Jen and Abraxas talk Asian horror

[abraxas]

I have recently gotten interested in Asian horror films after finally seeing Reincarnation, which initially interested me due to the fact that it was about that topic, which I personally subscribe to. I found this film to be refreshing in the way it was shot, American film has become too contrived and rarely does anyone come along to challenge the way films are made....Hail Sam Raimi and M Night Shyamalan.

So I will be submerging myself in Asian horror for the next couple of weeks, and will post my thoughts here, I invite Jen to take part. This will be a thread of an expert (Jen) and a novice (Me) talking about Asian horror

I asked Jen to suggest some films to watched and so here is the list of films that will be discussing first:


A Tale of Two Sisters
Pulse
Shutter
Phone
The Eye
Ju-on: The Grudge
Battle Royale
Suicide Club
Audition
Black House (2007 Korean version)
Cello
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Oldboy
Lady Vengeance (aka Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)


Tonight Ill be watching Tale of Two Sisters and Pulse

[Jen]

A Tale of Two Sisters is a beautiful film, loved every minute of it. I also did enjoy The Uninvited (the remake) which has a classic, spooky atmosphere. But I don't think its nearly as good a film overall. Pulse is creepy, and just bleak as hell.

There are a lot of the same themes and visuals in the ghost stories (a lot of scary, long haired women, spooky children and technology gone wrong). For instance, Shutter is especially derivative, but I think its very well done.

Once you are a little more familiar with Asian horror, you might also want to check out the Thai film Sick Nurses, which is completely ridiculous but very tongue-in-cheek.

[abraxas]

Well luckily I just recently got done watching all 27 Godzilla movies and so I'm use to subtitles

[GL]

I never really got Pulse, either the original or the remake. The original was just too dull and not exciting enough to keep me interested in it, while the remake was just way too hurtful to look at with it's gray world that looked painful, plus it was just utterly dull and beyond boring. I enjoyed Shutter and The Eye, though in both cases the original was a lot better than the remake. Haven't seen Two Sisters, but I love The Uninvited a lot, and Cello is okay but I've seen a lot better.

Audition was actually responsible for my first of four black-outs on Asian horror, a long story I won't go into here unless asked, but let's just say that film and I have a unique history.

The rest of your list is either unwatched or I have no interest in doing so.

[Jen]

Audition is slow burn, but has outstanding characterization. The horrifying finale is only a small piece of what is to me a brilliant film as a whole. I love the focus on character development and that it doesn't feel the need to rush. But it IS slow and not for everyone though.

The remake of Pulse is mediocre, but I couldn't disagree more about the original. Probably the best examination of the lack of "real" human connection and loneliness in the modern world that I have ever seen. It is disjointed at times, and a bit uneven, but I think its a outstanding film that I appreciated even more on a second viewing. Its a downer though.

[abraxas]

Tale of two Sisters


The look

Wow, what an incredible looking and well made film, this is one of the most beautifully shot films Ive ever seen. I rank it up there with films such as Richard Stanley's Dust Devil and David Lynch's Eraserhead. It is a very classy looking film and proves that a horror movie doesn't have to be a grainy documentaryesque movie or a film with a slick Hollywood presentation.

The color scheme is so Bright, vivid and even a little surreal, the production quality of the film is superb and the camera work is amazing. One of the best things about movies or music for that matter which comes from other countries other then the United States is that the artist is free to do things which an American director would be afraid to do, unless he was David Lynch or some other genius like that.

Personally I never understood the idea that just because a horror movie is made well that that makes it a bad horror film.

The horror

I can say with all modesty that this film scared me like very few have, I wont give away the scene but the part where the step mom is looking under the sink scared the living hell out of me. I was watching it in my car while at work last night and so I was leaning in toward the screen captivated by the eerie creepiness of the film and then "that" part happened, I swear I flew back in my seat.

It was probably the most effective jump scare that Ive seen, one which didn't seemed forced, it wasn't some cat jumping through a window, or a sudden loud sound with no investment behind it, there was a build up to it. It succeeded in making you feel concerned for the character, provoking a kind of "Um, I really don't think you should do that" response.

