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Mi-Yu is a music theory instructor with a caring husband
and two lovely young daughters. Today is Mi-Yu's birthday,
but it is a also a day that brings back haunting memories
when she learns that Hae-Yeong, the younger sister of her
former classmate, Tae-Yeon, will be performing in the area.
Along with the performance program, Mi-Yu receives an audio
cassette from Hae-Yeong. That night, on her way home, she
listens to the cassette and not moments after the classical
music begins she begins to pass out and is nearly hit by
a truck. She is unaware that this is only the first of a
series of events that will slowly unravel around her because
of the tape. ***
The following day, Mi-Yu takes her older daughter,
Yoon-Jin, to the doctor. On the way home, they stop by a
musical instrument shop, and Mi-Yu is compelled to buy Yoon-Jin
a cello and begin to teach her to play, though Mi-Yu no
longer plays herself. That night, a spirit which has invaded
Mi-Yu's home shows herself for the first time and begins
her reign of terror. As Mi-Yu's family begins to die, a
connection is made between the cassette and the new cello,
and she must slowly remember and come to terms with what
happened to Tae-Yeon when they were younger, and also come
to terms with what is happening in the present. ***
This is the first film for director Lee Wu-Cheol and
writer Jeong Wu-Cheol. The creative duo are obviously influenced
by elements from both American cinema and recent K-Horror
and J-Horror films. The opening pre-credit sequence borrows
a page from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, as classical music is interposed
over a very bloody and dying woman, which lays the groundwork
for the viewer to link music with death through the rest
of the movie. The physical cello itself takes a note from
THE RED VIOLIN as it is never fully disclosed as to whether
the actual instrument is possessed or cursed. ***
The supernatural portions of the film all seem cribbed
from the recent Asian horror films, including Japan's RINGU
(this time with a cursed cassette, as well as a few stolen
camera shots) and JU-ON (the female spirit has a white face
and heavy black eyeliner) and Korea's PHONE (Mi-Yu receives
phone calls on her cell through out the movie). These references
do not go so far as to plagiarize, but merely stay within
a tried and successful safety zone that the viewers will
be familiar with. ***
On the technical side, Lee Wu-Cheol uses classic haunted
house-style light and shadow to great effect as it plays
with the eye and makes the mind expect voids to be filled
with ghosts. As with any haunted house story, especially
one focused on a musical instrument, audio plays a big role
through the film. Startling musical cues amp up the jump
scares to keep the pulse pumping, which are contrasted by
quiet musical ambiance during dialogue. His cinematography
is quite ambitious, and successfully uses it to tell the
story as much as the dialogue. The use of repeating shots
make earlier scenes of the film really pay off when it is
discovered just how influential the spirit has been over
Mi-Yu and her family. ***
Added all up, this is a strong first outing for the
director and writer pair who seem to be playing by the K-Horror
rule book for now, and sticking to their film school textbooks
on how to make a scary movie. Only future cinematic outings
will tell if they have what it takes to create their own
style and originality. ---
Image & Sound:
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen, with the original
Korean soundtrack in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. English
and Spanish subtitles are included and easy to read.
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