Sam-geo-ri Geuk-jang

I've seen a handful of Asian musicals: Dasepo Naughty Girls (2006), Happiness of the Katakuris (2001), Memories of Matsuko (2006), Perhaps Love (2005), Princess Raccoon (2005), Hole (1998), Fox Family (2006), etc. Takashi Miike's entry was probably my favorite, until watching this unexpectedly PHENOMENAL film a few years ago.

In Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater (aka Ghost Theater) (2006), a girl visits a haunted movie theater and befriends a quirky family of dead amateur actors. Some Japanese and Korean horror/drama films use traditional settings and architecture to great effect (old mansions, theaters, etc.) – Tamami (2008), Orochi (2008) and Ghost Theater (2006) are good examples. There's something special about an old building with lots of creaky floors, candles, and cobwebs. This movie has those bells and whistles in abundance, since the entire film basically takes place within the old cinema where the ghosts reside.

Another big attraction of Ghost Theater are the songs. I kid you not, I re-played two of them at least a dozen times after my first viewing and almost fell off my couch while seat-dancing. The music is of a wide variety, from spooky dances to "pissed-off girl rock" to slow melancholy tunes. I purchased the soundtrack online and have listened to it quite a bit over the past few years. And unlike many musicals, the songs are not just slapped in haphazardly. The placement, lyrics, and mood of each song provides a lot of character development and insight.

With regards to the quirky characters, they're a lot of fun to watch because they have a restrained sense of lunacy. It's difficult to think of any moments that lost control and descended into irritating wackiness, which is a big positive. No eye-rolling here, just a perpetual grin across the viewer's face. Every ghost is given adequate time to shine numerous times, and the girl protagonist really opens up during the latter half.

This is the single most entertaining film I saw during 2009 due to its fantastic musical interludes, moody architecture, high quality acting, unexpected plot turns, lovable characters, and soaring imagination. One unique element is the story's utilization of a faux classic black-and-white, silent horror film about a bull-man, using traditional filmmaking methods and a live voice-over which leads to the film's unique, satisfying finale.

I have yet to see a film with more heart than this. Almost completely unknown, but absolutely phenomenal. Essential viewing that will now occupy a yearly time slot in my Halloween movie schedule.

As I had the opportunity to sit down here late in 2022 and watch the 2006 South Korean movie "Sam-Geo-Ri Geuk-Jang" (aka "Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater"), of course I did so. And given my fascination with the Asian cinema, then I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch this movie.

Now, I have to say that I had never heard about this movie from writer and director Kye Soo Jeon prior to actually sitting down to watch it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here. But I will say that the characters on the movie's cover seemed interesting, and very much had that particular Tim Burton-like feel going on.

The storyline in the movie was a tad too monotonous and bland for my liking. And running at two hours, this movie was quite an ordeal to sit through. I managed to endure about 50 minutes of this slow paced ordeal before I tossed the towel in the ring and gave up. Yeah, I simply wasn't entertained enough to carry on watching the movie. The storyline fell short of entertaining me, and while the character gallery definitely was unique and interesting, they never had a running chance because of the script.

The acting in the movie was fair, and they definitely had some nicely talented actors and actresses on the cast list. Just a shame that the script was such an anchor around their ankles.

I found "Sam-Geo-Ri Geuk-Jang" to be a somewhat disappointing movie experience, and it is not a movie that I will ever return to attempt finish watching.

My rating of this 2006 horror comedy musical lands on a three out of ten stars.

This movie is just so damn entertaining, it's impossible not to get swept into the dreamworld of the abandoned theatre and its colourful caretakers. As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy musicals, it's strange to enjoy a musical film as much as I enjoy this. The absurdity of, well, every single facet of this film, makes it perfect for my sense of humour. I don't think I would go so far as to put the songs into a regular music rotation, but they are super fun to watch with the movie. The story is not exactly a complex tapestry of symbolism and metaphor, but it is enjoyable and the characters are all likeable in one way or another. When I watch this, I know that by the end I will have a smile on my face.

My view is likely very biased, as this (alongside "I'm a Cyborg, but that's okay") has a huge amount of nostalgia & brings back many happy memories.

The only thing there is to dislike is that as far as I can tell, nobody has digitally remastered it, so I am stuck with my copy on VCD... and the picture quality is abysmal.

I truly hope to be able to see this film in UHD during my lifetime, that would be the best. I love this movie so much, I have been checking every few months to see if it has been released in higher quality for about 12 years now.

I think this movie would be a hit with the Gen Z's, especially now with the popularity of Hallyu in the west.

Should anyone reading this have the opportunity to watch this movie - make sure you do.

First, I will mention that I hate just about every musical film in existence. Then I will tell you that even if you hate musicals, you will adore this film if you are a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan.

So-dan lives with her grandmother, who attends a movie one day and disappears. So-dan soon discovers the Ghost Theater while investigating her grandmother's disappearance. She applies and is hired to work as a box- office attendant by a suicidal manager. One late night, So-dan discovers she is not alone-the theater is home to four ghosts that are trapped there ever since a forbidden movie was played decades before. Elisa is a Joseon Dynasty princess who rules over the theater. Her minions include Wanda, a bulimic ex-performer (kisaeng) who counts her own hair obsessively, Hiroshi, a Japanese soldier and Mosquito, who can only be best described as a cross between Beetlejuice and Rocky Horror's Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

As So-dan learns more about her ghostly friends, she also discovers more about her grandmother's role in the forbidden film and the involvement of all the inhabitants, including the manager of the theater. It is decided that the forbidden film must be shown again to break the curse.

This film grabs your heart right from the start and keeps you wildly entertained with the singing and dancing of the ghosts. We learn their stories from their songs as So-dan is accepted by them. The second half of the film becomes a bit more bizarre but the viewer will still find more than enough to keep them entertained. I highly recommend this movie but it is very hard to find.

P.S. I have ebossert to thank for turning me on to this movie!!!