Cello

Despite the lukewarm reviews on Amazon and IMDb, I still decided to give "Cello" a chance. Why? Well, because it is a Korean horror movie, and I do enjoy Asian movies quite a lot. And I am glad enough that I did pick up this movie from Amazon.

The story in "Cello" is fairly straight forward for a horror movie, but it was refreshing not to have the stereotypical Asian ghosts lurk at every dark corner here in this movie - there is nothing particularly scary about an Asian girl in a white dress with long, black hair covering the face.

But back to the story at hand, Mi-Ju has survived a car crash, but she is haunted by her past. And things around her are starting to become strange and threatening as her past is catching up with her. With her secret hidden from her family, she has no one to turn to, and slowly, an encroaching darkness is creeping up on her family.

For an Asian horror movie, then "Cello" was rather unusual. That being said, I am not saying it is bad. It was a nice change of pace in the Asian horror genre to have a movie take this approach. But for a horror movie, then "Cello" was surprisingly devoid of scares and spooky moments. The movie isn't boring, but it trots along at a fairly level pace - a pace that some might find slow and dull. But it serves the story well, as it builds up suspense and it does reveal the storyline, one slice at a time.

The acting in the movie was quite good, not amongst the best I have seen in Asian horror movies, but it was good and served the movie well. People did good jobs with their given characters.

"Cello" is a good addition to any DVD collection that contains Asian horror movies. And if you are looking for an Asian horror movie that is not centered around the stereotypical Asian ghost, then "Cello" is a good choice.

I liked this movie. I'm not sure why they called it Cello, because it's the characters in the movie that really make it scary and not the instrument. But, it is directed by Lee Woo-Chul, a music director, and he really does use the music effectively to create this creepy ominous vibe. He also makes the movie look good too (there's a lot of cool imagery) and it comes off almost looking somewhat like a longer version of a scary music video. Maybe that's what they decided to name it after an instrument. Anyway, it's about this woman, who is a really great cellist, and she just wants a peaceful life after surviving a car crash that killed her best friend. So she decides to give up a professional career in music in favor of teaching college students and her daughter how to play. Well, once her life appears to regain a sense of normalcy, of course you know that that's just the quiet before the storm. Suddenly, one of her students attacks her, her sister in-law develops a wacky obsession with her fiancée, and the new housekeeper – lets' just say the woman will scare the crap out of you! Plus, her daughter develops some serious issues, including a nasty biting habit. There are plenty of scary women in this movie and they had me jumping several times. That's why I reiterate it's the characters that you have to watch out for. Before I saw it I thought it was about this haunted instrument or something. The acting is good, and the music really does add to the jump factor. Basically, it's a really fun movie to watch late at night…with the sound up loud. I recommend it!

First things first. The box for "Cello" has some of the most bad-ass cover art I've ever seen. It's sexy, bloody and instantly makes my wonder how the hell a horror flick can revolve around a cello. Quite honestly, I'm burning myself out when it comes to foreign horror. They're quickly becoming my favorite sub-genre, but man, do I miss the days when I didn't have to read or think so much. I'm actually becoming smarter watching horror movies and that's scarier then the films themselves. Moving on… "Cello" is about (what else?) a young cellist by the name of Mi-ju (Sung Hyun-Ah), who holds herself responsible for killing her best friend in a car accident. Fast-forward a few years later and Mi-Ju's life is finally back-on-track, or at least close to it. She has two beautiful children, a loving husband, a big house, a decent teaching career and a small waistline. She's got it all - too good to be true right? You bet your ass it is. Before you can fart out last night's dinner, Mi-ju's world begins to fall apart. Her students are constantly screwing with her, her sister's going crazy, terrible nightmares plague her sleep and her oldest daughter is becoming a human vegetable. Hey! - at least her waistline is stable. So is all this a coincidence? Probably not. Is a bitter spirit from the past coming back to seek revenge? Probably. What did she expect? Even in purgatory, the chick is still removing pieces of windshield from her face. Hopefully her tits didn't get hacked up too bad.

