(This review was published back in October '09 when the film was about to be released on DVD. I'm reposting it now because it played at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it garnered itself an audience rating of 3.6 out of 5...)
The herons are not what they seem!
Even though the marketing hints at yet another long-haired ghost movie made to cash in on the decade-old successes of "Ringu" and "The Grudge", Lee Yong-Ju's "Possessed" isn't that at all. In fact, his film is much more intelligent than any of those clones and certainly much more ambitious.
"Possessed" focuses on several people and how each of them handles their contact with a possibly supernatural power. And while this approach may not make it the scariest of movies, this film manages to stay quite eerie throughout its running time.
And Lee scores points by allowing his audience time to reflect on what is happening instead of pummeling them with fake scares, more evidence he placed thought over horror. It's a bold direction which may disappoint thrillseekers, but will pleasantly surprise those looking for a somewhat heartier meal.
The Plot:
Hee-Jin returns home to her mother when her young sister So-Jin has gone missing. So-Jin never fully recovered mentally from the car crash which killed their father, so Hee-Jin is worried sick. Their fanatically Christian mother on the other hand staunchly refuses to do anything but pray to God and hasn't even called the police yet. When Hee-Jin does involve a police detective he treats the situation as a regular runaway-case, and assumes the girl will return home soon by herself.
But when people living in the same building start committing suicide, each time leaving notes apologizing to So-Jin, both the detective and Hee-Jin start to investigate the circumstances surrounding the girl's disappearance. And soon they are confronted with evidence that So-Jin had developed special abilities like fortune-telling and faith-healing.
Different people have different interpretations of these powers though: according to her mother So-Jin is a savior sent by God, but others think she is possessed by an evil spirit while a local shaman has yet another take on this story. Both Hee-Jin and the police detective will have to evaluate what they themselves believe.
The Movie:
Horror can be used as a metaphor for a good many things (just ask David Cronenberg), but Lee Yong-Ju's "Possessed" works the other way round. It uses a horrific situation (the titular possession) to take a closer look at how people deal with such a thing. And the answer is not as simple as "run away, yelling" because this particular brand of possession has benefits as well as scares.
Say you met God in the flesh. What would you do? According to Lee Yong-Ju, without belief you'd be incredulous or offended. With only a little belief you'd tentatively ask God for proof, or ask for help, or even try to trick Him into doing something for you. But with full unquestioning belief the only outcome of such a meeting is despair and at best you are reduced to begging for mercy.
"Possessed" also states that non-belief is a luxury only awarded to the happy few who want nothing. The moment you start yearning for something badly enough, be it a longer life for yourself or your sick child being healed, you will grasp for anything no matter how unbelievable.
Making a horrorfilm based on such lofty themes could make for some very pretentious filmmaking but Lee deftly avoids that trap by keeping his film entertaining enough to hold your attention. Hee-Jin's search for the truth (or should that be The Truth?) unfolds as a detective novel and after a while I noticed that I was fascinated by the story. A far cry from the shock and disgust that are more common in horror! The mythology Lee uses for the "possession" is not one I've seen used often, making the film a lot more interesting than if he had used, say, a standard angry ghost.
And "Possessed" also looks good. There are a few cleverly composited setpieces in it, but my favorite moment is when Hee-Jin sits down on a bench and spots a heron walking towards her. Having lived in the Dutch swamplands since birth, I see herons on a daily basis and never fail to notice how striking these majestic birds are. And Lee Yong-Ju nails that feeling. It's a deceptively simple shot in the film but it does have impact and even supports the plot.
Acting is strong with all leads performing above-decently. The police detectives are shown a bit as caricatures but just when you think the film is slipping, a strong scene will appear which allows even those characters to shine. It all helps the viewer to focus on the story and its central questions.
Conclusion:
Director Lee Yong-Ju has delivered a very good debut film with "Possessed". He shows he is not afraid to pose serious questions even in what most people would count as a "genre"-flick and at the same he manages to keep you glued to the screen.
In general I am fed up with Asian horror but this film is a fine example why you should never generalize. It's a solid entry with an interesting premise and well worth checking out. Highly recommended!
Galleries
More from Possessed
- Reviews: TRIBECA 2010: POSSESSED Review
- Reviews: [K-FILM REVIEWS] 불신지옥 (Possessed)
- Galleries: Possessed
- News: Posters, gallery, trailer for Korean spookfest Possessed
Heh ... love the Twin Peaks allusion at the beginning there, Ard.
Scream. Faith. Living Death. Distrust Hell. Possessed.
This film might have more of a buzz about it if they could
settle on a bloody tittle for the damn thing.
I've seen all the above titles used at some point or other.
Anyway, great review. This seems like a return to the kind of
intelligent horror Korea used to turn out before they became
obsessed with cheap scares and rubbish twist endings.
It's not like they haven't managed one or two in the past few years, unless for some reason you lump Black House and the mighty Epitaph (well, most of it) under 'cheap scares and rubbish twist endings'. ;-)
But either way I'd like to see this. The Pot, too. It does seem like they might be slowly working past turning out nothing but cheap fodder for Palisades Tartan.
Todd, heheh... there was another one I wanted to use but that would be spoiling things.
Eight Rooks, I was not that impressed with "Epitaph" to be honest. It looked gorgeous (Korean art direction never ceases to impress me) but indeed the cheap scares and rubbish twist endings destroyed the mood for me.
Phil, you're right. Believe it or not but I actually contacted Showbox International prior to writing this review to ask if they could confirm the international title!
So "Possessed" it is, and indeed the film has been marketed to several countries already under this title.
Eh, different strokes... I've disliked or flat out avoided a great deal of recent Asian horror, but Epitaph scared the crap out of me. It was very uneven - the serial killer plotline was by far the weakest element - but the dream sequence in the medical attendant's story is easily one of my favourite scenes in anything, period. Then again, hey, I actually quite liked The Wig, so what do I know? :D
Regardless, another good review for this puts it firmly on my to-do pile.
- phil
To be fair, only Living Death and Possessed were game. Scream is only the direct translation of the film's previous Korean title (비명), Distrust Hell a very misleading translation of the current Korean title (불신지옥, which is something like "hell of the non-believers/infidels), and Living Death was used earlier on, after which things settled with the current Possessed, which happens to be a much better (if a little conventional) title.
Ard, thanks for the title confirmation. It's a pity they picked such
a generic title though.
Eight Rooks, I'll hold my hands up and admit to making a silly
generalization. I liked Epitaph (hope that doesn't make me a
hypocrite). Hansel & Gretel and Our Town were also quite good.
X, thanks for the info.
Thanks for the review Ard. I look forward to seeing this.
I'm not going to contribute my likes and dislikes concerning recent Asian horror for fear of reprisal. ;) They're different from yous guys's.
watched it a few months ago, really solid korean movie. excellent imagery, good pacing. liked it alot.
Felt this was a welcome return to crafting a solid, atmospheric horror film. A great cast turned in strong performances, calm restraint with regard to the subject matter. All of this maintained and built upon the overall sense of dread and sorrow.
The possession angle is treated with a lot of restraint. I think it adds to the character of the film - as well as to that of director Lee Yong-Joo. Displaying this much maturity over a subject that very well could been portrayed way over the top will cause me to keep an eye out for future projects by this director.
I'm curious to see how The Pot, another similarly themed Korean film which came out around the same time, compares.