23:59 takes place on an island which is home to a military training camp.  They hear about ghost stories where people die at 23:59 where a trapped spirit (unable to rest) comes for a victim.  A death on a training march sets forth a series of events that unsettle the recruits and one of the training commanders which leads to a probe into unearthing the truth behind the deaths on the haunted island. 

 

23:59 is an effective psychological ghost story which relies more on the fears in the heads of the soldiers instead or relying on gore and cheap jump scares.  It switches back and forth between English and Mandarin effortlessly.   23:59 is an unsettling tale which I would watch over any gore filled horror tale because a well written psychological horror film sticks in my mind more than a movie that doesn’t know how it wants to scare you.  Plus 23:59 gets extra points for not sticking around longer than it needs to.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

23:59 is a 23 minute making-of featurette which features interviews with the cast (in Madarian) and director (and screenwriter) Gilbert Chan and one of the producers (both talking in English for the interviews.  The featurette shows too many clips from the movie mixed in with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.  Gilbert Chan was inspired by ghost stories originating from a military training camp near Singapore.

 

Rounding out the extras are two theatrical trailers and previews for other releases from Magnolia Home Entertainment (including KISS OF THE DAMNED which comes to DVD and blu-ray next month).

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  23:59 is a very efficient and effective psychological ghost story.

 

This DVD review is (c)6-25-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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