may not fully explore the “why” behind every horror it presents, but the atmosphere and consequences are strong enough to leave a lingering sense of unease—like a train that keeps moving, carrying its passengers toward a destination they never fully understand.

Memorable Scene:

Da Kyeong is filled with doubt after hearing a threatening explanation from one of her subscribers. The dark stories she has been sharing turn out to hold dangers far greater than she ever imagined. For the first time, she faces a real choice: lose her popularity again, or risk her own life.

The hesitation shown in this scene feels very familiar. In many forms, people often reach a point where the success they’ve achieved must be let go for certain reasons. Yet there’s an unwillingness to release it, pushing us to hold on—even when we know that choice could drag everything into something worse.