Random Observation...

I'm beginning to sense a trend as I watch these:

Arang starts with schoolgirls fearing ghosts and perverts, and eventually the story involves both.

In The Ghost, aka Dead Friend (with any luck, tomorrow's review), the action begins with a teenage séance and a sentence that explains much of the movie (er, spoiler?).

Both Ringu and its American remake kick off with the legend of the videotape as told by kids.

In other words, I think I've finally found the explanation for the title cards at the start of The Heirloom: no matter how steeped in local lore you are, it's hard to have people naturally expositing about fetus ghosts.

A Salty Tale: Arang

Think Law & Order: Very Special Victims Unit.

In this Korean horror film, a detective just recovered from a sexual assault is paired with the proverbial green rookie (in the opening sequence after the titles, he is trying to photograph a crime scene with no film in the camera). Together, they investigate a series of deaths: some force is killing off a group of young men of the same age. Could it have something to do with a missing girl and a crime committed in a salt-storage shed long ago? Could long-haired ladies, technological manipulation by supernatural forces, and black goo be involved?

Is there a Korean idiom for "Duh!"?

I realize I'm giving a false impression that I didn't like Arang, but in fact I liked it for the same reason I like Law & Order*: there's a point in each when stylized conventions transcend cliché to become classical. I enjoyed the police-procedural aspect of this revenge drama and its little twists—the oaf with the camera plays a much bigger role than first assumed—and the salthouse is a nicely eerie set-piece around which to base your haunt. The movie is very basic in its conventions, however, and talking about it without dwelling on what viewers would already expect (dead girls, photographic shenanigans) is very difficult. If you like these things, definitely give it a try.



*No, Sam Waterston is the other reason.

Belated Halloween Coming!

Just to let you know that I'll be reviewing some nice foreign horror flicks, assuming I can ever stop watching DVDs of that curiously gentle police show, Pie In The Sky. Thanks for your patience!

Egad....

I'm going to try to do the NaBloPoMo thing again this year; generally, this is something I remember around the second of every month. Movie reviews will be forthcoming!