O Monstro da Água

In an action-horror movie like "Monstrum," it is all too easy to make the mistake of relying on parading a giant hairy beast and the carnage that inevitably follows, but director Huh Jong-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay with Heo-dam, understands what makes horror movies like Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and Ridley Scott's "Alien" so effective: It is not enough to show the boogeyman and what it can do. In order to build suspense, there must be a convincing enough backstory that the viewers can latch onto. And so when chaos runs rampant, we care and do not get lost in pandemonium. And, boy, does this movie excel in showing havoc.

The story is set in 16th century Korea during King Jungjong's fragile reign (Park Hee-soon). Not only are citizens destitute and hungry, they are living in constant fear due to rumors that a monster is living in the woods-rumors that Prime Minister Woon (Lee Kyeong-yeong) started because he wishes to take the throne for himself. He hopes that the rumor, combined with the growing unrest, will be enough to usurp the king. But the monster is far from imaginary. There are two types of corpses coming out of the woods: those in pieces and those with boils. Only one of these groups has been in direct contact with the monster. But what of the other?

Here is a movie that clearly wants to be an entertaining action flick. There is silly humor like adult men falling over one another (Kim Myung-min, Kim In-kwon), there is a cute sort of romance between a country girl (Lee Hyeri) and a young warrior (Choi Woo-sik), there is mystery in terms of what really goes on out there in the woods, and there is suspense when we are given answers... because answers are not always black and white. I preferred its darker side, but I appreciated its attempt to entertain everybody. Despite the title, the monster itself is not the most evil creature on screen (a case can be made it isn't evil at all) but rather the power-hungry folks who scheme, exploit, betray, ending lives for nothing. The creature simply wishes to survive; it just happens to be higher up on the food chain.

Although the creature is made using CGI rather than practical effects, the technique works because it is kept hidden for so long. Once it is revealed, it is appropriately intimidating: its size, the noises it makes, how it eats people whole. Notice we rarely get a glimpse of its eyes. Regardless of its gargantuan stature, it moves swiftly. It is alert, a top hunter. The writers are correct to give the monster a limitation: a poor eyesight. And so it must adapt accordingly. And so do the characters. Surprisingly, even this supposedly terrible being is given a backstory-so efficient is this one flashback that we come to empathize with it.

I could easily rip apart a movie like "Monstrum," but it offers such a good time that its weaknesses-schizophrenic tone, character relationships not given enough time to blossom (a few not believable at all), occasional lack common sense-end up buried under sheer entertainment value. It knows what it wants to be and proud of it. I wish more action creature-features, especially those from the west, would learn to be as willing to take risks and trust that some will land given the assumption that viewers are smart and receptive to pure escapism.

As an American I truly enjoy these foreign flicks! Old culture wrapped into a good action monster movie with fantastic cinematography!!!! And always great acting and humor.

I found "Monstrum" to be an enjoyable monster action movie. I happened to watch this movie on a transatlantic flight because I was bored with Hollywood material. That being said, it is clearly a hollywoodesque Korean movie.

"Monstrum" has a high body count, lots of blood and chopped off body parts, and the action keeps you entertained. The story is just enough to listen to while you wait for the resolution of the character arcs. Hell, I even felt like crying in the last scene because of the drama. Recommended if you look for monster action movie that doesn't play in the US but gives you a glimpse into a non-Western culture.

During the Joseon dynasty, rumors of a strange creature lurking in the area upsetting the citizens forces the prime minister to divert his attention away from a devastating plague to deal with the creature by assembling a team of villagers to hunt it down and stop it once and for all.

This was a pretty enjoyable creature feature. Among the film's better elements is the rather impressive setup here designed to provide an understanding of the general political climate and civilian lifestyle at the time. With the country embroiled in chaos with the plague spreading throughout the country and no one able to stop it, the blame on other factions trying to usurp the throne and associating with undesirable individuals as a means of ensuring a peace-of-mind about the situation is the perfect counterbalance to the simplistic lifestyle of the farmers. Living off the land and being honorable rather than engaging in the misguided political mind-games that are taking place in the city, there's a fine contrast here which enables us to sympathize with them. That comes into play nicely with the inclusion of the monster and its attacks against the population. With no witnesses but plenty of evidence of its presence through the deformed and disease-riddled bodies left behind, this sends out the search party which is quite fun as the group treks through the wilderness looking for the creature where they manage to find it as it wipes out nearly everyone involved. The big finale, where it attacks the castle and causes all sorts of havoc running through scores of guards and other personnel in a huge, extended series of destructive rampages across the area killing everyone and setting up for some wild action scenes that are utilized throughout here. Alongside the fantastically realistic look of the creature, these here generate a lot to like with the film. This one does have a few problems with it. Among the biggest issues is the rather unnecessary and unfunny comedic relief intended to provide a balance to the film. Rather than give the film some funny lines or moments designed to ingratiate us to the characters, instead, it ends up as nothing more than wasted opportunities here making the film far longer than it needs to be. Even the humor of her being a woman in the guard ranks doesn't come off as funny either and just seems like a waste. The other detrimental factor is the confusing and somewhat nonsensical political intrigue storyline that manages to take away a lot of the fun of a more traditional monster-on-the-loose storyline that this is going for. Rather than get bogged down in the specifics of the creature going on a rampage and seeing it decimating the population, this one tends to focus more on the rather nonsensical storyline of the rivals clamoring for control of the throne under the assumption of the creature being a hoax even though the plague afflicting everyone is real. Using that as the basis for seizing power makes no sense when the evidence of the charred, plague-riddled bodies sporting inhuman wounds so the insistence on that not being the case is strange and misguided. Otherwise, this was a lot of fun without much else wrong.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

Another decent thriller movie from South Korea. The plot is just so-so, not complicated. In my opinion, the suspense from the so-called Monstrum creature is similar to that of recent Jurassic world. The performance of the actors are great with good character development.

The major drawback of this movie is the shaky camera during human fighting scene, as well as odd moment when the antagonist still can stand and fight (like zombie) regardless being rampaged by the monster.

Entered the cinema with no high expectation but turned out satisfied. Rewatch value: 5/10.