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hell
The story is nothing special, but it's like peeping through the keyhole into the life of a questionable couple. The casual, or even comedic tone kept through most of the movie made the ending that much more intense. It was a nice twist to a rather obvious story.
I'd say the use of the spider in the end was quite telling and a nice symbolism of the current situation of the female character.
Overall, it's nothing special, but it was nice. I never have any high expectations for short horror movies, and this was just entertaining and nicely done. I could not ask for more.
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The idea was quite interesting. Married couple, driven by their greed and the need to be accepted by the family of the husband, kills an innocent child in a ritual that will make the woman bear her own kid, followed by all the consequences of such a horrible act. There were so many amazing ways this story could have been presented and shot, and yet the writer and director decided to go with the worst of them all. I gave the story 4 only because of the huge potential I had seen and all the countless ways this movie could have gone in my head after I finished it.
The movie is filled with bad editing, random, seizure inducing sequences of "scary pictures", side characters and plot lines that are not explored enough or at all. The acting itself is also questionable. Except for a few supporting characters, it was not a natural and convincing one.
The characters were extremely frustrating too. Seo Ni is shown as this mother figure for Bin and good parenting role, but she also neglects her own younger sister numerous times. Cheol Woong's role is pointless. The whole detective role means nothing to the plot, he is not part of Bin's story and almost never shares the screen with the main cast.
Yoo Rin at the beginning was introduced as this rebellious teen that lies to her sister to go clubbing, but that part was never explored too. If they made Seo Ni find out about it at some point, it could be the perfect reason for the lack of trust she had when Yoo Rin mentioned Bin is weird.
Seo Ni's husband is even more of a mess. Why they introduced the sub-plot line of him having hots for Yoo Rin was beyond me, since it NEVER led to anything. The more I think about it, the more of a mess this movie is.
There was also one thing that bothered me extremely. They cast T-ara’s member and then have a whole scene of Hyomin and other members dancing in the club to roly poly. It right away took me out of the movie. Normally it's hard enough to forget the idol image of the actor/actress that is also a singer, but when you promote it in a movie too, it kills the character they are playing. For me, from that moment, she was not Yoo Rin but simply Hyomin.
Overall, don't waste your time.
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[ Fox Valley ]
I liked the idea and the introduction to the story. The scenes made me feel uncomfortable and anxious, but with the alien sex scene, it lost all the charm and became a joke of itself. I love dark humor and horror comedy, if done right. This was not.
[ Road Rage ]
Probably my favorite out of all the stories and the reason is quite simple: it was realistic. The things that truly may happen in real life are far scarier than anything abstract and supernatural. The plot by the end made a full circle and it was enjoyable to watch. The switch of characteristics between the characters was a good plot point, which was nicely executed.
[ Machine Ghost ]
This part was also well done, but made the leading story that much more confusing with the styling of the robots. That said, I always welcome a story that dwells on the themes of consciousness, free will and what makes a human human. When does the robot stop being a commodity to be used by people and should be treated as its own being deserving rights that will protect him? Since the story is short, it is not a deep dive into such a broad topic, but it highlights some interesting aspects.
Overall, I would say it was worse than the 1st movie, but better than the 2nd. The leading story was quite ridiculous and I truly disliked the costume and set design. It looked like a low-budget sci-fi movie.
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One big, missed opportunity.
I was quite excited to watch it. Waited till late night to get the right atmosphere and get the best possible experience. 15 minutes in I started to become extremely sleepy, and it was not because I was tired. Kim Kang Woo is stunning, but his beautiful face is not enough to keep me engaged, when all I see on screen is him walking around the building with a flashlight.I am truly impressed how such a short movie that also has so many different tropes, time lines, and plot elements, can be this boring. The plot twists were predictable, the story told in a messy way, the protagonist was a massive idiot that truly did only one thing right.
They tried to be creative, giving a twist to the typical “black haired girl ghost” story, but it was so ridiculous, it did not work out - especially with this execution.
The design for the ghosts and scares was mediocre at best, simple copy paste of what we saw in other movies. Basically a snapchat ghost filter.
They did not use the place for their advantage - could have presented the place as a claustrophobic loop, but I never felt that.
Kim Kang Woo did a good job acting wise, but the rest of the cast was just comical. The screams that are so important in horror movies, mostly sounded like free stock audio.
To sum it up, it felt like they had an interesting idea, but no clue how to present it.
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Supernatural teen scream
The movie has good moments and bad moments. Some scenes were well built on atmosphere, making the jump scares more effective. Some jump scares were punching you in the face with over the top effects. And yet, the movie was quite entertaining.What truly adds to the typical teens at the haunted location flick is the introduction of different timelines. We follow different plot lines that together create a rather cohesive picture. There were a few small twists that I didn't see coming, thanks to which, the ending was truly satisfying.
