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 ark Hair Ghost Stories from Asia are a dime a
dozen nowadays. If you threw a pebble at the continent, you'd probably hit
10 films in the genre on the first thud. Really, it's a bit
disconcerting how generic the film industries in Asia have become in the
seven years since the break-through hit "Ringu".
But then again, you really can't blame them for the sudden drop in quality
genre films; it's a matter of too much too fast, I think. With the Western
world embracing all things Asian and cinematic, it's no surprise that the
Korean film industry has been forced to crank out generic films like
"Face" just to meet all the demand.
Needless to say, don't expect anything new or even
the least bit original with the Korean horror film "Face". The
movie stars Shin Hyun Jun (of "Blue"
and "Bichunmoo"
fame) as Hyun-min, a widower who works reconstructing faces from skulls.
He's good at it, too; so good, in fact, that when his ill daughter
relapses after her experimental heart transplant surgery, Hyun-min's boss
refuses to accept his resignation, telling him instead to take his work
home with him. But Hyun-min has more on his mind than a series of
unexplained serial killings where the bodies were literally melted,
leaving only the bones to mark their passing.
Things take a turn for the supernatural when a female
ghost -- complete with the usual long, straight dark hair and an ability
to stand perfectly still in the background, having appeared out of thin
air via creative camera angles -- begins haunting Hyun-min and his
daughter. Soon, Hyun-min is lured back into the hunt; he finds himself
working alongside Sun-young (Song Yoon Ah), his unwanted and unasked for
assistant. Predictably, the two starts to grow close, even as the
hauntings start to get more intense, and soon Hyun-min is seeing dead
women everywhere. Can he solve the hauntings before he and his daughter
succumb?
As alluded to in my opening remarks, there's little
about "Face" that anyone even remotely familiar with Asian
horror films will find original. You've seen it all before, and done
better, in movies like "Phone"
and "Into
the Mirror", not to mention the 200 other Korean horror movies
involving a female ghost with long dark hair. To wit: It's old hat. And in
fact it's almost shocking just how unoriginal "Face" is. You'd
expect filmmaker Sang-Gon Yoo to at least try, but the guy doesn't
even bother.
Although "Face" is so far from being
original that one would be justified in begrudging its very existence, at
least it was short. Yes, it's true. For once, a Korean horror film
actually lasted less than two hours! I'm just as shocked as you
are, my friends. So in that respect, although the film is grossly familiar
and barely registers as a "horror" movie, at least it flew right
by, taking as little of my time as possible. At just 80 minutes, I suppose
one can't really be that mad at it.
As for the performances, Shin Hyun Jun is his usual
somber and serious self, which the actor always does well. Song Yoon Ah is
a tad annoying in the beginning, but does eventually grow on you, as her
character also does on Hyun-min. When we first see Sun-young, she's
knocking on Hyun-min's door with the skull that he didn't want to work on;
after asking for a glass of water, she skidaddles, having left the skull
behind. Later, she has the nerve to show up and ask how it's all going.
Now that's gumption for ya.
Another point of note is that "Face"
doesn't have the slick visuals one has become accustomed to in a Korean
horror film. Even in something as tedious as "The
Uninvited" or as uninspired as "Unborn
But Forgotten", the camerawork in a South Korean film has always
been exceptional. With "Face", Sang-Gon Yoo has elected to shoot
much of the film at night, and he's employing a grittier vibe than one is
used to seeing in a Korean film. Of course the fact that "Face"
doesn't look nearly as good as its brethrens doesn't exactly give it
brownie points; if anything, it's just another negative for a movie
already working with very little advantages.
Watch "Face" is you've never seen an Asian
horror film in your life. But if you've seen just one, or even the
American remake of "Ring"
for that matter, there's nothing here to get excited about. It's passable
entertainment, even if it's derivative to the core.
Been there, done that, don't want the T-shirt.
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