Year: 2019
Country: South Korea
Alternate Titles: Amjeon
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Eager to continue her studies, a rookie film director becomes intrigued by reports of a cursed film rumored to be directed by a ghost and sets out to learn more about it, but the closer to the truth she gets the more she uncovers a dangerous entity coming for her and must try to solve the mystery safely.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty solid effort. One of the strongest elements here is the folklore and backstory given to the particular film as there’s a lot of detail here that helps to make it fun. Though the concept of the cursed film driving people insane when they watch it is nothing new, the setup featured here of the individual tormented to live out the rest of his life as a paranoid, deranged lunatic for filming and releasing what he did which starts the spread of the rumors involving the film and its legacy afterward.
That ties nicely into the other solid positive with the film’s supernatural elements. The opening sequence of the figure stalking a character through a darkened car park using a cellphone camera for light is a chilling and pretty creepy opening, while the encounter with the frantic former director in his house is a nice segment. The changing lights, crazed behavior, and frantic attacks to get at her all set the stage for the final half where the return to the abandoned, fire-ravaged theater which features plenty of tactics from recreations of the original incidents to her own encounters with the ghost that has some solid action, giving this one a lot to like.
There are some issues to be had with this one. The biggest letdown is the series of investigations that are taking place in the first half where the pace is so dragged out and slow to get going that there are several start-and-stop plot points added to this one. The meetup with the various film students who spill the urban legend about the movie to her, the different instructors at the film-centers she talks with to learn the truth about the movie or the searches around the university grounds trying to find it which are all necessary to understand what’s going on yet just don’t have the urgency needed to help this one out.
The other problem here is with the seemingly cursed movie that’s supposed to drive her insane yet that barely materializes. Very rarely does anything in here make sense, from how the psychological strain of attempting to find out how anything worked on the original shoot which causes her to be tormented by the forces who worked on it to the sudden introduction of morality into the story and all the background characters from the filming being involved, this one is confusing and quite chaotic to make out what’s going on. Coupled with some cheap make-up effects from time to time, these are where the film stumbles.
Overview: **.5/5
Despite some enjoyable segments here and there, the majority of this is filled with confusing missteps and underwhelming ideas that undo a lot of those aspects and lower this one pretty significantly. Give this one a shot if you’re into these kinds of efforts or you’re not that worried about the flaws, while those who are turned off by the issues present or not into the style should heed caution.
This review was originally posted on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
Comments
Post a Comment