Hard to comment on the acting, when the acting was 80% just screaming. There was not much depth to the character, and their purpose was to… well, die. About dying, the ghost had a strange interest in toilets. Somehow, quite a lot happened in that area.
First half of the movie had a better atmosphere. The director showed us enough of the supernatural lurking in the dark, that I was interested in what’s to come and what exactly is after the kids. Sadly, the more of the actual footage of the demonic ghost I’ve got, the funnier it became.
Overall, a rather fun ride. I am a bit weak for the teen horrors, and seeing these kids run around trying to survive is always entertaining. So, as long as you don’t expect a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece, and just want to have a little bit of chill fun, you might like it.
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Really basic in all aspects.
It’s hard to have any opinion about this movie because it was just really… mediocre. They used the typical jump scares, the plot and the ending were rather predictable, the characters were stereotypical.It had a nice atmosphere to it, but I feel like it was not used to the fullest. They could have focused more on the different motivations between characters - Jia Wei trying to get money and Shu Yi trying to get peace. This could lead to a good conflict between the couple, drive them apart and be better incorporated into the hunting aspect.
That said, the acting itself was good. I have no complaints in this area. Especially a good performance from Kimi Hsia, who had to show a lot of the character’s internal conflict through facial expressions.
Overall, it is skippable.
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The vague explanation of the plots, relationships between the characters and the characters’ motivations is exactly the charm of the stories. Everyone can see what they want to see, everyone can view it the way they seem fit, and everyone will be correct in their perception.
For me Love Set represents the determination, desperation and domination; Collector serves as a literal representation of toxic relationships, when two people expect different things and cannot fulfill each other’s needs; Kiss Burn shows the recklessness of youth and the overexaggerated perception of events they hold; Walking at Night portrays the grief and guilt one might feel after losing the loved ones, and how we can try to subconsciously deal with it.
IU’s performance was truly amazing. While she has her style in the lines delivery, that can be seen in most of her projects, the nuances she adds on top of it made all the characters distinguishable.
Each movie was beautifully shot, with Kiss Burn fitting my taste the most. Loved the dark environment and the use of light to bring the set to life.
Overall, after finishing the first episode I asked myself “what the heck have I just seen?”, but the more I watched, the more interested I became and I started to build my own interpretation of the stories I’ve been watching.
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Ghost Voice is probably my least favorite of the 4 Whispering Corridors movies I have seen so far. The horror element is weak, the plot is both predictable and confusing at the same time. The last minute plot twist came out of nowhere and was not well incorporated into the story.
I also find it a bit of a miss to include “tragic lesbian story” into it, when similar story was part of the 3rd movie. Watching these one after another makes it seem like they ran out of ideas.
The acting was good, definitely more modern than in the previous movies. Seo Ji Hye, Cha Ye Ryun and Kim Seo Hyung did the best. Some of the line delivery from Kim Ok Bin seemed off, the overused pauses between words gave a robotic vibe.
Overall, I’d rather recommend Whispering Corridors 1-3 over this one. It brought nothing more to the table and does not even serve as an easy entertainment.
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What started as a movie that focuses on human’s weaknesses, doubt, overcoming trauma, finished CGI blood and smoke and possessed animals… Why? First and second half of the movie do not exactly match well together.
Each character had an interesting personal story that could have been explored in the context of their faith - fighting against the bureaucracy for the good of others, overcoming your trauma and finding strength within yourself, showing goodness when faced with danger and pain. Sadly, none of these plot lines were explored enough, when the movie focused more on the preparation and the exorcism itself.
Additionally, there were some plots that were introduced but truly led to nowhere (the investigation over a possible indiscretion and immoral acts of Father Kim) and I questioned the point of introducing them in the movie in the first place.
While the cinematography and camera work were truly on point, the CGI and practical effects left a lot to desire. The exorcism scene made me cry from laughing with how over the top and “excessive” it was. When will horror directors figure out that less means more?
Overall: I quite enjoyed it. The last 25 to 30 minutes were the weakest, and served a rather ridiculous conclusion to the story.
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The biggest problem I had was poor world building and a villain that made no sense. The pacing was also quite all over the place. With a rather simple plot like this (especially since they did not expand on more complex themes that could have been included), it was just too long - the movie dragged.
The ending was lazy. In this type of movie I am not expecting a plot twist of a century, but they should wrap everything up.
The best part of Space Sweepers was for sure Kang Kot Nim. Truly loved the actress and the character she was playing. She had the best chemistry with every cast member.
Overall, don’t bother to watch it, unless you are a massive fan of any of the main cast. It was just a really safe movie, tried to keep everything low key (except for visuals) and because of that it was at times boring and skippable.
