Face

Two thirds of the predictions I made six minutes into Face were proved accurate by the end of the feature. In that sense, predictability is something this film suffers from, with other aspects of the film's conclusion been foreseen over the course of the plot. However, in no way does this hamper the film's entertaining features.

Dr. Yoon (Suk-hwan Ahn) has recently completed a heart transplant on young Lee-jin (Ye-rin Han) who is Beta-allergic, meaning the operation was more difficult when in contrast with other patients. Appearing successful, Lee-jin's father, Lee Hyeon-min (Hyeon-jin Shin), who works as a facial reconstruction expert, resigns his post in order to spend more time with his daughter.

His hope for some quality father-daughter time is shattered though when his former boss, without his permission, forces him to become a part of an ongoing case. Jeong Seon-yeong (Yuh-ah Song), a recent addition to the institute Lee used to work for, arrives with a skull connected to a murder case. Someone is prowling the streets, killing women, and using an acidic substance to dispose of their bodies. The only way to stop this unidentified killer, is to put a face to his victim.

Originally adamant he will not participate, Lee finds himself haunted by the ghost of the victim, and is torn between been a good father, and fulfilling this final job. With Jeong's assistance he begins to put a face to the mystery, and with every new reconstruction, they get closer to revealing the victim - and their killer.

In the beginning, Face provides the audience with what can only be described as an overdose of horror, this plentiful assortment becoming less prominent as the film progresses. The jump scares are not entirely terrifying, but will certainly assist in keeping you rooted to the spot, despite a number of them been cliché Asian horror tropes.

What makes Face so rewarding is the depth provided to the central characters. The chemistry between Lee and Jeong is a joy to watch, and you cannot help but hope for a happy conclusion between them. Their characterization however comes at the expense that other individuals, including Detective Seo (Seung-wook Kim), who is the lead investigator on the case, are not provided the same thorough level of depth.

The same can be said for Lee-jin, and though there is no doubt that Lee loves his daughter, there are moments in the film when there is no mention of her for a substantial period of time. Face is a movie with several plots occurring simultaneously, and though everything is effectively intertwined, this movie is evident that when film developer's are dealing with more than a couple of ideas, some inevitably remain in the background for a majority of the feature.

The filmmaker's use of revealing past events to the audience over the course of the story is a technique similarly used in other Asian horror features, and like some of them, it can occasionally become difficult to separate history from the present, though everything succinctly comes together in the end.

Though Face is a movie constructed from ideas that are not uniquely imaginative, the plot continuously keeps your interest, and the beautifully sad conclusion will truly leave you feeling impressed.

"Face" is a detective story/murder mystery with supernatural elements and a few of the images used in recent Japanese and Korean horror movies. The protagonist works with the police reconstruction the appearance of murder victims from fragmentary skeletal remains including a few recently that have had all the soft tissue burned away with acid.

His daughter is recovering very slowly from a heart transplant and we see (but the characters don't) that some of the hearts available for transplant into patients with complications may have been harvested by other than ethical means

The very well acted South Korean supernatural thriller tells the story of Hyun-min an expert in facial reconstruction. His expertise is used by the police to help give faces to murder victims who have long reverted to skeletons. He reluctantly helps with a case that seems to be the work of a serial killer but how and why does it tie into his daughter, who is sick after having a heart transplant? What is an apparition trying to steer him to? Can Hyun-min solve the murder and save his daughter…

A slick drama with supernatural overtones is at the heart of this thriller. A bit of a twist in the end too, which I must say I wasn't expecting when it came out of left field. Excellent acting and an interesting story are punctuated by a good sound design that helps to creep you out when the time is right.

Face a solid and engaging thriller with a few creepy moments. The overall atmosphere is a bit weak since the scares are a little bit sparse and far apart.

Hyun-min is an expert at reconstructing faces of people from their skulls.His daughter undergoes a heart transplant and as her condition deteriorates,he quits his job to care of his daughter full time.Meanwhile,the police are dealing with a series of ghastly killings,where the victims have had all their flesh dissolved away with acid,leaving only the bones behind.A beautiful woman Sun-young shows up at his door with the skull of the fourth victim,hoping that he'll be able to reconstruct the face.Suddenly Hyun-min starts to see a creepy ghost of a young woman in a white robe."Face" is a creepy South Korean horror film with some effective scares.The story is actually totally captivating and there is enough twists to keep the viewer interested.There is a little bit of grisly gore and the acting is top-notch."Face" is not as good as "A Tale of Two Sisters" or "Tell Me Something",but it's still better than most of American crap being churned out today.Give it a look.8 out of 10.

Face is a dramatic supernatural thriller from South Korea released by legendary Tartan Asia Extreme label.

The plot revolves around quiet forensic facial reconstructor Lee Hyun-min who had some sinister strokes of fate to endure. His wife died much too soon and his daughter had a complicated heart surgery from which she hasn't fully recovered. Lee Hyu-min decides to quit his job to spend more time with his daughter and he brings her to the countryside to stay with her grandmother in a secluded area. As he returns home to grab some things for his departure, Lee Hyu-min is met by Jung Sun-young who is a new researcher at the institute where Lee Hyun-min worked before. She asks for his help with facial reconstruction of the victim of a serial killer who melts the bodies of his victims with acid. Lee Hyu-min initially refuses to collaborate but Jung Sun-young insists and explains her desire to learn from him. He is further convinced to collaborate when he feels haunted by the spirit of the victim and starts to feel guilty for not helping investigations in an ongoing case against a brutal serial killer. Just as he decides to accept the case, his daughter's medical condition worsens once again. Lee Hyu-min asks Doctor Yoon to give him more information about the organ donor but the doctor refuses due to confidentiality issues. As the desperate Lee Hyun-min barely sleeps as he spends time by his daughter's side at the hospital and tries to complete the facial reconstruction, he starts to discover unexpected connections between the serial killer case and the organ donor issue. Lee Hyun-min starts to collaborate directly with the police and also grows fond of his resilient assistant Jung Sun-young. However, nothing is as it appears as Lee Hyu-min is about to uncover more than one surprising twist.

This dramatic supernatural thriller convinces on numerous levels. First of all, the plot is quite clever as every single scene in the movie is meaningful and leads to a whole something that is even greater than its different parts. Up next, Face oozes with atmosphere. Especially the scenes when Lee Hyun-min is haunted by the spirit of the murder victim or when the lair of the criminal is discovered are particularly memorable. The characters are also very intriguing as it's easy for viewers to empathize with the lead characters and his numerous challenges while his colleague is a fascinating, mysterious and unpredictable woman who has more than one secret to hide. The acting performances match the excellent characters and especially child actress Han Ye-rin leaves a stunning impression. The directing effort is also highly commendable as the light and sound effects increase the film's gripping atmosphere. These excellent elements will make you keep watching this film until its surprising ending.

At the end of the day, Face is a movie that should please fans of romantic dramas, supernatural thrillers and East Asian cinema of the early years of the new millennium. This release by Tartan Asia Extreme includes some interesting featurettes such as the one on facial modeling employed for this film. Fans of this legendary label should certainy try to get their hands on a copy of this underrated dramatic supernatural thriller.