Seuseung-ui eunhye

Woah. Like seriously, wow. I bought this movie at Borders Books a couple weeks ago because the cover looked cool and it's been shitting on my shelf since then building up a good weeks worth of dust before I decided to put this into my DVD player tonight and by god, I wasn't expecting to be hit this hard by this film.

This movie, no, masterpiece managed to hit me at every level possible. It was gripping, it was scary, it was gory, it was disgusting, it was suspenseful, it was daring. I haven't felt this amount of uncomfortable edgyness while watching a movie in a long time. It really scared me. The strange part about this? All it simply is is a slasher movie. At it's core, that's what the movie tries to be... But it manages to be so much more than simply your cut and dry slasher movie.

It manages to defy slasher movie convention at every turn. Instead of a bunch of assholes who you could never care about at all, this movie is casted with characters that each manage to go through their own ups and downs throughout the film and each manage to come together to form a cohesive whole of a character. They aren't cut and dry jocks or cheerleaders like you'd find in a modern, every day slasher. No, no, no. These are people, people with problems, people with lives, people who are tortured by their own lives. I managed to be gripped with each of their stories as they were told, including that of the most despicable of them.

Then the ending occurs, and really manages to surprise me. I wasn't expecting it. I thought it had already gone through it's "twist" by then, but that twist turned out to be a red herring. I'm being vague simply because, well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who decides to pick up this brilliant slasher masterpiece. I'd say it's the best slasher I've seen since Halloween, my personal favorite horror movie and one of my two favorite movies ever made. It's that damn good. I'm definitely adding it to my top 10 horror movie list. I recommend you all pick this up, it was one of the best damn blind buys I've ever had.

South Korea. Now and then there is a movie coming out of that country worth watching. And let me say, this one is a gem of that country. Be warned, you will have to go a bit into their traditions, and the way they are making movies. What is good about Bloody Reunion is the fact that there is a strong storyline. Just when you think you know the killer the director or screenwriter tricks you. It isn't all about the horror. The story takes you far beyond that. What Grotesque misses this one has, a story. Grotesque was all about torture, this one delivers more. An old woman being a teacher ones is dying. She gathers some old students to say goodbye but those who came to the reunion would like to say how they feel about her and their lives. It starts a bit slow with the arrival of the guest and then getting into the characters. Slowly we glide into terror that becomes horror. Ones we know who the killer is the movie changes from horror into suspense. But let me tell you, it all works and by the sudden changes into the plot you will watch it without being bothered by the language, it's spoken in Korean. Be sure to catch the full uncut. It's sometimes gory in the typical Eastern tradition. I wouldn't say it's HK III but for some it will be a bit brutal.

A group of adults arrive at the home of their dying elementary school teacher for a reunion. Things take a tragic turn as each recalls their true feelings for their former instructor. There are raw nerves, trauma, and grisly vengeance seething just beneath the cordial surface. What began as a happy occasion devolves into an orgy of insanity and murder!

Another classic from South Korea, BLOODY REUNION lives up to its title!...

That is to say, this movie wasn't great. Some genuine horror, one in particular involving razor blades was particularly disturbing, but I felt the story and the twist ending didn't jive well. I like to have a chance to possibly guess the twist but sometimes that twist is more just a complete 180 out of the blue that almost negates everything you just watched.

All the same the story itself, that unravels during most of the movie, is a reunion of students who visit their now sick and aged teacher, all of whom have issues with how she treated them as well as issues with each other. As I said above, the actual events of this reunion that unfold rather well into a very interesting story of bitterness and revenge are almost negated by the movies twist ending.

Still worth a watch if you are a horror fan.

Tartan's new release, Bloody Reunion (a.k.a. To Sir, With Love) is not a remake of the 1964 classic starring Sidney Poitier. It is a grimy, sadistic, South Korean foray into the slasher flick genre. In ways it is very reminiscent of early 80's Horror flicks like Jason or Sleepaway Camp. And just as those films are considered cinematic trash, Blood Reunion might also fit the same description. Fortunately for my viewing pleasure, I love Asian Trash Cinema! Bloody Reunion tells the story of a group of elementary students who return years later to visit their former teacher-who has recently took ill-in the countryside. Once the group arrives, the film briefly jumps back and forth between the past and present, showing us that this sweet teacher (Mrs. Park) had a cruel side to her. In fact as the film progresses we find out that most of her former students have murderous intentions towards the teacher. And their not the only ones with murderous intentions, as we soon find out. Someone in the group is systematically bumping off the students one by one in the most gruesome fashion possible.

That's pretty much the story, as the film's narrative kinda sputters out after the first 30 minutes and then degenerates into a slasher flick (literally). The film than takes you through a series of murders each more horrid than the next. This goes on for awhile, and if the film was just this,I would have probably liked it less. But just when you thought you've figured it out, the film twists into a way that you don't expect. And is pleasantly surprising.

The film has a lot of faults and loose ends. For one, the sub plot about Mrs. Park's deformed child never really pays off. The acting is substandard (but does anyone really expect good acting in a slasher flick?). And as I mentioned before the story kinda just stops and the viewer is left with a lot of unanswered questions. I guess it all depends on what your frame of mind when you watch it. Don't go into this with high expectations and you just might come out liking it. Also, if gore and violence aren't your thing, STAY AWAY from this film.

All in All, a decent horror flick with some genuine creepiness. Not as good as I had hoped, but it's nice to see a director depart from the long-haired ghost girl movies that Asian Cinema seems to puts out over and over