Bunhongsin

I'm in a quandary over this film. Like many other reviewers have amply illustrated here, this film is like a Korean Klone in lots of ways. It borrows moves from the Ringu play-book, the Dark Water play-book, the Ju-On play-book, The Eye play-book...please stop me. It's got a daughter and mother all alone in the world facing supernatural evil. It's got hunched-over, black-haired teens with bad attitudes and osteoporosis floating around upside-down and showing up in elevators. It's got the cheating hubby, the young love interest, the entrepreneurial "young Asian professional female" slowly losing her mind. Most importantly, it's got the requisite cursed artifact (not a wig, not a videotape, not a pair of transplanted corneas, but a swanky set of pink stilettos that a particular ghost doesn't want any mortal wearing).

BUT GOSH DARN IT, I LIKED THIS FILM! I guess it says something if I feel compelled to excuse myself for this fact, but I really did care for the characters and the serious situation they are hopelessly trapped in. Indeed, I was hooked by the grue--people getting their feet forcibly removed gets my attention. The cinematography is colorful, and artful, and top notch--as we have come to expect from Korean directors. (Did you catch those cool on-purpose-out-of-focus shots? Fuzzy weirdness...) The music is actually pretty unique--the low-key guitar ditty that recurs off and on is melodic, and personal, and not overwrought. Yes, the plot "twists and turns" in terribly predictable ways: Could our protagonist really be the guilty one? Is it possible that we might find the answer to the horrible mystery by rifling through old newspaper copy in the library? Even though we've "properly buried" the red shoes with their owner, is it possible the evil will return nevertheless to wreak ultimate revenge? When we get to the end, will the decidedly downbeat narrative actually make very little sense? Yes, you've seen--and come to expect--it all.

But, darn it, this flick is done with such panache in a very gutsy way. The characters are carefully drawn, the direction is solid. And when you get right down to it, America simply does not make films like this. I don't think America ever will again. We used to make great, sad, horror films, but not anymore. We real horror fans have got to rely on films like "Bunhongsin" to get our fix. In fact, that's precisely why I give this film the benefit of the doubt.

'THE RED SHOES' is a supernatural tale with its center revolving around a pretty typical plot involving a mother alone with her daughter, struggling in the world. The reoccurring images you see in far too many Korean ghost stories are present here. There are pale faced girls with long black hair hanging in their face and cursed artifacts that bring misfortune to those that possess them. But there are enough unique touches paired with an intriguing performance by the lead actress that helps to elevate its status.

Sun-Jae unexpectedly goes home in the middle of the day to find her husband banging some other woman. She moves out on her own with her young daughter Han Tae-su to an inexpensive apartment near Goksung Station. She meets handsome young architect, In-cheol who is designing her eye clinic and the two embark on a relationship. On the subway on her way home Sun-Jae sees a seemingly abandoned pair of shoes she cannot resist picking up. The shoes bring the worst out in people, including her daughter who becomes obsessed with them on sight. When a friend is found dead and her daughters behavior becomes more severe, Sun-Jae and In-cheol will need to solve the mystery behind the cursed footwear before it's too late.

Bloody death scenes filmed in sterile white environments can be extremely effective. The opening scene of 'THE RED SHOES' is an outstanding example of this. There are some cherry props also. The main character is obsessed with shoes. The depth of the obsession is shown with a massive glass store display prop. The stacked glass boxes showcases each individual pair of shoes. The visuals are strong throughout. There are some respectable moments of suspense, but not nearly enough of them. Violence and gore is slim but I enjoyed what there was of it. The performances were strong and there is some interesting character development. I found the lead actress, Hye-su Kim fascinating. The love interest, In-cheol is very easy on the eyes. The problem is, that I liked the films individual pieces more than the completed work. I had a serious issue with certain "spooky" images. One in particular stood out because it is a carbon copy of something I've seen in at least two other films and seemed completely irrelevant to the story. Obviously added in for mood, it was totally ineffective. There are some predictable plot twists that also bog it down. The story is uneven and trips over its own feet, but ultimately for a ghost story it just isn't very scary. That said, I still think this is a really nice looking film with strong performances and enough special touches that it's worth a watch.