The ending was a little confusing at first, but with some minor thinking it can easily be made clear, at least I think

......for Jen:

SPOILER: Click to show

Did I interpret this right? The girl with the shorter hair was dead all along and was a figment of the other girls imagination because she could handle the idea of her sisters death. The stepmother, who I'm guessing was their fathers assistant of some kind killed their mother to get closer to their father, the other girl died after discovering her mom in the closet and was left to die, she was the girl under the sink? The "step mom" convinced everyone that the daughter with the long hair killed her sister and she was put away for it?

One of the best horror movies Ive ever seen and I'm stoked to see more Asian horror

[Jen]

Really glad you enjoyed it.

SPOILER: Click to show

The stepmother was their mother's nurse, who I believe was in love with their father for awhile. From what I remember they had worked together before, and they were possibly having an affair, and both the girls and their mother knew. And yes, when their mother commits suicide, and the sister finds her, that is what leads to the sister's death. Su-Mi is arguing with the nurse at the time, who she resents (for good reason, because she was obviously a horrible person) at the time of her sister's death. Su-Mi has a mental breakdown because she feels responsible. Her sister was calling out to her, and Su-Mi did hear the commotion in the room. Because of her anger with the nurse, she ignores it. So she blames herself, and her stepmother for both her mother's death and her sister's death.

When she comes home from the mental institution, it is only her and her father there. The stepmother is absent, until the end, when the father finally breaks down and calls her for help. So neither the stepmother (who was alive, but absent) nor the dead sister were really there through most of the film, Su-Mi was all three personalities . I don't think anyone thought Su-Mi killed her sister, she just had such a severe break from reality after the events of that day that her father sent her away to get help.

It is also revealed though that the house IS haunted, so yeah, I think the girl under the sink is her sister. From what I remember the stepmother didn't kill the mother, but allowed both the mother's suicide and the sister's death. It is either the sister's ghost, or the ghost of their mother that finally takes revenge on the stepmother at the end. Probably her mother's, that was my interpretation anyway.

[GL]

Aug 23, 2010 11:59:29 GMT -5 Jen said:

Audition is slow burn, but has outstanding characterization. The horrifying finale is only a small piece of what is to me a brilliant film as a whole. I love the focus on character development and that it doesn't feel the need to rush. But it IS slow and not for everyone though.

The remake of Pulse is mediocre, but I couldn't disagree more about the original. Probably the best examination of the lack of "real" human connection and loneliness in the modern world that I have ever seen. It is disjointed at times, and a bit uneven, but I think its a outstanding film that I appreciated even more on a second viewing. Its a downer though.

That's precisely hitting it on the head as to why Audition and I don't get along at all, the focus on characterization. Coming into horror films merely from seeing Action films, it's like a drama where nothing really creepy happens and the low-key nature of what's going on, mainly the characterization you hit on, just made the film unravel why too slowly for me, and subsequent attempts to watch it haven't gotten any better.

And Pulse maybe a brilliant expose on the lack of real human contact in this world, but that doesn't make the film entertaining. It could also be the fact that it hits a nerve of mine, that I think all this technology is utterly useless in society, that if we spent one-third of the amount of time and money that these companies use to produce iPads, cellphones that stream the internet, DVRs or whatever these gadgets are nowadays on the research of eliminating cancer, we'd be rid of the entire concept of such a disease from our society in a matter of a few years. We don't need those kinds of devices at all, and they're appearance in the film, as well as the fact that I'm not a technically-inclined person at all, made all those scenes go over my head and just made it utterly dull. I'm not entirely sure there.

And nice to know the twist and the kitchen's ghost encounter in Two Sisters are still the same, things I loved in Uninvited, so I'm definitely looking forward even more to that one.

[abraxas]

PULSE

This Asian horror film was not as scary and suspenseful as Tale of two Sisters but it worked very nicely and had some truly creepy scenes. I was really impressed by the camera work in this film in relation to the supernatural aspects of the film. It used computer generated effects sparingly and mostly utilized in camera effects.

While not as disturbing as the last film there are two particularly effective sequences, I wont give it away but the scene where the ghost comes closer and closer to the camera was particularly eerie, I actually backed away from the screen.

