The Terror Live

The Terror Live is a very tight thriller in the best Korean tradition. It follows a former successful TV news anchor Yoon who has been demoted to a radio host. One day an upset caller threatens to blow up a bridge only to be dismissed, needless to say it was no mere idle threat and in a matter of seconds after the call is over a bridge does did explode.Thus begins a tense back and forth between Yoon and the terrorist while the nation watches in growing horror.

There are many good things going for this movie. The real time format never gives the viewer a break and the tension builds up to such a pitch as to be almost palpable. This comes across through the main's superb acting, the actor's voice and demeanor carry his distress as he scrambles for self-mastery in facing the cameras installed in his radio studio. What at first seemed like the chance of a lifetime as Yoon puts it, the perfect opportunity for going back to his television stardom, degenerates into a veritable nightmare on all fronts. Yoon pays greatly for his choice of exploiting the terrorist attack for his career.

It is interesting how The Terror Live focuses exclusively on domestic terror. The highly contentious neighbor country of North Korea is not even mentioned, the movie is firmly steeped in a South Korean reality through and through. The very premise of the media having such a swaying control fits well with South Korean society.

Strangely enough social media plays no part in this movie but it does feel very modern. The shooting style, with well thought out closeups to heighten intensity and almost exclusively centered on the studio, creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia.

This is a very Korean movie so one should expect a great blurring of the line between terrorism and highly corrupt authorities, there are no heroes here to speak of but the human element comes across through the haze of panic.

A few minor plot points keep this from reaching perfection but it is a remarkably well crafted movie and well worth watching. And it could happen in real life. Almost.

A former news anchor turned radio host, tries to negotiate with a terrorist who is bombing the city.

This isn't a bad film. I enjoyed it but I didn't think it was as good I had hoped it would be. There is a effort to have the story make sense but still had a couple of holes. The actors played their parts well and there is a fairly consistent level of suspense.

Overall I liked it.

I saw this few days back. Was on my radar for a long time.

Well, we have seen much better movies with a bit similar theme, Phone Booth, A Wednesday, The Taking of Pelham 123, Speed, Man on a Ledge, Cellular, The Call, etc but this doesn't have that kinda shocking end.

Nonetheless it is a bearable thriller with enuff energy.

The budget is low n it is very evident by the effects n some of the scenes of the bridge collapsing are shown via television to hide the budget.

Statutory warning: avoid the Bollywood unofficial remake like plague.

A pretty entertaining, tense thriller. My favorite thing about it was how the main character was sleazy and pretty unlikeable, though you still sympathized with his predicament. It started to get a bit silly and over-the-top by the end unfortunately. Korean films continue to be hard hitting and brutal in execution and style compared to American films, and this is most effective in movies like these.

"The Terror Live" is one prime example of how to make a riveting thrilling film seated in just one room. All the drama and action unfold inside one studio room where a news anchor is forced by a terrorist to fulfill his needs else he will blow up a bridge (which he actually does once to send his message out clear).

1.5 hrs and not a single dull moment. Performances by the lead is especially great. The ending kind of leaves you emotional. It leaves you thinking.

However, it is not perfect hence i reduced 2 stars. First, in the entire 1 hour there is no bomb squad which was talked about. Second, the entire story gets predictable very soon thanks to the terrorist revealing "why" he was doing such a thing. Third, never seen a police chief as dumb as the one shown in the film. A lot of events just happen without any reason which leaves several audience questions unanswered.

Nevertheless, this film is definitely for you if you love single room thrillers and if you can ignore the negatives.