The opening of "Cello" embodies everything I love about Asian cinema. We have a beautiful girl sitting in her bedroom playing the cello, sliding the bow across the strings producing a beautiful melody. The camera slowly moves around the room, changing the focus between the foreground and background. Sounds peaceful right? Well, almost immediately we cut to a woman in an emergency room covered in blood. We see that she has been in some sort of accident and the doctors are struggling to save her from her already-decided fate. These shots are realistic and downright disturbing. It's funny; I can watch Jason Voorhees hack through a bloody plethora of terror-filled teenagers, but when the people are in a realistic situation, like a car accident, it's far worse to watch. Oddly enough, it's also very beautiful in a morbid sort of way. Asian films always seem to accomplish this and I'm very drawn to that.

Because of the dark, eerie cover art I just assumed that "Cello" was going to be a ninety-minute spook fest, very much in the tradition of Ju-On and Ringu. Man, was I was wrong! Director Woo-cheol Lee chose to focus more on story and character then the scares. (Uh-oh… there goes half the audience.) At first this was disappointing to me but of course – like with most Asian cinema - when all is said and done, the story development pays off in the end.

I was also surprised how non-atmospheric and bright "Cello" was. Most Asian flicks require a heavy-duty flashlight for viewing but not "Cello." A good portion of the film takes place during the day and if it's after-dark, then the characters are inside in well-lit rooms. They seem to be much 'brighter' than normal, too. We see them dressed in bright colors, joke around, dance and laugh. Basically act like regular people. This was such a refreshing change from the usual dark, gloomy characters that populate most Asian films.

The only qualm I had was with the pacing. Like I said, when the end credits started rolling I felt satisfied, but it was a slow ride at times. I was going to rate this flick a little lower because of this, but as I sat down to write the review I just kept thinking of several key sequences that really impressed me, the final shot of the film being one of them. I think with a higher scare factor "Cello" could have been one of my favorites. I really enjoyed this one.

Overall, I think most people will like "Cello." It's the classic Asian approach. You have a lot of story development, which can be slow at times and of course, an ending that will no doubt spark conversation. If you enjoy these types of films then you'll most definitely like this one. If you don't, then you probably won't. If you're new to Asian cinema, then I highly recommend you check out "Cello." It's a great introduction to the genre.

Cello is an atmospheric, emotionally-driven psychological horror/drama from South Korea. It's basically about a woman with traumatic events in her past that come back to haunt her and her family. 

I call it a horror/drama because it has its frightening moments, but a large part of the movie is devoted to the relationships between the main character, Mi-ju and her autistic daughter, and the past relationship of Mi-ju and her very close friend, Tae-Yeon. I found myself caring a lot more about the characters (and any potential danger to them) in Cello more than I usually do in horror movies, because so much time was devoted to developing them as people and not just kill-fodder. There are so truly horrifying moments in this movie, which gives it a heft and impact that goes beyond just visceral thrills. Cello is a very sad film, and that wouldn't have worked at all without characters that you actually care about.

It's not hard to figure out what's going on with the story, as Mi-ju seeming falls prey to either a malevolent ghostly presence or her own crumbling mind, but fortunately the plot throws enough curves to keep even veterans of the genre from being able to predict everything that's going to happen. 

Put plainly, I liked Cello. It was somewhat different from the recent horror movies I've seen, and undeniably well-made. I recommend it.

"Cello" is one of the best Korean horror movies I have seen! It sure is very creepy! And it certainly has enough scary scenes to keep you satisfied! The brilliance of this movie is that you don't exactly know when something is going to happen! In most horror movies you can anticipate and predict a scene! Although some scenes seem similar to other Asian horror movies and you think you know what is going to happen the scene goes into another direction! And then out of nowhere something happens! It takes a while to fully comprehend the plot! But once you do you will be surprised even more! Twist after twist and it never seems to end! "Cello" won't be for everyone,since the pace is quite slow and there aren't that many scares compared to other similar horror movies! Personally I didn't mind much because overall the movie is very entertaining and it's conclusion very rewarding!