Director: Yoo Young-sun
Year: 2019
Country: South Korea
Alternate Titles: Yeo-gok-seong
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After arriving at a lord's village, a young woman is suddenly forced to deal with the uptight rules and regulations of the house which puts her at odds with the other women living there when a ghostly spirit is found to be tormenting the inhabitants, forcing her to try to stop its deadly antics.
Review:
For the most part, there was quite a lot to like here. When this one gets going, a lot of the positives come from the stellar ghost action present throughout here. The film creates a wholly oppressive atmosphere in the village setting that gives the appearance of something creepy lurking behind every corner. The fog-shrouded streets and night-time settings allow for the creepiness to really get ramped up by playing with the shadow of the spirit running around or hearing the ethereal laughing on the soundtrack providing the basis for several big shock scenes such as the opening attack on the worker in the farmhouse featuring the spirit rushing out of the darkness for several rush attacks or the attack on the lord with his belief that the spirit is behind him several times before the killing blow. The arrival of the exorcism and the attempts to rid the house of the evil spirit offers up several impressive moments including the gratuitous vomiting of the black liquid immediately upon arrival to the visions of the spirit feeding on the life-energy of the inhabitants and the failed exorcism attempt in the woods that ends tragically for most involved.
Moreover, the finale of the film is incredibly fun and really has so much to like. With the political ramifications spelled out in full effect, from how the women are conspiring to keep the family lineage for themselves against her to understand how the curse works thanks to the backstory flashback showing how the original recipient was killed while she was pregnant and forced the curse upon the family, this section of the film generates the setup necessary to get the final confrontation prepared. Not only does this section of the film feature even more frenetic supernatural action with the ghost getting to play with the malicious head of the household that killed her by making him think he's attacking her instead of his helpers or the battle between the spirit and her that features several attempts to overcome her wrath and vengeance that gets rather bloody and brutal at times. With these supernatural actions really bringing aboard some fantastic action scenes featuring the reanimated spirit if Wol-a flying around looking to get her full revenge on everyone, this section is not only quite exciting but cathartic.
On top of that fine work, the film's issues of classism and social constructs are quite prominent. That this takes place in the village, the idea of wealth and opulence is quite apparent in their fancy, colorful clothes and ornate designs that are strictly at odds with her more humble and down-to-Earth upbringing which starts to infuriate the others around the palace the longer she's around. Once they're forced to take care of her, the resentment that arises and takes place in the house with the rules and regulations that are placed manage to showcase how the various classes and social statuses deal with different issues. They're more likely to deny everything that occurs, regardless of whether or not it's followed on their end, while she gets strict regulated deals that are punished for not following. At times, that creates a convoluted storyline with the revelation of the spirits' vengeance coming so late into the running time because of all the different storylines present here with all the political trickery and backstabbing but that's really the main issue with the film.
Overview: ****.5/5
Without too many real flaws and some absolutely stellar positives throughout, this one manages to feature plenty of stellar elements that make for a truly enjoyable and engaging effort. Give this one a watch if you’re a fan of these supernatural efforts or a fan of Asian style ghost films in general, while those that don’t appreciate that kind of effort should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation. It also ran as part of our coverage of the 2019 edition of Fantasia International Film Festival.
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