Personally I didn't have a problem with the rather downbeat pace of the film, in fact the length, at nearly 2 hours actually lends itself nicely to the story. Its not overly long in the sense that its not a good film, but rather the slowish pace enhances the bleakness of the story and the hopelessness of the characters.

Perhaps the biggest plus for me personally is that it deals with something which I also have an interest in, that being the concept of ghosts. The film keeps the basic idea of ghosts but adds an innovative reason for why such phenomenon would present itself.

Unlike GL I'm not so positive that by eliminating technology and the distance that it causes between humans, that despair, loneliness and depression will fade away. Emotional detachment of humans with the rest of society was not invented with the coming of the technological age, nor will it simply disappear once technology is gone. Although also having an aversion to technology I can understand his feelings on the matter. Unfortunately the make me use a cell phone for work, very rarely, but still, if it were up to me I would not seek such non essential artifacts out.

I see the film much more as being about a new interpretation on the idea of the supernatural world, rather then an example of the effects of technology.

[GL]

I just saw it as a dull, slow-moving film which enhanced a viewpoint I already agree with, so there's nothing really much to say about it.

[abraxas]

SHUTTER

Another very good Asian horror film, this one however in terms of scares is slightly a bit slow in getting to them. This is a rather minor complaint however as the film obviously needed time to set up the characters. Once the scares come however they are very effective and I must admit got me on several occasions. The creepiness factor was pretty high for this but perhaps a little behind the last film Pulse, there were a few exceptions toward the end as this film has one of the greatest reveals ever tagged onto the end of a horror film.

I obviously can't say what happens but lets just say that it gave a new meaning to the old saying..Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. The film was shot in a more traditional manner but as for the ghosts there were some pretty amazing creepy shots. including one where the guy looks behind him, thinking that he has eluded the ghost, only to see her walking toward him on the ceiling.

PHONE

Man, whoever this director is he has some guts, thee have been quite a few films about children being in danger or killed and yet I cant think of any movie that went this far. With those movies you normally would not see any graphic violence when children are involved, but here we see a very graphic scene of the little girl being severely hurt.

SPOILER: Click to show

The scene shows the little girl who is possessed by the spirit of the dead girl falling down a flight of stairs in a very graphic and disturbing way.

Id like to also add that the little girl in the film was a very good actor, the part of her on the top of the staircase is really disturbing and creepy.

I really like how this film was more of a murder mystery then a ghost story, there is a big lead up to the climax with sprinkles of ghostly activity throughout, as though the ghosts was merely a subplot for the murder mystery.

[Jen]

Aug 26, 2010 10:04:38 GMT -5 @abraxas said:

Id like to also add that the little girl in the film was a very good actor, the part of her on the top of the staircase is really disturbing and creepy.

This is my favorite scene from the film. The girl did a wonderful job, adorable one minute, and creepy as hell the next. She was definitely the stand out.

[abraxas]

GHOST TRAIN

This film had some potential but it falls apart toward the middle of the movie, it was far to slow paced with very few scares and not particularly creepy. The film then starts to make no sense, as though they were trying to put to many things in the film, I'm not sure I understand the ending, it was sort of all over the place.

SPOILER: Click to show

The whole relationship between the dead women on the tracks and the woman with the messed up eye didn't make much sense. She was the baby of the women on the tracks? She killed her mother when she was a baby or when the mom got pulled over the overpass?

At one point it turns into a bad H.P. Lovecraft film, the pile of bodies is never explained. They should have made the movie at least 30 minutes shorter and stuck to one style in terms of the film making....not a very good Asian horror movie.



DEAD GIRL WALKING

Wow, this is one of the greatest short films I have ever seen, it is done in a very impressionistic, almost David Lynch Eraserhead style. It is very symbolic and well shot, this little 44 minute film was better then most big budget Hollywood movies made these days. The best film Ive seen in a long time.


ONLY CHILD

Another fantastic short film, this one is only about 20 minutes long, do yourself a favor and watch this poignant, sad, and moving little film which explores the world of absolute sorrow, loss and hopelessness. Such a sad film, with an ending that will shock you as it simultaneously rips your heart out, a must see......