Reviewed by Alicia Glass
Way back in the, it seems like now, far-off year of 2012, I attended a showing of H.P. Mendoza’s I Am A Ghost at the San Diego Asian Film Festival of that year. I was absolutely blown away, as was the audience, and you can still read my glowing review about it here. Now some ten-plus years later, I was privileged to attend another showing of the remastered version of the film, with director H.P. Mendoza himself in attendance, at the Digital Gym Cinema for SDAFF’s Spring Showcase 2025. So count your eggs and lets get into this!
The film is still a ghost story and a very unique take on it too, from the ghosts own point of view. So Emily (Anna Ishida) seems to be trapped in this house, repeating loops of the normal everyday things she did when she was still alive – sleeping and waking up, scrubbing in the bathroom, making and consuming food, going to and returning from the market for supplies, missing her mysteriously not-there family. But strange happenings begin to plague Emily’s comfortable if monotonous routine, and when a voice from an empty-but-for-Emily bedroom promises she can help, our ghostly girl screws up her courage and listens.
Saying literally anything else about the films plot, who the real bad guy turns out to be, even and perhaps especially why Emily the ghost is trapped in that house, would honestly be a giant disservice to the audience and I’m not gonna do that. Instead, let me reassure potential first-time viewers of I am a Ghost that the film holds up in its unique presence even more than a decade later, and with director H.P. Mendoza remastering the stereo performance of the movie to make the jump-scares an absolute chefs kiss, this ghost movie is not one to miss.
After the screening Mendoza stayed behind to delight movie-goers with trivia from the making of his film – how he and his the filmmaking crew had to employ “guerilla filming” tactics due to multiple shooting locations, a lack of certain permits and an actual naked and painted man running around at several points for the movie. Mendoza laughingly mentioned finding out that his film had become a “torrent” and his rather unique if totally ironic response to such a thing, which had the audience absolutely rolling.
I ended up using my super Press powers to pretty-please convince Mendoza to procure me a Blu-ray copy of I am a Ghost, which gets a very special place in my Horror collection. But you don’t have to go that route, for the Blu-ray and DVD is now available for purchase on freaking Amazon, and boasts a scrapbook of behind-the-scenes bits, interviews, Emily’s “Theme” live at the Castro theatre, commentary from the filmmaker and stars, plus now you can also purchase to stream the movie on AppleTV, Tubi, and a whole host of others!
Find out who the real bad guy is in I am a Ghost, available world-wide now!