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 hether the South Korean horror "The
Wig" is seen as yet another in an
increasingly long series of films about malevolent
inanimate objects, or as a bizarre offshoot of the
never ending long haired female ghost cycle, it is
hard not to come to the initial conclusion that
the premise of a haunted hairpiece represents the
bottom of the barrel being thoroughly scraped.
That having been said, there is no real reason why
such a concept shouldn't have just as much a
chance of being effective as its myriad peers, as
there is at least something vaguely unsettling in
the thought of demonic hair. If nothing else, the
undeniably risible idea sets itself up quite
nicely for wacky entertainment, conjuring images
of flying wigs and unfortunate characters
suffering the indignity of being somehow murdered
by their own wayward coiffures.
Sadly, first time director Won Sin Yeon chooses to
ignore any such potential amusement, and tackles
the concept with an undeserved straight face and
an unflinchingly serious manner. What is perhaps
stranger, and which ultimately ruins the film, is
the fact that he also veers away from the horrific
elements inherent in the story, focusing instead
on melodrama and a series of convoluted character
relationships. Although this in itself is no great
cinematic crime, the end result is a film without
any real identity or interest that is neither
frightening enough to work as horror, nor gripping
enough to work as a slice of human drama.
The plot follows two sisters, Chi Hyon (Yoo Seon,
"The
Uninvited") and the younger Su Hyon (Chae
Min Seo, "Champion") who have
encountered a great deal of tragedy in their
lives. As the film starts, Su Hyon is released
from the hospital after being treated for cancer
from which she has very little chance of
recovering. Since the process has caused her hair
to fall out, Chi Hyon buys her sister a wig to
help her adjust. Soon, Su Hyon is showing a
renewed vigour despite her condition, and changes
are apparent in both her behaviour and appearance.
Chi Hyon slowly comes to the logical conclusion
that the wig is possessed and that it is slowly
taking control of Su Hyon for its own deadly
purpose.
Aside from the presence of a phantom thatch, this
is obviously a very familiar set up, and one which
has been used countless times before. Given this,
it is perhaps unsurprising that director Yeon
decides to focus on his characters, and to allow
them to drive the film rather than its
depressingly predictable plot. Unfortunately, this
proves ineffective, as all of the roles are poorly
defined and sketchily drawn, with murky and
obscure motivations, meaning that the film
progresses in a manner which is both bewildering
and without any emotional resonance.
The viewer is given only hints of the
protagonists' backgrounds, and therefore no real
frame of reference for what may or may not be
strange behaviour on Su Hyon's part, or indeed any
reason to care about or judge them beyond
immediate events. Exposition does finally come
around three quarters of the way through the film,
and is packed into a confusing two minute montage
which seems to have been thrown in as an
afterthought, and which is simply far too late to
generate any kind of connection with the
characters.
The detective element of the film, essential for
creating any kind of mystery or interest in the
wig itself, is sorely neglected, and basically
relegated to a character's sudden, inexplicable
decision to investigate an old factory, which
leads conveniently to a series of explanatory
visions. Such lazy plotting is indicative of the
whole film, and even though the central revelation
itself is suitably ludicrous, it is handled in a
po-faced manner which smothers any camp value it
may have had, and is made all the worse by a
pointless, tacked on final non-twist.
Beyond endless discussions which are filled either
with tears or cryptic portents, very little
actually happens in "The Wig", and the
film creeps along at a wearingly slow speed. Won
Sin Yeon seems to have little interest in scaring
the viewer, and throws in only a handful of
potential frights, mostly based around Su Hyon's
odd and frequently bloody visions, or the old
dependable genre staples such as someone looming
suddenly into the frame and cats leaping out of
cupboards in which they clearly have no business
hiding.
Although
a wig is obviously not the easiest of villainous
objects to bestow with sinister life, the director
virtually ignores this aspect of the film
entirely, limiting its role to being dropped on
the floor a couple of times before sluggishly
crawling around during the less than thrilling
finale. Visually, the film has a grey, subdued
palette, and is shot in a slow, deliberate manner
which only serves to drag the pace down even
further. This stately, almost self-important air
and the constant, discordant choral music mean
that the film is simply too dull in every aspect
to be as stylish as the director seems to believe.
More than anything, "The Wig", whilst
not technically a bad film or at least no worse
than the majority of its all too similar brethren,
frustrates as the viewer can never quite shake the
feeling that something ludicrous is lurking under
the surface, desperately trying to break free
despite the director's desperate attempts to
convince otherwise. As a result, the film is no
more than simply another ghost story, and a rather
lifeless one which takes itself far too seriously,
especially given the fact that it revolves around
a blatantly ridiculous concept.
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