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Sure, there were few performances I liked a lot, few that made me laugh, but overall, there wasn't even one episode when I did not feel like skipping. From time to time I rewatch more memorable performances from previous seasons, but I am sure this will not happen here.
Not only participants were less engaging, the celebrity guests also presented, at times, questionable entertainment value.
I don't really have much to say about this season, since it was simply "meh". The format was dead 2 seasons ago, and even with the production team trying to tweak it here and there, it still is not interesting enough anymore.
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Interesting concept with great performance...
...and too short of the run time.The movie presents an interesting take on the time travel stories. The only connection between the two timelines happens in dreams. This sadly created a pacing problem.
The characters could not easily and actively confirm if what they are seeing is just a dream or an actual different timeline. The introduction to the story just took too long, and as a result, the investigation and cooperation between Geon Woo and Ji Hwan felt rushed and underdeveloped. The potential behind their connection was barely used.
The movie did a great job with fleshing out the characters. The performance of the whole cast was amazing. Jo Jung Suk killed all his emotional scenes, and the subtle effect they had on Geon Woo as a character was perfectly executed by Lee Jin Wook.
Additionally, Time Renegades is simply beautiful. For a crime and detective story, it has quite a number of calm, relaxing, and pretty sceneries, especially in the first half and the closing scenes.
Sadly, the ending was disappointing. The effect the changes in the past had on the present storyline had close to zero sense. Some characters, who had no connection to the past events, had their fate changed without proper explanation. It just didn't click well, felt forced and over the top. They tried to introduce unnecessary plot twists and connections that just didn't work well.
Overall, it was still an enjoyable watch. Some decisions made by characters were questionable and gimmicky (the way they dealt with the main villain was laughable), but I guess that was also the charm of the movie. Adding some run time or making the introduction to the plot and characters shorter could solve some of the problems I had with it. Even with that though, I don't regret watching this movie.
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The movie has two leading aspects to it, that just don't quite match. On one hand, it's a psychological drama about child abuse and the deteriorating relationship between father and daughter. On the other hand, it's a ghost investigation with comedy bits. But none of these are used to their full potential.
The movie would be better if they commit to either of these: focus mostly on the relationship and how it affects the family and then surround it by the stories of abandonment presented in the supernatural aspects or cut short the relationship between dad and his daughter and jump to the ghost investigation with Kyung Hoon faster and truly give that Scooby Doo fun, entertaining story.
The highlight of the movie was the acting and visuals. Heo Yool as Yi Na was a masterpiece of child acting. Especially liked the scene when she was watching a video of her mother.
The design for the supernatural was spot on and pleasing to the eye (is that weird to say about some evil beings?). The set design was quite well constructed. Visually speaking the movie was amazing, but that was also the reason I did not find it scary at all. The scene that should terrify or at least give me chills just made me think "wow, that's so pretty/cool".
Overall, I would recommend it as a fun, short movie for a Friday evening after work/school, when you ran out of all brain power and just want to be mildly entertained.
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On one hand it's a story about the sacrifices people can make for the ones they love, on the other, how you cannot escape the destiny and story written for you. It had heart, tension and some good scares. One of the scenes, that I would probably pic as one of my favorites from any movie I watched this year relied only on the sound and was such a refreshing way of creating suspense.
The acting was quite nice. I was hesitant to start the movie because of Ok Taec Yeon, but since his character was not that complex, and served a propose of guiding the viewers. He was more or less the exposition.
The movie is also shot in a beautiful way. Many scenes were presented from unusual angles and I could clearly see how much attention was put in the lighting.
There was one aspect of the plot I wasn't too happy about, but since it's a major spoiler I will write about it in comment section under spoiler. But even with that, I could appreciate the story for what it was. Another thing that was slightly off was the makeup done on Kim Yoon Jin to make her look older. Even tho better than in many other productions, it was still not fully believable.
Still, would definitely recommend. Best to watch with lights off and headphones on.
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Sadly, this season had exactly what made me almost drop season one - too much script. The thing I loved about season one was the fact the cast was rarely ever seriously in the characters, and they themselves kept making jokes about the games and the "seriousness" of the cases. Here we got the opposite of that. Everything has been scripted, and with the ending like that I felt like no games nor cases were truly organic.
There was also less variety in the cases and "supporting" characters, since all the cases were strongly connected. The best episodes were the ones that felt the most different from the overall theme.
Sadly IZ*ONE's episode felt like a filler and did not have the same level of excitement like the others. Same goes for episode 9, which was nothing more than a heavy exposition and explanation. More than half of it was us watching the cast watch something else, and definitely not enough interactive elements.
The star of the season was for sure Min Jae. His character was fun to watch, and even more entertaining was when he broke out of it when the jokes were too much to handle.
I still had a lot of fun watching, but I do feel a small dose of disappointment compared to season one.
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