South Korean supernatural horror (supposedly very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of the same name).

Sun-jae is in an unhappy marriage. After catching her husband having sex with another woman she moves out with her young daughter, Tae-su, into a rundown apartment block. One day she spots a pair of high-heeled shoes apparently abandoned in a subway car and takes them home. Immediately she becomes obsessed with them. Back at her apartment, daughter Tae-su tries to take them from her, becoming just as obsessed. When Sun-jae's best friend, Kim Mi-hee, visits she *also* becomes obsessed with them, going so far as to steal them for herself. However, as she's walking home she's killed by an unseen force, When her body is found the stolen shoes are missing, somehow soon returned to Sun-jae. It seems that every female who comes into contact with the shoes becomes overcome with a compulsion to own them and a willingness to do anything to achieve that. Sun-jae eventually finds a link between the shoes and a Japanese dancer in 1940s Japan-occupied Korea, named Keiko; the shoes were central to a tragic series of events - which seem to have left behind a malign influence and a desire for retribution.

Actress Kim Hye-soo is very good as Sun-jae, and Park Yeon-ah is terrific as Tae-su, spending the whole movie running scared, sad, or very angry (I can't find a date of birth for her, but she looks to be about eight years old). The basic idea is promising. But the storyline is shown in such a confusing way, the film feels about 15 minutes too long, and it's unbelievably 'J-horror generic' (I realise it's South Korean). I'm happy to watch a ton of Asian horror movies about cursed objects, past wrongs, and revenge-obsessed, long-haired ghost girls - so long as they're *good*. This feels as though director Yong-gyun Kim watched all the Ring and Grudge movies, and - especially - Dark Water, and then just mixed and matched parts he liked. There's a very strong, atmospheric opening inside a deserted subway station that really raises the expectations; it's a shame the rest of the film doesn't live up to it. 5.5/10.

This is a decent adaptation of this particular fairy tale. It is about having something offered to you that you shouldn't take, aren't forced to take but by overwhelming compulsion, you take it anyway. This leads to disastrous problems because once you indulge, the item has literally become a part of you that you simply cannot get rid of easily.

I liked this for the most part. I thought the acting. costuming and effects were done well. There were some scenes that were a bit dark and that sorta bugged me. I just felt like I couldn't see enough. Nice little horror movie.

Sun-jae is a woman who leads a happy life: her daughter Tae-soo is learning ballet, her husband is kind and loving, she has a decent job, etc. That's all shattered once she finds her husband with another woman... Sun-jae splits, along with her daughter, and they move into a decrepit, old apartment complex. They try to live life normally, but their new "home" gets in the way, and the crazy old hag living around the building isn't helping much. One night, while riding the subway, Sun-jae finds a pair of red (okay, *pink*) shoes. She brings them home, but she doesn't realize that along with the shoes comes greed, obsession, murder, and a terrible curse bound to destroy Sun-jae's life.

I was immensely surprised by "The Red Shoes". The first thing I noticed was it's appearance: as with many South Korean horror films, the photography and visuals are incredibly breathtaking, and the music is equally great. The acting is also very high quality: Hye-soo Kim plays her character very well, showing how Sun-jae's mind is quickly deteriorating and becoming obsessed; Yeon-ah Park as the adorable Tae-soo is especially impressive, you can really tell she put in an amazing effort. All the other actors did a great job also.

Now to -in my opinion- the film's only flaw: it lacks originality. The scares are effective, there's a great Gothic creepy atmosphere, but it doesn't have many original scares. Haven't we seen the long-haired-ghost-with-back-problem too many times? What about the loud noises as jumps? We've seen a lot of it before, the only real originality in the scares is in the creative death scenes.

But, if you're not tired of the long-haired ghost story yet (like me), you'll love this.

My rating: 8/10.