Sil jong

I feel as my current rating says it all, and I'm the fan of revenge thrillers.

Korean revenge thrillers are usually gory, exploitative, mean spirited; sometimes over the top but the production, ideas and fun factor are on par. What has happened here?

OK, so it was gritty and grimy in parts, but what else? Pretty poor execution and weak story line as far as revenge thrillers go. I felt it was uninspired and just dull while trying to catch up with better genre entries.

The psycho killer looks like an old lady, our heroine lacks a few dozen pounds...how're these two underwhelming people going to hold the film on their shoulders, and better yet, provide some memorable and obligatory confrontation(fight) scenes? Even infamous police officers lacked much needed comedic skills, these people were just not funny and were very pale overall.

My attempts to relate to at least one character, smile or feel emotional now and then were barren...it just never happened. We have some typical pinku-type violence incorporated (abduction, rape, torture) but it just isn't pushing the right buttons. Sure, like already mentioned, some of it was unpleasant, as expected, but far from the level this genre has gotten us used to. Maybe I'm spoiled by much more effective, slick and superior films in the same vein? Cartoonish and one dimensional misogynistic males, anorexic or bimbotastic females....very superficial and enough for average exploitation flick, but for this genre, too simplistic and not good enough.

But, as far as (mostly off screen) violence it delivers occasionally, so not all's lost... Uninspiring and non charismatic leads, and unsatisfying ending combined with at least a couple of stupid calls and secondary characters that don't add up to tension, plot or anything much, grants this generic and forgettable picture an average score...lacks the impact, vision and the direction superior films of the ilk have...well, we can't all excel at what we do, can we?

In Missing we have a Korean take on the abduction themed neo-nasty picture, and what a generic take it is. Young actress looking for a break Hyun-Ah stops off at a chicken soup shop with a vaguely sleazy director, only to fall into the hands of the owner, only to fall into the evil clutches of the unhinged owner Pan-Gon, who cages her and subjects her to the expected indignities. And along the way Hyun-Ah's sister comes looking for her, and... well there aren't too many surprises here. Not much to see, quite literally as the film is rather restrained with only a few grisly moments and the impact of nastier scenes achieved mostly through reaction shots, the sort of work that brings off the odd brief wince but no real lasting squirmy impact. While Asian cinema often ups the ante in such territory bringing either psychological depth or full bore brutal theatrics, Missing generally lacks the excess of its more noted Western counterparts, and adding insult to injury opts to keep their flaws (inept decision making) instead. With all this it shouldn't be a remotely worthwhile experience, but it does succeed on minor terms, ending up a pretty watchable and by and large mindlessly entertaining affair. Seon-kun Mun is the definite highlight as the villainous Pa-Gon, playing with a low key loathsome menace tinged with pathos, one can see inside how he came to be how he is and the understanding complements his power as a baddie. Se-hong Jeon plays off him well as Hyun-Ah, sympathetic in her desperation with an edge of grit to raise her a little above the standard wailing victim. Ja-Hyeon Chu is decent as well as the investigating sister, convincing in her somewhat fearful determination. Along with the performances the setting and cinematography also work pretty well, creating a grim pocket of isolation just off the beaten track, a sense of fear that just past the outskirts of normality lurks evil. So the foundations are here, but not the crucial kick, a few neat jolts and twisted moments, some deaths and a wee splash of fun bloodshed but pretty much no scenes where the film really locks down to get fearsome, to really blast the audience somewhere dark and brutal. The end result was a film I found fun enough, pleasing enough, but not good enough to truly find memorable or commendable. Still a reasonably strong 5/10 from me though, the sort of film mostly to watch if you feel like you have to but one that won't disappoint too much if you enter with low expectations.

The general plot was fine and the action scenes were well-executed, especially the climax

There's lots of gratuitous violence, which is exactly as advertised. Some may find this a con but it is what it is.

That being said, the dialogue was.. not great. And the pacing also felt weirdly 'off' in a way that I can't really elaborate.

The characters never really get developed and their motivations are not clear, and the rest of the movie, while ok, is not good enough to make up for these deficiencies.

The final scenes after the climax are just completely unnecessary and accomplish nothing other than confusing the viewer (maybe also setting up for a sequel? Who knows?)

I picked this movie up on the sole reason that it was a Korean movie, and usually Korea make fairly nice movies. "Missing" was another nice movie to come out of Korea.

The story is quite simple and doesn't really hold any surprises or twists, which is a shame really. Why? Well, because the story becomes a bit too uninspiring and linear. However, the fact that it is based on a true story does manage to pull the story up a notch. The story is basically about an old man who captures and tortures girls, only to kill them, and the people around him are clueless to his deviant behavior.

"Missing" has a relative small cast list, but it doesn't matter. Those people in the movie did a good job with their respective roles. The movie was especially carried by the girl playing the first woman to be captured. Her performance was really good, and she did manage to portray a woman in a dire situation quite well.

There are a couple of semi-brutal scenes in the movie, but nothing in comparison to some Japanese movies. But the harsh scenes do work well, because they are not in-your-face with gore and effects, and leaves your mind to fill in the blanks that the camera doesn't show. So that was a good aspect to the movie as well.

One thing that was tacky and sort of stupid, was the way the movie ended. I mean, come on, it was just too much. And also on the DVD cover it said "all the ingredients of a Friday 13th". Yeah, I hardly think so... But don't let that scare you off.

But all in all, "Missing" is a good thriller and provides good entertainment. If you are a fan of Asian movies, then you should check out "Missing", if you haven't already seen it.