Gumiho gajok

Only with this film will you get a human/fox family that is it's own circus. On the 1000th year they must each eat a fresh human liver otherwise they will turn into a fox and be unable to stay in human form. D-Day 30, the countdown begins.

Trying to stay under the radar, they lived in a remote area, but needing livers they move to Seoul (near Nam Mountain Tower). Being away from people for so long just shows how poorly they understand the human race.

Based off a traditional Korean old wives tale of foxes that eat humans to stay alive, these classes horror story characters are now one of semi-dark comedy. The movie is still worth watching even if you don't understand this background. The foundation is missing but the movie is still understandable and not much gets lost.

The English title is "The Fox Family" and the original Korean title means "The Nine Tail Fox Family." The violence and sexuality equates to about a PG-13 in US standards, not that of a R rated film but more than you would have seen 15 years ago in Korean cinema when the censorship was still in effect. The first circus performance looks like something out of The Adams Family and the characters resemble werewolves in another sequence. It is worth watching simply in it's oddity and for it being a musical, which is rare anywhere outside of Bollywood.

Being an avid fan of Asian cinema, I stumbled upon "The Fox Family" one day in browsing on Amazon, decided to pick it up, as I haven't really seen an Asian musical, so I thought I would give it a go.

Must say that I am glad that I did, despite there wasn't all that much singing in the movie, oddly enough. Personally, I would have liked to have had more singing and dancing in the movie, that would have had it a Korean musical worthy up alongside "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".

The story in "The Fox Family" is about a family of foxes that have taken human form by means of a spell, and they have a once in a lifetime chance to become humans permanently as the moon aligns with the sun at the 1000th year. But in order to attain permanent human shape they have to eat the liver of a human being within the 30 minutes of the eclipse. Having set up a circus act in order to lure in humans, the family have to find 'volunteers' for this ghastly ordeal.

I found the story to be quite good actually, it was just the right amount of bizarre, odd and twisted, without slipping into the absurd. Plus the storyline was really helped well along the way by some really great acting performances. Especially all the people hired to portray the roles of the members of the fox family were putting on amazing acting performances.

The movie is really a visual treat, because it is shot in a very beautiful way. There is something very grand to the cinematography of this movie, and that was something I thoroughly enjoyed.

"The Fox Family" is a great addition to any movie fan's DVD collection, especially if you enjoy Asian cinema and have a taste for the somewhat grotesque. It stands out from the average mainstream Korean cinema in a great way, and it really delivers the entertainment in a fabulous way.

Comedy, music, romance, action, suspense, fiction, Fox family is a movie where you can see from everything. I used to say to my friends that the only thing missing in this movie was a car chase but as I remind myself, there was one! It's not a masterpiece, but it's one of the most entertaining movie I've watched since a while. You'll be amused by the story, the unique characters (especially the oldest daughter, simply charming) and especially the musical scene! A must-see for real cinematography adepts, but not the kind of movie for everyone. I find it sad although that there were so little publicity surrounding this movie because it really delivered more than it promised.