Director: Kim Tae-kyeong
Year: 2004
Country: South Korea
Alternate Titles: Ryeong, The Ghost
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
After surviving a tragic accident, a college student stricken with amnesia must solve a series of clues about her past that revolve around her and her friend's treatment of a classmate that has now come back from the grave to exact her revenge which is slowly taking out those original perpetrators.
Review:
This was an extremely entertaining entry that had plenty to enjoy about it. One of the best parts is the fact that there are so many supernatural encounters that the film is seemingly built around them. It starts off with a bang as the girls playing with an Ouija board is the usually-creepy game and is mixed nicely with the cutaways to the restless sleep which is a perfect suspense-builder that then segues beautifully into the twist. Then, it transforms into the utterly spectacular water-faucet sequence, which nearly steals the show before the credits even roll. With the constantly dripping water serving as an atmospheric setting perfectly, the entirely-human-like clump of hair removed from the drain is outstanding and comes as an absolute shock, and then the still-running water falls over the edge and up to the victim, showing them about to be possessed by an unknown force before the single greatest visual in the whole film, the sight of her vomiting gallons upon gallons and still more gallons of water before being attacked by an unseen force, and again, all before the credits roll.
Likewise, this has a similar scene in a darkroom is almost as good, with the picture scare serving nicely to start the proceedings, the suddenly-blackened room lit only with a cigarette lighter is ultimately creepy, and the ghost appearing out of nowhere illuminated by it before thrusting a water-logged hand at the victim is just utterly spectacular and ranks as another highlight. Other standout scenes include the freak-out in the movie theater to a fantastic dream sequence where they play hide-and-seek with a ghost in a fog-covered cemetery along with a great scene where there are seemingly endless flashes of nightmare-ish faces appearing out of nowhere. With a great final shock involving the being appearing out of a broken water vase, this one tends to have a very well-rounded series of scenes with its ghost.
Also really fun is the several flashbacks that are used to spell everything out since there's so much to learn here. The two main ones are the best, as each one manages to add a little bit more info on the story at hand, where we initially learn what she was like to the girl in the past with the group of friends bullying the girl to how they singled her out to be picked on in the first place. The second flashback that shows how they eventually grew apart after the difference in their social stature chances makes for a great contrast to her current state. We get to see the personality change rather clearly in these scenes. She goes from a friendly and outgoing person to a colder, much less friendly face who enjoys the pain of tormenting those around her which Su-in is not ready for. Therefore, she ends up becoming the target of Ji-won's group and pays with her life for it. Overall, these flashbacks help sell this one even further.
For the most part, the cast here is certainly playing with their best-foot forward. As lead Min Ji-wong, Kim Ha-neul has a lot to draw you in here as she's quite enjoyable throughout. Initially hampered by amnesia, she eventually grows into a more bubbly personality the more she remembers even if there's some shading to her original persona. That creates a bit of intrigue here as to the difference of the personas but she still has a lot to like about her and it's fine to follow her in this role. Playing her attempted boyfriend Jun-ho, Jin Ryu creates a wholly intriguing presence. Initiating the relationship in the first place, he appears calm and caring but some of his behavior gives the impression that he's hiding a secret and you never know if you can trust him or not. It's a great performance as you never can truly tell and this is to the film's benefit in that regard. As well, the main girl featured in their group, Eun-jung, played by Lee Yun-ji, comes off as the fiery best friend and despite being an initial accuser of Ji-won she changes her attitude about her and helps out by giving some vital clues to solve the mystery. The other girls aren't shown as often but leave a solid impression of a group of close-knit friends attempting to become the hierarchy at the school rather nicely.
There wasn't a whole lot here that wasn't enjoyable. One of the few problems is the film's rather slow beginning due to several relatively small issues. The fact that the scares presented here, from the hide-and-seek game the young girl plays to the encounters in the swimming pool, are really just too short to mean anything. They come off so rapidly that it's hard to take in what's happened as they're done without ever doing anything about them. The last big flaw of this one is the fact that the middle segments are so slowly-paced outside of the ghost's actions it hardly has anything worthwhile. First up is the fact that the amnesia angle is dragged out way too long to really mean much of anything. This plotline ends up taking up the entire middle portion of the film and not at all doing much to keep the momentum going since the film takes an eternity to spell out what really happened. It also doesn't help much that an explanation for their behavior toward Su-in is beyond lame and really shouldn't have been the cause. These here are the film's few problems.
Overview: ****/4
Frankly, this was an incredibly entertaining and enjoyable Asian ghost story that manages to entertain considerably despite a few minor flaws found within. This is highly recommended to fans of that particular genre as well as those who have a fond taste for these kinds of films, otherwise, those who don't should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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