Hansel and Gretel (2007) - A Quick Review

 

I heard Hansel and Gretel was really good. Let's just say it lived up to the hype!

Hansel and Gretel is a fantasy horror movie released in South Korea in 2007. It stars Chun Jung-myung, Shim Eun-kyung, Eun Won-jae, Jin Ji-hee, Park Hee-soon, Lydia Park, Jang Young-nam, and Kim Kyung-ik. Hansel and Gretel was directed and co-written by Yim Pil-sung.

Lee Eun-soo is not prepared for the family he meets...

In Hansel and Gretel, Chun Jung-myung plays Lee Eun-soo, a young man who is dealing with a lot concerning his girlfriend and his family. He argues on the phone with his girlfriend while driving, causing him to not pay attention to the road. At the last minute he swerves to avoid running over something laying in the road, causing him to crash his car. He safely gets out of the car, but is in a daze. A young girl named Kim Young-hee (played by Shim Eun-kyung) finds Eun-soo and brings him to her house. There, he meets Young-hee's older brother Kim Man-bok (played by Eun Won-jae) and their little sister Kim Jung-soon (played by Jin Ji-hee), and their parents (Kim Kyung-ik plays the father, Jang Young-nam plays the mother). He sleeps over night to recover from the car crash...

When Eun-soo wakes up, the family treat him to a huge breakfast of candy and cupcakes. Weird. He insists that he needs to call his girlfriend and family, but the family says their telephone line is not working. Double weird. Eun-soo decides to leave the house to look for his way back to town. The family warns him he might get lost in the forest (where the house is located). He leaves, and what do you know, he gets lost and comes back to the house. Eun-soo needs to leave, but the children (who now call him 'Uncle') are insistent that he stays. Man-bok starts showing threatening behavior towards Eun-soo and his parents...

The perfect, beautiful family... or so it seems.

Eventually the parents ditch the house, leaving Eun-soo in charge of the children. Eun-soo is baffled by the situation. He goes exploring around the house and the surrounding forest. He finds some very unsettling things that begin to explain what is going on. Things get weirder when two new guests come to the house, a deacon (played by Park Hee-soon) and his wife (played by Lydia Park). A snow storm occurs, trapping the new guests as well. The deacon doesn't mind, as he feels he was sent to the house by a 'higher power' to 'help' the children... Will Eun-soo escape the house, and will the deacon cleanse the house of 'evil'?

Hansel and Gretel is an amazing movie. There, I said it; upfront, too. This movie is weird, unsettling, and tragic. It is shot beautifully, and all of the actors and actresses portray their characters excellently. Until the reveal happens, you are always wondering what is going on with the children, their house, and the forest surrounding the area. Much like the classic fairy tales (not the Disney versions, I'm talking about the original stories), there is an underlying darkness to everything. As said before, the actors are great in this. Chun Jung-myung plays Lee Eun-soo as a sort of aloof young man who just wants to get home to see his family. He shows that he does care for the children, but he is also wary of them. Shim Eun-kyung plays Kim Young-hee as the most trustworthy of the kids (at least to Eun-soo), and she keeps Man-bok from getting too angry. Great performance from her in this. Eun Won-jae as Kim Man-bok is very angry and probably the most untrustworthy of the kids. That kid is scary, and his anger causes him to do... things (when you find out why he is the way he is, along with the other children... let's just say feelings will change). Finally, Park Hee-soon as the deacon is... unsettling. His attitude is totally different from his wife's and Eun-soo. To say more would be spoiling the movie, but the director cast perfect guy for this role.

Do not get Man-bok angry, or else...

I highly recommend Hansel and Gretel. It's not just a good horror movie, it's a good movie, period. This movie went places I wasn't expecting, and that made it all the more entertaining. This is one of the best movies I watched this year so far (not meaning to over-hype it, though). South Korea knows what it's doing when it comes to making movies, don't they? Hansel and Gretel is one fairy tale you won't forget any time soon! Check it out, if you can!

Reviewed by David Williams

The Labyrinth (2021) - A Quick Review

 

The Labyrinth is a horror movie based on a video game.

The Labyrinth is a fantasy horror movie released in South Korea in 2021. It stars Chani, Park Yoo Na, Lee Hye Ran, Kim Woo Rin, Jang Gwang, and Lee Seung Il, among many others. Song Woon directed The Labyrinth, which his based on the video game White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. .

