Face [2004] (product link) Horror / Thriller Face, at just about 80 minutes, is kind of an elongated Korean episode of "CSI" with ghosts; but overall, for what it is, it's quite good and heartfelt. Not so much scary, it manages to create a nice atmosphere. Leads are great. It was nice to see Song Yoon-ah, who played a similar character in "Arang", but she presents them as completly different, which i like. Speaking of "Arang", if you want a much more thought-out and entertaining mix of crime investigation and ghost story, see that. Overall a nice 80 minutes, though this was borderline drama, not that that's a bad thing.
School Day Of The Dead (product link) Horror / Thriller Stylish and entertining, this mystery whodunit was very enjoyable. The film is actually what I thought "Whispering Corridors" would be like when I first saw a trailer for it. It's very stylish, shot on film and grainy, with some muted greens. It's suberbly directed (camera movement/angles) and beautifully scored (I would definietly by a soundtrack, but it's probably OOP since this was released in 2000). The film certainly has an old school feel to it, and makes for a nice whodunit mystery (no ghost girls here).
Byeong is one of the few directors in Korea who sticks to genre thrillers and horror. After his masterpiece tale of possession (although most regard this as his worst, bull****), Byeong goes back to the thriller a la "Phone". Like all his films we get stylish coloring, in this case it uses the slick coloring like "Phone"--except while "Phone" stuck to blues, "The Apartment" uses green as well, but the most-used and prominent color is a very stylish turquoise. Once again, Byeong uses a little bit of derivative material (just a tad of "Rear Window", and long-haired ghost) but makes it something completely new. Camerawork and angles are once again prominent. "The Apartment" may be considered the most unoriginal of his films (the only true derivativeness is the creaking noise of the ghost), but still is a great, entertaining and refreshing watch, so one cannot call this just another long-haired ghost girl film until you actually see it. No Byeong alumni in this cast (not even Jeong-yun Choi who had appeared in all of his prior films--her roles ranged from lead to cameo), but the new cast is pretty good, especially the lead and the character of the handicapped girl. Only real complaint is the last scene (not necessarily the ending) which is a bit lacking, as all of Byeong's previous films (especially "Gawi" and "Bunshinsaba") have great final scenes. A stylish, entertaining, and mysterious, professionally done thriller!
I'm amazed. The four films of the Korean girl school ghost films are not linked by characters. Yet, they are not necessarily name-only sequels. They all tie in the same themes of Korean all-girl's high school, friends, lovers, and ghosts. They range from horror to drama. And that's what's great about them: they all are so totally different, yet all come together with their similar themes. Moksori tells of a young singer who suddenly finds her throat slit with a sheet of music. Now a ghost, she is confined in the walls of her school, but her best friend can hear her voice. They must solve the mystery behind her death as more faculty/students begin to die.
The film will probably most appeal to "Memento Mori" fans, which was pretty much a drama with a sprinkle of horror. This has more horror but still ups it on drama. I really, loved this. It's hard to compare the films ("Whispering Corridors", "Memento Mori", "Wishing Stairs", "Voice Letter") because they are so different. Moksori has great style as all the films do. This time, we get very cold muted day visuals, which are mirrored by beautiful red lit colored night scenes. The film is a bit complex towards the end (surprise, suprise) but overall one of the best Korean films I have seen, and a worthy film in the collection of High School Horror Stories!
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