Bedevilled (2010)

Bedevilled starts off as a slow, dramatic piece, develops into something harrowing and even difficult to watch and then moves to full-blown horror for a finale that actually provides quite a welcome relief from the casual brutality and nastiness of the preceding hour or so.

Ji Seong-won plays Hae-won, a stressed out bank worker who decides to take a vacation at an island she used to live on as a child. She gets to meet up with her childhood friend, Kim Bok-nam (played by Seo Yeong-hie) and soon starts to appreciate her chance to relax. It's just a shame that she didn't take up the offer from her friend a long time ago. Kim Bok-nam has written many letters but Hae-won didn't reply. After only a short while on the island it soon becomes clear why Kim Bok-nam always seemed so desperate to hear from her friend and why she likes to think about life off the island. She is being constantly abused by her unfaithful husband (Park Jeong-hak) and none of the other women in the small population seem to think that there's anything wrong with the way that she's being treated, even while it is happening in front of her daughter. But there are many years of resentment and anger just waiting to burst out of that victimised woman and it may only take one tragic moment to unleash it all.

Directed by Jang Cheol-soo and written by Choi Kwang-young, Bedevilled becomes quite horrific even before it tilts into the standard genre moments. There are times when it looks beautiful, including quite a gorgeous final shot, but it's hard to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the setting and the cinematography when so much being shown is just downright ugly.

The film shows how communities can allow abuse to go unchecked through a mixture of inaction and even, good grief, approval. It's hard to decide who the worst person onscreen actually is: the abuser, the community not taking the abuser to task or the outsider who knows that it's wrong but doesn't do anything to help. The film actually, on the surface, gives viewers nobody to root for. Hae-won is selfish and unlikeable and, even worse, lets her friend down when she's needed the most while Kim Bok-nam suffers too much for too long without trying to better her situation. And, of course, the abusers and those who allow the abuse to happen are vile. BUT, and I hasten to say this before complaints start flooding my email inbox, the depiction of someone so horribly victimised here is horribly and sadly realistic, I'm sure. Having endured hardship for so long, it becomes the norm. With such a controlling partner and nobody able to help her start afresh, Kim Bok-nam is resigned to her fate. She wants a better life for her young daughter but she thinks that it's too late for herself. It's quite heartbreaking to watch.

Bedevilled is a fantastic film to watch if you're either a horror fan who can handle a very slow burn on the way to a big finale or if you're a fan of pain-filled drama who can also handle a few more extreme moments. Fans of world cinema will be very pleased to see yet another great outing from South Korea.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bedevilled-Blu-ray-Yeong-hie-Seo/dp/B004EMS0P2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350727759&sr=8-1

The Cat (2011)

AKA Cat: Two Eyes That See Death.

It's long been an established fact that dogs are sweet, loving creatures who will do anything for their owners while cats are vicious bastards who stop by to occasionally use their claws on your lap before buggering off to eat a few nibbles and then sometimes returning to grace you with their company. Okay, so many cat lovers may disagree with that summary but there's no denying that, over the years, cats have had more strangeness and mystery associated to them than dogs ever have. They have been deified at times, they seem to have some power, some connection to other realms . . . . . . . . . if you believe in that sort of them. The scariest thing about a dog is simply finding out it has silent but deadly wind after a hearty meal.

We know that cats are creatures to sometimes be wary of. Byeon Seung Wook , writer and director of this movie, also knows this and he makes good use of that fact in this enjoyable horror movie that should find a receptive audience in fans of South Korean cinema.

So-yeon is a young woman who suffers from claustrophobia and who is, let's say, still a bit jittery many years after a traumatic childhood event. She still has a relatively normal life, however, and especially enjoys her work at a pet-grooming store. When one of the clients dies in mysterious circumstances, So-yeon is asked to temporarily look after her cat and she does so . . . . . . . . . . . but there's something strange about the cat. Or perhaps So-yeon is just unsettled by the figure of a young girl with cat-like eyes she keeps catching sight of.

The Cat starts off strong. It's got some good jump scares and a few great moments of tension. The acting from all concerned is very good, especially from Park Min Young and Kim Dong Wook, and the style mixes in some strange effects with the shadows and darker colours to make things easier on the patchy CGI. It's just a shame that everything starts to go downhill in the second half and viewers of the many great horrors from places like Korea and Japan will start to get a definite feeling of deja vu. Because after an interesting first half this becomes, sadly, just like 101 other movies that we've seen over the past decade. Dark Water, The Eye (which remains one of my favourites), Cello, Phone, Shutter and many, many more will come to mind as the details of the plot are revealed. That doesn't make The Cat a terrible movie, it just makes it a disappointing and unoriginal one.

6/10

Please note, I saw The Cat thanks to a friend who had ordered the disc from YesAsia.com but I have no idea of their delivery times, pricing compared to any other available sellers, etc

http://www.yesasia.com/global/1024924357-0-0-0-en/info.html

Spider Forest (2004)

Another example of the fine cinema we have had from South Korea, Spider Forest is a film that demands and rewards repeat viewings. Fans of movies such as Mulholland Drive and Memento will get the most pleasure out of this haunting and, at times, beautiful movie which has perhaps just as many interpretations as spiders onscreen.

A man (played by Woo seong-Kam) witnesses the brutal double murder of a couple occupying a cabin within the titular forest but as he pursues the perpetrator he is caught off-guard and knocked out. He wakes later and heads towards the main roads before seeing something that distracts him and leads to him being hit by a car. While he recovers in hospital, friend and detective Choi (Hyeong-seong Jang) tries to tease the story details out of him and piece together exactly what happened. This leads to a tale of the Spider Forest, a place in which spirits live as spiders because they have been forgotten by loved ones, and a mysterious young woman (played by Jung Su) who may hold the key that could unlock the man's damaged psyche.

Written and directed by Il-gon Song, Spider Forest is not a movie for horror fans wanting some easy scares or moments of crazy violence. There are one or two scenes of nastiness contained within the film but it is, for the most part, a mood piece with the atmosphere and ethereal quality of the Spider Forest itself relating to fragile memories and a longing for wrongs to be righted. This is just my take on it, however, and I've already mentioned the numerous interpretations possible (which I can't discuss here as I don't want to spoil anything for viewers).

The movie is a perfect mix of well-chosen camera moves, great acting from all involved (including Kyeong-heon Kang who has a small, but integral, role) and dialogue full of meaning. It seems to be slow and even meandering at times but everything is in there for a reason and solving the puzzle in your own way is immensely satisfying as the end credits roll.

I enjoyed Spider Forest while watching it but I have enjoyed even more thinking about what it offered me long after the movie was over.

8/10

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