Summer for Horror Film Buffs

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

While film is an old Western tradition, Koreans have long relied on horror flicks to cool the summer heat. And as the summer season lurks just around the corner, serial killers, freaks and ghosts are out in full force to chill moviegoers.

Compared to ghosts and schizophrenic psychos that predominantly figure in Western horror films such as "The Omen", "Creep" and "Silent Hill", what can local moviegoers expect from the domestic horror films? The following are some of Korean horror films slated for this summer.

Arang (on June 28)

This is the first local horror film, which opens the summer season.

As it is based on a Korean folk tale in which a ghost visits a district governor to ask him help her pay off her grudge, the film aims to put Korean touches to maximize fear for local audiences.

Directed by Ahn Sang-hoon and starring Song Yoon-ah and Lee Dong-wook, the film revolves around two detectives who encounter mysterious accidents while tackling a murder case.

"Many horror films seem to neglect to tell a story of people, and I tried to tell a horror story focusing on people in this movie", Ahn said said Tuesday during a news conference at a hotel in downtown Seoul.

A.P.T (July 6)

Director Ahn Byeong-ki, who is well known for his hit horror films including "The Scissors" (200), Phone (2002) and "Bunshinsaba" (2004), now bring this new film.

Starring actress Ko So-young, who is making a major comeback to the show business after a four year hiatus, the film is an adaptation of a popular cartoon that was serialized on the Internet.

Every night, at the same hour, when the light turns off, people are mysteriously killed. And Se-jin (played by Ko) witnesses serial murders, and freaks out without knowing what to do.

"To Sir, With Love (Susungui Eunhae) (in August)

Different from its heartwarming title, the film deals with a deadly revenge of school graduates on their former teacher.

Directed by Im Dae-woong, the film revolves around seven friends from elementary school, who visit their teacher 16 years after their graduation.

Different from what the teacher recalls, all her students have miserable memory about their school life due to their teacher, and their reunion turns out to be a long-awaited chance for vengeance.

"For those who like horror films, this film will be like a gift set as it offers various kinds of fears through various techniques and methods, which you haven't seen in other local horror films", Lim told reporters on May 29 on a set in Taean, South Chungchong Province.

Cinderella (in August)

Directed by Bong Man-dae starring Sin Se-kyeong and Do Ji-won, the film deals with serial murders of high school girls who underwent plastic surgery to be pretty.

At a girl's high school, students who had facial plastic surgery are mysteriously killed with their faces cut off, and Hyun-su (played by Sin) traces down the incidents and finds out secrets, which reveal the connection between her and the murders.

The film is Sin's debut work as a film actress, but she has long been loved since after making her first appearance in show business as a promotion poster model for the legendary pop singer Seo Tai-ji's fifth album when she was an elementary school student.

"Chonsolui Kohyang" (Untold Story _ The Red Forest)

Set in the Choson Kingdom period, the film deals with a tragic love triangle. The film revolves around two twin sisters, who fall in love with the same man and their love meets a tragic end as the unfulfilled love turns into a grudge.

Director Kim Ji-hwan makes his directorial debut with this film, but is considered a horror film expert as he serialized horror stories in a local film magazine Film 2.0 for a long time.

Kim said in an interview that he would offer unique Korean horror experiences through this film.