Suddenly in the Dark

This Korean psychological horror is set in a large remote house where biology professor Kang Yu-jin lives with his wife Seon-hee and their young daughter. When he returns from his latest butterfly collecting expedition he shows slides of various species he saw to colleagues, amongst them is picture of a strange wooden doll, he has no explanation as to how it got there. Following his next outing he returns with nineteen year old Mi-ok, a girl who was orphaned after her mother, a shaman, died in a fire. He suggests the family take her on as a maid. She has just one possession from her past... the strange wooden doll from the picture. At first she fits in okay but soon Seon-hee becomes convinced something is going on between Mi-ok and Yu-jin and has nightmares involving the doll. Is she imagining things or is something sinister going on? Either way her sanity will be tested.

When I started watching this I had no real idea what to expect; I've seen a few Korean horror films but none that were this old. It turned out to be quite different from the ones I had seen. For the most part it eschews gore in favour of creating an atmosphere where the viewer is unsure if what they are seeing is real or something Seon-hee may be imagining. This proves to be enjoyably disturbing. The special effects may be pretty basic but they are effective at adding to the film's atmosphere. The cast does a solid job, especially Kim Young-ae who is convincingly terrified as Seon-hee. It was somewhat, if accidentally, amusing that during the mildly erotic scenes the music used had been lifted from 'Flash Gordon'! Overall a solid film that I'd certainly recommend to fans of K-horror who would like to see something older than most that are available.

These comments are based on watching the film in Korean with English subtitles.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Suddenly In The Dark; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 5.50 out of 10.00

Suddenly In The Dark definitely possesses a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi. Because even though the cinematography isn't exceptional, and in some sections, it's downright annoying, and the story requires more substance, the picture is a delightfully chilling pleasure to watch.

The story is fundamentally simple. A wealthy lecturer and his wife employ an orphaned girl as a live-in housemaid. No sooner has the foundling settled in than the lady of the house begins to notice strange incidences. Could it be the girl, or has it something to do with the mysterious doll she carries? The writer Sam-Yuk Yoon does a magnificent job of casting doubt, distrust, and inscrutableness throughout the narrative. For instance, before encountering the orphan, the wife sees a photographic slide of the queer idol at her husband's faculty meeting. It's mixed in with his old-school slideshow of rare butterflies - he's a lepidopterist. He puts the unknown slide down to a mistake at the film processors. However, one of the professors notes the statue is a supernatural figurine, though he cannot remember what it signifies. Nightmares and delusions of the mystical figure then plague the wife. Imagine her surprise when the doll turns up with the newly grieving teenage girl. From then on, things get worse for the wife. The ominous idol insinuates itself into her psyche, and as time progresses, so does the new maid. Is there something between her husband and the servant? She knows how pretty she is, how soft and tempting her flesh feels. And this is where I wanted more. There is an obvious attraction between the wife and the maid. It would have strengthened the story had Yoon built on this palpable chemistry a bit more. Then she could have been jealous of both her loves for different reasons. What would have also enhanced the story would have been more supernatural occurrences and anxiety, as it appears the wife may be having her sanity tested. But who or what is driving her insane? She's slightly paranoid, but I needed more. In truth, I think all the elements are undercooked and needed a smidgen more baking on the typewriter.

The director Young Nam Ko dug out his kaleidoscope camera lens from storage and boy, doesn't he love using it. It's this effect that becomes irksome over the picture's runtime. Had Ko used the multi-mirrored imaging once or twice, I could have easily overlooked it. However, he utilises the lens more and more as we progress through the movie. It's pestiferous as it shows a willingness to be inventive. Sadly, the rest of the film is pretty standard in its cinematography. This averageness isn't terrible as it allows the story to unfold at its own pace. And Ko exploits the slow tempo to build up the creepy and uncomfortable atmosphere - which would have been more distinct had the narrative been more intense.

The cast is brilliant in their roles, and I can't say anything rotten about them. Nobody stands out, either for their good or bad performances, as they are all respectable. It's thanks to this that the film is so enjoyable and watchable.

Suddenly In The Dark is a creepy little tale of a possibly supernatural doll or a middle-aged woman having a breakdown or of a philandering husband who might be having an affair with the teenage maid. This unsureness helped to keep me watching because my mind was engrossed in the movie. As such, I would happily recommend this entertaining South Korean flick to all horror fans, especially those who love the slow-boil mysterious horror, as there's not much blood flowing freely.

Now stop praying to that freaky idol and come and check out my Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chillers lists to see where I ranked Suddenly In The Dark.

Take Care & Stay Well.

A Korean Shamanism religious practice that might have been interesting here but although I notice that the director has made many films I would have imagined this was his first film. Yeong-ae-Kim is good but has to work on her own much of the time and the others seen uninterested. The pace is very slow and the child and her husband and strange little woman pretty terrible. He calls for his 'Honey' all the time arriving or leaving in his car and his girl running to stay or go but there is no conversation between them. All the dialogue is poor and the action is silly odd effects until we have to wait for the end and it is really too late.

I came into this movie only aware of recent Korean horror cinema that has branched essentially into two main categories: (1) J-Horror type flicks that try to emulate Japanese early 00s horror, with shocks and disturbing imagery and (2) true Korean horror with vengeance motifs and introspection into the sick underbelly of Korean society, ideals and morals. This movie, shot in the early 80s, before either those waves were established draws inspiration from European (Possession) and American (Images) contemporary quality horror and blends it with cultural stereotypes on the role of the woman and themes drawn from Korean shamanistic tradition. The acting is overall decent (although some scenes tend to be overacted at times) and the ending is genuinely chilly and uniquely horrifying. Definitely worth a look for fans of Korean cinema as a gaze into the early evolution of Korean Horror.