Director: Kim Jee-woon
Year: 2003
Country: South Korea
Alternate Titles: Janghwa, Hongryeon
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
After being released from a sanitarium, a troubled woman is reunited with her sister at their old home where they learn that not only has their father remarried a seemingly angelic stepmother but a strange ghost now haunts their house and must find a way of stopping it's appearances.
Review:
This is an exceptionally enjoyable if slightly flawed entry. A lot of what makes this one quite chilling is the professionalism and competency displayed for so many of the technical areas here. There's a really strong and palpable sense of class afforded to the film by it's leisurely pace and reliance on atmosphere to build it's mood, meaning that the film takes itself seriously while generating the kind of feeling that echoes classic ghost stories. From the impending dread over the different storylines present, as in the reconfirming of their relationship, each girls' relationship to the father and stepmother and then the underlying ghost presence popping up from time-to-time to remind us it's a horror film, to the outstanding and nearly flawless presentation of such material all come together to give this a strong impression.
That build-up in terms means that once it does bring those horror elements into play, it's exceptionally creepy and enjoyable. By gong with a stronger and more focused setup involving the relationship between the girls and the new stepmother including her treatment towards them as well as the rather fine mystery about her history with the family, there's a rather fine backdrop to hang the hauntings on which makes them score nicely. From the initial appearance in the bedroom that freaks her out to the point of sleeping with the sister to the sighting under he table at the dinner party and the scores of intimidation tactics performed here not only by the ghost but also the later half where it brings out far more intensive and thrilling ghost encounters which are really thrilling and exciting. As these in turn lead into the stellar twist involved here it's quite fun and really manages to score nicely here.
The cast here is also indicative of the quality on display. Soo-jung Lim really delivers as Soo-mi Bae in the Janghwa role in the story. Getting the lions' share of the screentime here following the release from the sanitarium, her gradual change from the sweet character after being released to the later psychotic version who suffers the breakdown convincingly and she comes off admirably with all she's asked to do here. Geun-young Moon is somewhat bland as Soo-yeon Bae in the Hongryeon role in the story. Basically doing nothing but sulking around silently for the majority of her screentime, she isn't asked to do much else until the finale and it makes her feel unimportant and unmotivated to do anything. Jung-ah Yum is a fine presence as Eun-joo Heo the stepmother who ends up performing quite an impressive turn here considering what her character is like here. However, Kap-su Kim as their father is a misstep considering he's a central figure who really does nothing and isn't all that memorable. Coupled with the fine ghost makeup on the truly terrifying creatures shown, these are what hold this up over it's few minor negative issues.
About the only real flaw to this one is it's somewhat glacial pacing that can be maddening at times. This one doesn't really generate any kind of traditional pacing towards it's ghost scenes and really takes it's time building up the atmosphere without really paying them off which can make this feel like nothing much is happening. Although it's trading on atmosphere and buildup, there's not a lot of action here, either from the ghost around the house or anything else which would liven things up in the plotline and the film ends up taking a while before it really gets going despite being watchable all the same. Likewise, the fact that there's not a whole lot of straightforward coherence to it's storyline which can be somewhat frustrating for some who want a little more than what is generally given here. However, these aren't detrimental and don't really hold it down that much.
Overview:**** 1/2/5
While there aren't that many truly detrimental flaws present, they do manage to hold this back just enough from the upper echelon of the country's output despite still having very few that can match it. Go into this one if you're into these types of slow-burn, atmospheric ghost stories or are a fan of South Korean or even Asian Horror in general, while those who don't care for those in the first place might give this a chance as a starting point to get into the genre in the first place.
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