Gawi

'Nightmare' is only the second Korean horror movie I have seen. The first was the overrated 'The Eye', which many people seem to love (I don't). Personally I enjoyed this less known supernatural thriller a lot more. It owes a huge debt to classic American slasher movies of the past, but they themselves were inspired by Italian giallo, so it doesn't really matter who did what first, as long as it entertains. And this very effective thriller does that. I can see certain superficial similarities between 'Nightmare' and the much hyped Japanese horror film 'Ringu', but the approach is quite different, and I think this is the better of the two movies. The story concerns a group of school friends hiding a secret from the past, which comes back to haunt them. Standard horror fare true, but 'Nightmare' makes this familiar material worth watching just the same. And having a few very cute Korean girls among the cast certainly does it no harm! Worth a look, it's better than you'd think.

The reviews I read for this movie were pretty decent so I decided to check it out. BAD IDEA! This is another movie about a ghost out for revenge against a group friends. The story is stupid, mix two parts Ringu with one part Prom Night, a sprinkle of I Know what you did Last Summer, and add a tiny dash of Single White Female - now blend until completely nonsensical. There is nothing new to this plot, and revisiting the clichés I've grown so fond of wasn't even entertaining this time. This movie jumps to and from the past too much, and once I made sense of it all I realized it still didn't make much sense. Characters go from sane to psycho killer in the blink of an eye. Speaking of characters, they are all your stereotypical favorites - the greedy selfish lawyer, the egocentric actress, the has-been baseball star, the video voyeur, the bitter girl, the spooky quiet chick, the 'nicer-than-nice' nice girl, a freakin' black cat... and I didn't care about any of them. Perhaps a better writer could have made the movie work, there were some decent scenes in it, but overall this movie was a mess. I should also mention a certain 'video tape' that would have been IMPOSSIBLE to shoot.

This movie isn't the worst Asian horror has to offer by far, but it is still pretty bad. If you just want to see some creepy images in the dark, or just want to laugh out loud at some over the top acting, or just want to yell "you're stupid!" at a movie screen, or just want to have another Asian horror flick up your sleeve when someone asks you how many you've seen - this movie is for you.

Those seeking a decent plot look elsewhere.

This movie I thought would be a lot better. I didn't find it that scary, but more gorey. The flashback & present time is not distinguised clearly. It's shocking what you discover as the movie goes on. This an okay movie if you're really interested in Horror flicks, but don't get your hopes up.

When Sun-ae (Jeong-yun Choi) returns from the United States of America to Seul after two years of absence, her friend Hye-jin (Gyu-ri Kim) welcomes her at home. Sun-ae is disturbed and tells Hye-jin that the ghost of their deceased friend Kyung-ah (Ji-won Ha) is haunting and chasing her. Hye-jin recalls when she introduced her new friend Eun-ju to their former close college friends: She-hoon (Jun Jeong), who used to tape every moments with his camera; Hyun-joon (Ji-tae Yu), who was a promising baseball player before damaging his knee; Jung-wook (Jun-Sang Yu), who has become a prominent lawyer; and Jung Mi-ryoung (Hye-yeong Jo), who works in advertisement on television. The jealous and envious Sun-ae revealed a secret from the past of Eun-ju causing a tragedy in the group. When She-hoon, Hyun-joon and Mi-young are killed, Hye-jin finds a videotape hiding a dark covenant of her friends about the death of Kyung-ah.

This ambiguous horror movie is another great example of the high-quality of South-Korea (and Asia in general) in this genre. Director Byeong-ki Ahn uses a remarkable cinematography and angles of camera to disclose a plot where the viewer is never sure whether a revengeful fiend or an insane character is killing Hye-jin's friend, and if Sun-ae has guilty complex or is really being chased by the ghost of Kyung-ah until the very last scene. The cast has great performances, the actresses are extremely gorgeous and Ji-won Ha is one of the most beautiful actresses I have ever seen. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

This South Korean thriller can't claim much originality in its basic story. A group of young adults are linked by a guilty secret from their college days. They start being haunted by visions of someone who was killed accidentally several years before, and begin dying violently themselves. The idea dates back to at least 1980 (PROM NIGHT), and more recently formed the basis for I SAW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. But writer-director An Byung-ki, evidently familiar with Italian gialli, maintains interest by giving the plot a quite convoluted structure plus several bizarre twists and turns as the film progresses. The influence of Dario Argento is specially noticeable. Mr. An also invests the story with enough ambiguity that, until the last scene, we're not sure whether the vengeful ghost seen by the characters is for real or simply a projection of their guilt.

The young cast generally furnish convincing and underplayed performances. Particularly noteworthy are Kim Kyu-ri as a psychology major and Ha Ji-won as the film's enigmatic nemesis. The picture's mood of unease is greatly enhanced by imaginative lighting, smoothly gliding camerawork, sharp editing, and a varied but never intrusive score. KAWEE successfully continues South Korea's recent emergence as a new force in the psychological horror film sub-genre.

Westerners can catch this movie on VCD or DVD under the titles NIGHTMARE and HORROR GAME MOVIE. It's highly recommended.