Ghost Mother: A horror story in the name of love

Have you ever thought that in another parallel space, you may have a mother, she will give you a colorful world, real and illusory, are you willing to go with her?

If this mom were to swap your eyes for buttons, would you too?

Coraline met a mom like this. Adapted from Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name, Ghost Mother tells the story of a curious little girl, Coraline, who encounters fantasy and horror at home. There is a mysterious door in little Coraline's new home, the door frame is so small that only a child can pass through, and climbing through that door, you will come to a world parallel to reality, this world has everything that Coraline is familiar with, but the difference is that it is all brand new. And "Ghost Mom", another of Coraline's moms, is the master of that parallel world, attracts her by giving Coraline everything she wants but hasn't yet gotten, and wants to swap her eyes for buttons to keep her.

A film that looks like an animated film, but labeled a horror film, such a gothic animated film, both dark and healing. There are many similar themes, such as "Zombie Bride", "Frankenstein Dog", "Psychic Boy Norman", etc., which often borrow the shell of animation, cloak in horror, and tell stories of truth and goodness. Just like coraline in "Ghost Mother", after being trapped in another parallel world, she and the "ghost mother" have a battle of wits and courage, and can save her parents and return to real life. Coraline's efforts are actually a letter of protest written by a child to his parents.

At the beginning of the story, Coraline's parents are busy with their own work, often ignoring her affairs, buying clothes arbitrarily, making dinner, and not communicating with her. Coraline, who lacked attention, couldn't stay idle, so she explored her new home, so she was no doubt excited when she discovered another parallel world. The contrast between the two worlds is very clear, the color of the real world is gray and gloomy, with an earthy atmosphere, and the tone of the parallel world is warm like colored candy, which is both vivid and bright.

The real world coraline feels that the meal made by her mother is difficult to swallow, and the turkey made by the "mother" in the parallel world is fat and juicy; the father of the real world is busy with work and has no time to pay attention to her, and the father of the parallel world plays the piano and takes care of the garden for her; the neighbors in the real world are cold and mysterious, and the neighbors in the parallel world are lively and hospitable. Everything went according to the way the little girl liked, which was undoubtedly a huge temptation for some lonely children.

How warm the first half of the film is, how terrifying the tearing of the second half is. The horror of "Ghost Mother" is that it weaves a beautiful dream for a lonely child, and finally reveals that it is a conspiracy. It wants to tell all children not to indulge in the fantasy of beautiful dreams, and it also wants to tell all parents that if you don't pay attention to your children anymore, they may be stolen at any time. The foreign name of the film is coraline, which should be "Caroline" in the literal translation, which is also the main line that runs through the whole process, but it is translated as "Ghost Mother", perhaps to highlight the importance of the role of "Mother" in the movie.

All parents have flaws, and it is too unreal to be as perfect as "ghost mothers", to be able to cook you a delicious dinner, to tell you bedtime stories, and to create an exclusive garden for you and create a fun world.

If in the real world, the neglect of mothers gives Coraline a reason to pass through the parallel world, which implies that the neglect of children in family life will cause trauma to children, then the "mother" in the parallel world represents the love of parents who control everything and will make children lose themselves. "Ghost Mother" wants to replace Coraline's eyes with buttons and put away her soul, such a life, which seems to be very caring and has a good future, is actually out of control.

Such two loves are two extremes for children, and the slightest carelessness will be out of the trajectory. (Hu Bugui)