Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: A girl suddenly realizes that a supernatural force compels her friends and family to try and kill her.
Review: Uhh...whaaaat...? I know I've used this line before, but the story here is so incoherent it's as if someone threw away every other page of the script. Wow. What an absolute fucking mess. The sad thing is that there was a lot of potential wasted, and, considering this was based on some comic, they didn't even utilize the explanations offered from the source material. If you like your movies to make sense, and give you any sort of explanation for why the events are unfolding, then look somewhere else. The actions of the characters don't make sense either which only adds to the frustration. However, for me, the worst aspect was this presentation to the film as if it were a heart-wrenching, emotional family drama for the ages. I want to say it's pretentious yet the nonsensical story flow and editing was too busy fucking up whatever cornball vision the director had. Realistically, this should have been a straightforward thriller with light supernatural elements and an emphasis on mystery. Instead, we get whatever the fuck this was supposed to be.
The basic premise is actually really interesting at first. While attending her aunt's wedding, the main girl, Ga-in, witnesses the bride thrown from a balcony by the groom seemingly. Later on, Ga-in's other aunt kills the bride while she recovers in the hospital. This strange case of murder appears to connect to another boy at Ga-in's school--with the killers claiming they can't explain what came over them. After having horrific visions, Ga-in realizes that she is the next person to be targeted for death. All the people around Ga-in explode into fits of homicidal rage when in close enough proximity. Miraculously, Ga-in manages to survive these encounters and decides to seek answers. I'll leave the story recap these since that's essentially it for the positives. I think most people will find this story line to hold great promise, however, it goes nowhere quickly. The last thing I'll add is that the picture does look polished and Ga-in's high school(?) looks so awesome--I want to go there!
Sooo...what the hell is the cause and why is everything happening? It's not explained for shit! According to the comic it had to do with a family curse after killing some fucking magic snake so there's that I guess. But, going with the film, nothing is addressed in a meaningful way. First up...Ga-in acting all nonchalant with everyone trying to kill her. Umm, no. No one would just be hanging out at school and shit with everyone out to get you. On top of that, she never questions the supernatural nature of anything or make a connection with her visions. I mean, by the time her mom is trying to kill her you'd think that would at least be the time to wonder what it could all mean...RIGHT?! Then we have this moronic "twist" with Ga-in's boyfriend always wanting to kill her, because his dad was poor and went crazy or something? Alriiiiight...I guess we'll roll with that one. This has nothing to do with the fucking supernatural so why is it tacked on?! By the way, Ga-in is supposed to be a high school student, right? But the boyfriend is like a doctor or far enough into med-school that he's doing rounds? Whaaat the fuck...? Anyway...making matters significantly worse is when some old dude pops up out of nowhere to tell Ga-in...well...he doesn't explain shit but the movie seems convinced he does. If anything the old guy complicates matters further since he introduces this mysterious man on the phone subplot. Oh that's just fookin' great. Another stupid plot twist at the end is that the guy from earlier, that experienced a similar event of people killing, is actually the mastermind of all this...I guess...? He's like a demon or something and supposedly just a figment of Ga-in's imagination...EXCEPT that everyone in her school fucking saw him, you stupid fucking movie! And even if he's some demon, that doesn't explain why he's doing any of this, why he was (probably) the guy on the phone, what he gets out of this, why he would semi help Ga-in, what are those visions supposed to mean, etc. My goodness! Nothing makes a lick of sense in this godforsaken movie! Believe me, there are a ton more problems, but I'm growing wary of this bullshit so I'll leave it at that.
This could have, very easily, been something special, legendary even. Unfortunately, the final result is nothing short of a complete debacle. The story starts off incredibly strong but falls to pieces before the first act comes to a close. The ending is not only unsatisfying but downright idiotic and nonsensical no matter how hard you try to fill in the, nearly, endless story gaps. Of course I do not recommend this, but I do realize others may be intrigued by the enticing plot summary. I'm warning you now, this movie will disappoint you or make you spiral into a murderous rage similar to the characters. I'm giving the film a generous rating considering how mad it made me, but I appreciate the potential and cinematography.
Notable Moment: When the bride takes a little tumble. This was still early enough into the story that there was hope for it to be good.
Final Rating: 4.5/10
1 comment:
This is a really confusing movie and it started so well. At first I thought it was a family curse, then a guy trying to avenge his dad, then a demon, it's so confusing I forgot what little english I know. The ending didn't help me. I don't mind some movie being a bit vague but for me this was a bit much.
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