H

H is another of those moody Korean movies that moves at a deliberately slow pace. This measured approach to story-telling can sometimes add to the atmosphere of a strong well-told tale but, in this instance, it simply draws attention to numerous deficiencies in both plot and characterisation.

A couple of mismatched cops investigate a complex case involving a serial killer who targets pregnant women or women connected with abortions in some way. The murders are copies of those carried out by a man ten months earlier who gave himself up and now awaits execution. The cops initially suspect the original killer has hired someone to carry out the killings but, when they have caught the person they believe to be the murderer and the killings continue, a much less straightforward answer becomes apparent.

The Koreans seem to have a thing for slow and thoughtful movies, and there's nothing wrong with that if the storyline is strong, but this film borrows from too many other films – most notably Silence of the Lambs and Seven – to bolster a fairly thin yet paradoxically complicated plot. Strong on visuals – especially some extreme gore – there are a number of effective and well-staged scenes in H but it relies too much on a brooding heroine who betrays no emotion, and an excitable hero who would quite frankly be a liability in any police investigation. In fact the pair of them overlook obvious lines of investigation and generally stumble upon clues through luck or by drawing obscure – but accurate – conclusions from the vaguest of clues. Seung-woo Cheu makes a curiously uncharismatic villain in a role clearly modelled on Hannibal Lecter, and spouts enigmatic mumbo-jumbo about blue skies and an abyss that probably made no sense before its meaning was mangled by the translators responsible for some truly excruciating subtitles. And for all the moody atmospherics from first-time writer/director Jong-hyuk Lee, the film is almost completely devoid of any tension or suspense.

There are many exciting and inventive films coming out of South Korea these days, but unfortunately H isn't one of them. Of course that doesn't mean we won't be seeing an American remake within a year or two

On the whole, I enjoyed this film. It starts out with a series of nice, gruesome post-mortem and death scenes, and carries the creepy ambiance most of the way through. Unfortunately, as the twists begin to unravel, so does the quality of the film.

For the sake of those who haven't seen the film, I won't spoil any of the myriad twists, but I will say that you better pay very close attention to this film or you'll miss some illuminating plot points, as I did.

Unfortunately, this has to do with the number of suspects/characters in the film, and the difficulty an American viewer will have keeping all the names separate. Characters are often referred to by name without being on screen (as is the nature of a police thriller), and I found myself, more often than not, seeing said names and thinking, "wait, which one is he?" Still, I doubt I'd have had the problem if the characters in question were more than just your standard serial murder movie cutouts. I watch a lot of Korean cinema, and this is the first time I've ever had this problem.

This speaks to the general quality of the film which, while engaging, is certainly not going to stun most viewers with its artistry. The acting is passable (at best), the writing is sparse and convoluted (though not devoid of entertainment value, to be sure), and the editing is flat-out terrible. That's not something that usually stands out for me in a film, but in this case it was a flagrant issue with the film. You'll find yourselves following the characters to a raid on a suspect's house only to forget why this guy was a suspect in the first place, and random cuts to side characters doing sweet F.A. don't do much to ease the difficulty of following the bouncing (murder)ball.

There are two kinds of "end of the movie twists" out there. There's the "Oh my god, I didn't see that coming, but I should've" twists, and then there are the "uh...what?" twists. Sadly, the final revelation of this film is one of the latter. I've seen debate on the message boards regarding the supposed "final, final twist," but I have to say that it's a pretty loose interpretation to call the final moments of the film yet another twist. It's more of a "book-end," and effective as such.

Where this film fails most is in the expectations it builds. It's an excellent concept for a serial murderer flick, and they spend a lot of time building an interesting emotional landscape that's inevitably forsaken for gimmicky plot devices that, while not wholly unbelievable (though highly improbable), are pretty much just plain silly. Had they stuck with the emotional and psychological themes and forsaken the twists, this would be an excellent film.

As it stands, it is not excellent, but it's certainly not terrible. If you're a fan of Asian thrillers, you could do worse than this one.

-J

The brilliance of this film does not lie in its basic thriller plot nor its characters (The characters are not terribly interesting, but the film does not dwell long on their personal lives; The serial-killer plot, while over-used, is paced enough to keep interest.)

Truly, the one reason to watch this film is for the fact that everything--- every action, every line spoken--- leads up to the conclusion. This movie is so perfectly woven that there is not a hair, so to speak, out of place! How few movies are like this one!

Basically, if you want a good story, read a book. If you want a well done film, watch "H".

The frame is a thriller with victims and chasers. Yet, the content is richer. The description of females vs. males is especially intriguing. The main female characters Detective Kim Mi Yun and Dr. Chu Kyung-sook are both more intelligent than their male counterparts and they both stay cool while the males are either easily aroused or do not understand. It is true that all the victims are females. Yet, the killings are connected with the reproductive capacity of the females that the males do not possess and can not control. A main motive is the pregnant women's ability to kill their (male) foetuses. The most influential male character, Shin Hyun, murderer now in a prison, has a non sexual foetus like aura. The killings are carried out as revenge on the women for this ability, obviously and totally in vain. Thus, the film describes a core dilemma true for all males. However, I am not aware of a comparable open description in European literature of film. Yet, I have seen it in Japanese films (e.g. Shindo's Onibaba). – A most interesting film.

I could go on about the slow pace, bad acting, moodiness, implausibility, contrived and generally ridiculous plot line but suffice to say that I wish it was me getting a bullet in my head at the end of the movie.

The movie was dreadful. I'd recommend almost any other Korean movie over this. The sheer number of times I found myself scoffing at the actions of the characters, the plot "twists" or the character "dialogue" were too numerous to count.

Any deeper reading about the supposed message of the movie only serves to obscure the fact that this was one horrible flick.

The only positive comment I can make (as someone on the message boards noted) was some of the very interesting artwork; I quite liked it.