Chani stars as Hee Min. Typical guy trying to get with a girl instead of fighting supernatural beings! (I'm kidding)

In The Labyrinth, Chani plays Hee Min, a taekwondo expert who just transferred to a new school. Arriving at the school, a girl catches his eye: So Young (played by Park Yoo Na). He becomes obsessed with her...while also noticing strange supernatural things around the school. He ignores them, but what he doesn't know is that he is the heir to a great exorcist. At the same time this is happening, a shaman is making plans that involve the school and certain students in it. Can Hee Min embrace his destiny and stop the shaman's plan, and will So Young reveal the secret she's hiding that has to do with everything going on at the school?

Park Yoo Na as So Young. She has a secret...

The Labyrinth, even though a movie based on a video game and aimed at teens, actually has a pretty serious aspect to the story, and it is treated with respect. There is tragedy in this, but it also won't leave you feeling down or depressed. The hero's story is a bit cliched, but even he has emotional stuff he has to deal with. The actors all play their parts well; and you will feel empathy for certain characters, and straight up hate for others (I can't stand the bullies). Chani does a good job playing the hero who only cares about the girl (and not realizing the power he has within himself). He is a total good guy, for sure! The special effects are really good in some scenes, and look more like a video game in others. This doesn't take away from the feel of the movie, though. A majority of the movie is dark, foreboding, and creepy (nice things to be in a horror movie). The movie is pretty entertaining throughout.

The Labyrinth does get pretty spooky!

So, should you watch The Labyrinth? Once again, it's not the best horror movie you'll ever see, and it's a movie geared towards the teenage audience (so no graphic violence, sex, or nudity). If you're hardcore into horror, I would skip it (but hey, you may like it anyway). If you like Korean drama TV shows, movies that have video game-like plots, or just a fun scary movie, check it out. I really enjoyed this one, maybe you will too. Hopefully my vague review steers you in the right direction.

Reviewed by David Williams

Ghost Mansion (2021) - A Review

 

Ghost Mansion is a decent Korean horror movie.

Ghost Mansion (also known as Grotesque Mansion and The Night Shift) is a South Korean horror movie released in 2021. It stars Sung Joon, Kim Hong-Fa, Kim Bo-Ra, Lee Chang-Hoon, Sojin, Seo Hyun-Woo, Kang You-Seok, Lee Suk-Hyeong, and Won Hyun-Joon. Ghost Mansion was written and directed by Jo Ba-Reun.

Sung Joon as Ji-Woo. He gets in over his head in this one!

In Ghost Mansion, Sung Joon plays Ji-Woo, a webtoon artist looking for inspiration for his horror comic. He goes to a creepy apartment complex where he meets Kwon Ri-In (played by Kim Hong-Fa), the person in charge (seemingly) of the place. Ji-Woo wants to hear some stories about the apartment, as it has a reputation for having paranormal incidents and missing tenants. Each story told is a chapter in the movie, and there are five chapters: The Writer, The Pharmacist, The Seller, The Student, and The Caretaker. Determined to make his comic a success, Ji-Woo delves deeper and deeper into the lore of the apartment complex...

Kim Hong-Fa plays a very...peculiar character.

Ghost Mansion is a horror anthology movie where every chapter is connected. Every chapter leads to the final chapter, which explains why the apartment complex is 'haunted'. The movie is moody and atmospheric, and there is a certain sense of dread throughout. This is especially apparent when Ji-Woo is at the apartment complex itself; the complex is dark, shadowy, and dank while his apartment is brightly lit and cozy. I will say, there are a lot of jump scares in this. Trying not to spoil the movie here, but there are many types of...paranormal entities in this movie. Some are spooky, some are weird, and some are gross. Whatever type of ghost creeps you out, it's in here.

One of the more intriguing chapters...

Each chapter features a flawed protagonist. Besides Ji-Woo and his girlfriend, every character is not a good person. Considering the history of the apartment complex, why these particular tenants are affected by the paranormal activity makes sense. The actors all do a good job, with The Writer (played by Lee Chang-Hoon) being a stand out. I hated his character at first, but I realized he was just a very impatient and frustrated person. Lee played that character a little too well! Sung Joon as Ji-Woo is a very sympathetic character; you want him to succeed with his webtoon, but you kind of want him to stay away from that apartment...

So, should you watch Ghost Mansion? I would say...it depends. If you are a hardcore horror movie fan who has seen almost everything, I would skip this one. If you want an introduction to Korean (or Asian) horror, this is a good one to start with. It's not gory, it's not graphic, there's no sex or nudity; it's all about the atmosphere and the ghosts. I liked this movie enough. It's not the best horror movie ever, but it's pretty entertaining. I will say, you have to pay attention because there are clues and characters that tie everything together at the end. Check it out and give it a chance!

