If a horror film is meant to be visual tour de force that makes general viewers shiver with fear, "Ghost," a teen horror flick by three young directors, certainly falls short of the genre's usual strength. Instead, the ultra-low budget film seems to have decisively decided on its niche audience, adopting an unconventional omnibus format and conveying morals from a teenager's point of view.
Ghost presents three zombie tales by Jo Eun-kyung, Hong Dong-myung and Yeo Myung-jun, each of whom present tales of unrelated gory events taking place in Korea's competition-driven high school classrooms. There is no connection between the episodes, but each of them manages to deliver teenage angst that often stirs up empathy rather than horror.
In the first episode, the ghost of a long-dead student who had committed suicide starts to call others to their deaths. The next story turns to a girl desperate to keep her pregnancy a secret, while a harsh reality ends her friendship with her best friend in a bloody betrayal. The film then incorporates elements of romance and action in the third episode, with the ghost of a teenage girl haunting a boy with supernatural power, seeking revenge and love.
The film takes on social issues plaguing Korea's modern education system -- bullying, isolation, teen pregnancy, student victimization by teachers and vice versa -- from the perspective of its audience. There is often a clear view of good and evil, as in the third episode, in which an angry teacher viciously beating a girl is metamorphosed into a serial killer in a scene that seems to define the film's niche demographic. For a wider audience, the film may lack emotional resonance.
The 170 million won (US$140,000) film, which was screened at the Midnight Passion section of Pusan International Film Festival last year, features mostly teenaged actors who are relative new, except Kim Kkot-bi, who made her mark in a leading role for Yang Ik-joon's critically acclaimed film "Breathless" last year.
Produced by Generation Blue Films, Ghost will open in a limited release on June 10.//Yonhap
Ghost presents three zombie tales by Jo Eun-kyung, Hong Dong-myung and Yeo Myung-jun, each of whom present tales of unrelated gory events taking place in Korea's competition-driven high school classrooms. There is no connection between the episodes, but each of them manages to deliver teenage angst that often stirs up empathy rather than horror.
In the first episode, the ghost of a long-dead student who had committed suicide starts to call others to their deaths. The next story turns to a girl desperate to keep her pregnancy a secret, while a harsh reality ends her friendship with her best friend in a bloody betrayal. The film then incorporates elements of romance and action in the third episode, with the ghost of a teenage girl haunting a boy with supernatural power, seeking revenge and love.
The film takes on social issues plaguing Korea's modern education system -- bullying, isolation, teen pregnancy, student victimization by teachers and vice versa -- from the perspective of its audience. There is often a clear view of good and evil, as in the third episode, in which an angry teacher viciously beating a girl is metamorphosed into a serial killer in a scene that seems to define the film's niche demographic. For a wider audience, the film may lack emotional resonance.
The 170 million won (US$140,000) film, which was screened at the Midnight Passion section of Pusan International Film Festival last year, features mostly teenaged actors who are relative new, except Kim Kkot-bi, who made her mark in a leading role for Yang Ik-joon's critically acclaimed film "Breathless" last year.
Produced by Generation Blue Films, Ghost will open in a limited release on June 10.//Yonhap
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com