AUGUST 25, 2007
GENRE: ASIAN, SLASHER
SOURCE: DVD (STORE RENTAL)
What is this? A modern slasher movie I am totally behind? One that’s not Hatchet??? And even more surprising, an Asian horror movie I really like? Is Bloody Reunion a fluke, or have I just not been watching the right ones?
This one was recommended by... someone (I apologize I can not find the comment with the name, but regardless I thank you for the suggestion). For a slasher, it delivered what I expect – one or two kills I don’t see coming (at least not at the time they do), some decent splatter, an interesting killer disguise (a giant bunny mask! Gah!!), non ignorance of basic suspense, and a good back story. The back story is what impressed me the most. Sort of like Lost, we learn mainly through quick flashbacks what led the characters to be the way they are today. And I admit I was pretty surprised at what was revealed along the way.
Which brings us to the ending. Some folks have hated the “twist” in this one, but I am not two of them. And I sort of have to spoil it to talk about it, so apologies in advance.
See, the ending reveals none of the movie really happened, that it was all a story told by the “final girl”, similar to High Tension in a way. But the difference is, we KNOW right from the start that the whole film is her account of what happened. In Tension, we didn’t, so the twist seemed more of a cheat than it does here. Hence why I am not as angry as I was after I watched that movie.
That said... I’m not sure if it all adds up. Being an Asian horror, there has to be SOME confusion, and this is no exception. Some of the characters’ individual traumas are never fully explained, and the ending seemingly has a giant chunk missing (how do the two survivors, one of whom is telling the story from the hospital, end up back at the house?). But that’s forgivable, and possibly even explained if you watch it a 2nd time (something I certainly plan to do).
The only real flaw is the director’s ridiculous usage of zooms in a couple of scenes. There is one where two characters go to talk to the teacher and he just keeps zooming in and out, multiple times in one shot. It makes no narrative sense and it’s headache-inducing. Christ, Fulci himself would declare the zooms unnecessary. To be fair, he admits it as a weakness on the extras (one good thing about Asian imports over American movies – they will admit their mistakes. Whereas we get the Scarecrow guys talking like they made the next Halloween). There are also some bizarre subtitling quirks, such as putting everyone’s last name in ALL CAPS and substituting “me” for “you” (“Good to see you!” “Yes, me too!”), but again, forgivable.
Like almost all Tartan releases, there’s a good deal of extras on the DVD, most of which are subtitled. The making of is refreshingly lacking in “I love this person and this person and that person” type asskissery and focuses on more “day in the life” type footage, so I highly recommend it (though it does spoil some of the ending). I just wish they would stop forcing me to watch their promo reel at the head of the DVD though – you can’t skip it or go to the menu until it’s complete. Annoying.
So whoever recommended it, thanks and recommend more like it!!!
What say you?
I agree that the twist here is awesome and works a hell of a lot better than it does in "High Tension." However, I enjoyed the first two-thirds of "HT" more than I did this film. Nothing really happens for an hour and twenty minutes, and like you said the director is so encompassed with camera tricks, I felt a lot of the tension was squeezed out of the proceedings. I liked the bunny mask though. However, the ending makes it almost worth it. If we could have the same kind of build-up we have in "HT" and then have this kind of ending, you'd have a nearly perfect slasher film. But still, I was happy to watch a J-Horror film that didn't rely on a creepy ghost kid.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie. It's K-horror, though, not J-horror.
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