Reviewed by David Williams

Contorted 뒤틀린 집 (2022) - Movie Trailer

 Here is the trailer for Contorted, also known as The Contorted House, a South Korean horror movie starring Seo Young Hee, Kim Min Jae, and Kim Mo Bin. The movie was written and directed by Kang Dong Hun. Here is the synopsis:

A family moves to a quiet and isolated place, but suffers from nightmares on their very first day in the new home. The wife is anxious about a strange sound she hears in the warehouse, but her husband ignores her concern. Meanwhile, the family’s nightmares are getting worse, to the point that they can hardly tell the difference between dream and reality. 

Contorted comes out July 13, 2022 in South Korea. I hope this gets an international release because this movie looks very intriguing. I need to see this!

 

Office (2015) - A Review

 

Office is not the movie I was expecting!

Office (also known as Opiseu) is a mystery/thriller/horror movie released in South Korea in 2015 and stars  Go Ah-sung, Park Sung-woong, Bae Seong-woo, Ryu Hyun-kyung, Lee Chae-eun, Park Jeong-min, Kim Eui-sung, and Son Soo-hyun. The movie was directed by Hong Won-Chan.

Go Ah-sung as Lee Mi-rae. Great performance from her!

In Office, Go Ah-sung plays Lee Mi-Rae, a young intern who works at an office for a large company. Mi-Rae is very introverted and a bit meek. She is a focused, diligent worker who just hopes to eventually get hired full-time by the company. Her co-workers treat her very badly, not inviting her to company events, talking behind her back, and ridiculing her work ethic. The only person who treated her with kindness and respect was Kim Byeong-Gook (played by Bae Sung-woo), the section chief of her office.

Unfortunately, as we find out at the beginning of the movie, Mr. Kim brutally murdered his family and has gone missing. The police are searching for him and trying to get background information on him from his co-workers. Detective Jong-Hoon (played by Park Sung-woong) is in charge of the case, and he can tell everyone at the office is hiding something from him...

Bae Seong-woo as Mr. Kim. What, if anything, made him snap?

 The police find out Mr. Kim returned to the office right after the murder, but that he never left. Detective Jong-Hoon focuses on the office, and even shows kindness towards Mi-rae. Unfortunately for Mi-rae, the stress at her job is building up, her co-workers are being even more harsh towards her, and her raging jerk of a boss has hired a new, beautiful intern. Will Detective Jong-Hoon find Mr. Kim, and can Mi-rae survive her toxic workplace environment?

Office is a movie where there are several things going on with the story. On the surface, it is a mystery/thriller/horror movie, where you wonder if the killer will get caught before he kills again. Then there is the underlying story of working in an office (or any other job) and dealing with the politics and trying to get ahead. It is kind of a story about life itself. There is another element, but saying what it is would spoil the movie, so just know that this element is what people who dislike the movie don't understand about it. I think the way the movie handles all these elements is pretty clever.

Lee Mi-rae is treated as an outsider by her co-workers.

The actors do a great job in portraying their characters. Go Ah-sung is incredibly sympathetic as Lee Mi-rae. You see her struggle to be accepted at her job and how her co-workers are so hard on her; you just want to see her succeed. You really hope she doesn't succumb to the toxic workplace environment... Bae Seong-woo plays Mr. Kim as a nice, kind, and sympathetic man until he murders his family. After that, he is completely creepy! There are some good scares involving his character! Kim Eui-sung plays Director Kim Sang-Gyu, Lee Mi-rae's boss. He is such a raging jerk, you can't help but hate him (though this character isn't as much of a bastard as the one he plays in Train To Busan). Lee Mi-rae's co-workers, especially Hong Ji-Sun (played by Ryu Hyun-kyung) are such jerks to her, you can't stand them. I've worked with people like them, so I'm a bit biased towards Lee Mi-rae for the most part.

In conclusion, Office is a pretty good thriller. I say give it a chance. The acting is great, the story is layered, and there are some pretty shocking twists and turns. Everything that happens to certain characters is explained in the movie, you just have to make a certain leap in logic to understand it. Go Ah-sung is so good in this; you should watch this movie for her performance alone. This is the kind of movie that'll have you thinking about it long after you've watched it.

Reviewed by David Williams