*Possessed is a part of CUEAFS's Udine Far East Film Festival 12 coverage. The review has been produced for CUEAFS and our partners Cine-Vue
 Alternative title: Bool-sok-ji-ok
Written and directed by: Lee Yong-ju
Starring Shim Eun-kyung, Young-nam Jang and Bo-yeon Kim
By former architect and first-time writer/director Lee Yong-Ju comes the spectacular Possessed, a South Korean horror/thriller with a reflection on difficult problems from contemporary Korean society. The film, which has already been assigned the title ‘one of the best Korean horrors in recent years’, is an absolute success in delivering suspense and proposing in-depth discussions, whilst succeeding in keeping the viewer at the edge of their seat.
Possessed begins as an ordinary story about a college student, Hee Jin (Nam Sang-mi, Spy Girl), and her busy life in Seoul. When she receives news that her younger sister So-jin has disappeared, she returns to her home town in a quest to find the girl. The veteran detective carrying out the investigation is convinced the young girl simply ran away, whilst the deeply religious mother refuses to comply with the police and believes that only prayers will bring the girl back home. Soon the residents begin to commit suicide one by one and more disturbing facts about them are revealed, shedding light on the events that led to the disappearance of the young girl.
The film works perfectly as horror/thriller, whilst at the same time discusses problematic contradictions between different religions in the modern Korean society and it asks difficult questions as to the consequences of blind faith. The tension and suspense are built step by step, relying on sudden shocking and disturbing images, accompanied by brilliant sound effects, which are capable of terrifying even the most dedicated horror fan.
As typical for most Korean productions, falling into the horror genre, the ghost in the film is not just a presence in the residents’ lives, but is capable of manipulation and physical power. Despite the fact that Possessed complies with some of the generic restrictions and conventions, it is extremely original and it plays with the audience’s expectations and at the same time moves away from familiar stereotypes, such as the popular Asian ghost image. The way the film is built gives the opportunity to realise the presence of the ghost and to accept it, moving beyond the surface story and allows the audience to look at the characters and relationships with a lot more insight and perhaps to even identify themselves with the residents within the presented concepts.
In addition to the impressive storyline and the original construction of the plot, all the stars in the film deliver excellent performances. Nam Hang-mi is completely convincing in her portrayal of the girl torn between her resentment of Christianity and her resentment of superstition, whilst her younger colleague Shim Eun-gyeong (Hansel and Gretel), known mainly for her cute and sweet roles on TV, certainly moves away from that innocence and perfectly portrays the possessed girl. The supporting cast does not fall behind and also delivers impressive performances of equally high levels.
An extremely original Korean work and an absolute success for debut by Lee Yong-ju, Possessed stays in the audience’s mind for a long time after the credits roll. Whether a horror fan or not, the film will impress all viewers with its discussion on worship of the wrong idols and the consequences of blind faith.
*Image source:
http://a6.idata.over-blog.com/349x500/1/01/56/49/3/possessed-copie-1.jpgLabels: cueafs, east asian film, far east film, feff, festival, movie reviews, udine |
