| 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! |
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