Credits
Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2021
Honors
FIPRESCI Prize, Busan International Film Festival 2021
Director
Park Kang
Writer
Park Kang
Cast
Seo Hyun-woo, Ryu Sun-young
contact
Film Movement
Official website
South Korea
2021 102 mins
OV Korean
Subtitles : English
“Channeling ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE WAILING, this low-budget gem is one of the standouts from this year's edition of the [Busan International Film Festival]”- Pierce Conran, SCREEN ANARCHY
An old belief from Korean folklore dictates that family members should never venture down a potentially taboo path when their child is born, as this could lead to a curse called Seire, involving evil spirits. To Woo-jin, this is all nonsense and he doesn't care, despite his wife's reluctance. He decides to attend the funeral of a former love, Se-young. When he arrives, he meets Ye-young, the twin of the deceased, who strangely enough he did not know existed. She tells him that her sister had a hard time getting over their break-up and that something seems to have broken inside her. When he returns, Woo-jin and the people around him start experiencing strange paranormal manifestations. Things quickly escalate to the outright terrifying. Perhaps the solution lies in Woo-jin's past...
With this first directorial effort, a masterfully directed film where the atmosphere remains oppressive from end to end, Park Kang is one of those Korean auters capable of miracles with a limited budget. His secret: a solid script, constant tension, minimalist music that adds enormously to the whole, solid and nuanced acting, and meticulous direction. His film is along the lines of POSSESSED, by the brilliant Lee Yong-joo, rather than yet another generic, pointless jump-scare parade. There is no need to know the very real folkloric origins of the curse, Kang takes care of everything with astonishing efficiency. This filmmaker's career shows great promise and you'll be glad you experienced this first foray into his eerie and unsettling imagination. – Translation: Rupert Bottenberg
Showings
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