The story of a ghostly girl or the tragedy of a father who could not find a way to help his daughter to fight back against abusers.
A young man, Kang In-sung, moves from the capital to a small provincial town to his uncle, who lives as a hermit and rarely leaves home. The young man does not immediately find a common language with classmates, especially among new faces there is one person who knows about his most secret, a beginner is able to see ghosts. But the newcomer Kang is not discouraged, as he meets a pretty girl So-hee, who is also a ghost.
The film turned out to be twofold for me, if the first part of the film was bright enough and fun, what is the uncle with his quirks? Later in the middle, the film acquires some grotesque gloom and despondency that definitely brings the film to the horror genre, allowing the director to slowly and tastefully reveal the entire plot of the film. Which is quite confusing and very difficult to perceive, since it is not clear who is who and who wants to kill whom.
The denouement is not predictable, and again repeats all the classic techniques of Korean thrillers - this is a film about the thirst for revenge. Revenge, which was awakened by the indifference of the surrounding world. This has been played out many times in Korean films, but rarely has the film been both a funny, teenage film about first love and a complex story about relationships at school.
The actors are young, cute and energetic, but they seemed too young to me. The protagonist Kang, a handsome guy who at first was very afraid of his gift of seeing ghosts, but still took himself together and helped the ghost to free himself from the revenge that burned her from the inside, but for all that, the young man seemed to me stingy on emotions and not too confident in his acting skills. So-hee’s main character is a charming girl, and that’s all I can say about her. But most of all I have questions for Uncle Kahn, a strange and almost deranged character, how one could isolate himself from society, how one could deny his gift, he could also see ghosts.
I can’t say that the film “The Story of a Ghost Girl” can surprise you with something new and unusual, everything is told fairly dryly and sparingly, special attention is paid to teenage cruelty in high school, and indifference from others, one way or another the film is made for teenagers and about teenagers, is determined by the presence of a cute main character, not too terrible ghosts, some romantic story between people from different worlds, if you can call the sympathy of a ghost and a young man, and the clip shooting of the film. Not a masterpiece, but a viewer will find.
In-su is a guy who sees ghosts. Moreover, this “gift” is clearly hereditary, since his uncle, whom In-su moves to go to a new school, also sees the “inhabitants” of the other world. One day a guy sees a pretty girl with whom he starts a conversation and soon the two become friends. At this time, students begin to disappear at school, and In-su notices a ghost with a mask on his face. To find out where the students go, the guy will first have to find out who is hiding under the mask of a ghost.
Yes, the plot is unpretentious and even somewhat cute. Why "cute"? Because before us in the ideal love story, over which it will be necessary not only to be humbled, but also to shed a lot of tears. And it is worth mentioning at once that it will be the heroes of the film who will shed tears for the most part, so yes - this is not horror and, most likely, not even a thriller; this is a mystical drama with an admixture of comedy (the comedy here, however, will be intensively created only by Uncle In-su).
So, In-su is transferred to a new school, returning to his native land, which in elementary school he had to leave because of some unpleasant incident. The guy here, in principle, many classmates remember how they remember his ability to see ghosts, which is why immediately the unfortunate is recorded as a loser. They laugh and joke at him, but In-su himself is not particularly interested in communicating with anyone, although in general our hero is quite an ordinary guy, sociable and cheerful. We understand this when he meets So-hi - a cute girl who showed interest in the hapless schoolboy. Against the background of the emerging feelings between these two viewers will be simultaneously plunged into the so-called "horrors" - after all, some maniac begins to hunt for classmates, and the guy himself sees a ghost in a white mask leaving bloody traces of hands on any surface he touches. To tell the truth, I did not quite understand what was happening in the first half of the film, since the events were very confused: then we plunge into a one hundred percent love drama, almost roaring with tenderness, watching the relationship between In-su and So-hi; then suddenly a sunny day is replaced by a gloomy apartment in which a classmate In-su sees a bag with the corpse of her dog. So, intermittently, the viewer will be thrown from one to another until the very end, which, frankly, is slightly discouraging.
Keep going. I return to the “tears” that I have already mentioned: in general, since we have a romantic-mystical craft here, then, therefore, we expect that the most heart-wrenching is stored in the end, and no – did not guess. We begin to shed tears almost at the very beginning, when Ying-su recalls his childhood and the episode that forced him to leave his native lands - yes, the touching music and expression of Ying-su (whose place is exclusively in lav-doras, not in thrillers) can make anyone's heart shrink. After all, what kind of movie are we watching? Why instead of fear and tension, the viewer sees the lyrics? Come on, the plot was twisted and gave a good intrigue, and there is a mess - all the cards are open almost immediately, and if for someone they remained closed, it is unlikely he will be surprised in the final.
However, it seemed that no one from the creators especially thought about the message of the film - after all, if you take any "sick" school theme (and in Asian countries this is not a problem at all), and add more pitiful moments, then any viewer eats it by both cheeks and does not choke. The answer is simple and obvious – this is so familiar, everyone was a schoolboy, so, in fact, the bet is made correctly, although it is dragged to the ground. Well, in "History..." no one bothered to dilute the plot with something at least a little new, since the main idea is not full of anything original (the move with the fact that the main character sees ghosts, by the way, is also a failure - how many films and TV series were shot on this topic).
What we get as a whole: this film is either for schoolchildren, to whom such “undaunted” plots can be shown; or it is a tape for too sentimental people who are not tired of the banal relationship between a modest boy and a modest girl. I didn’t see anything interesting here, because if the viewer sits down to watch a movie of the genre of “thriller” or “horror”, he hopes to get it at least halfway. It is a pity that O In-cheon did not take this into account.
“Traitors and murderers are not so terrible, because they can only betray or kill, but those who are indifferent are terrible; all crimes are committed with their tacit consent.”
There was such a Soviet film “Afonya”, a quote from which became the headline for review. So, the problem raised by the drama “Girl’s Tomb” sounds like this.
The plot is simple: In Su is the main character, a high school student sees ghosts, but, at the convincing insistence of his uncle, who has the same gift, completely ignores guests from the other world. They say there's nothing they can do to bother themselves. But calmness from the spirits does not come, even to hide from them behind high walls, pasted with leaves with spells and hung with various amulets.
Not only spirits, but, alas, and living people, Ying Su is in no hurry to help, closing, out of habit, ears from unwanted requests for help. Eyes too. But it is better to turn away altogether, suddenly pity will overtake, and terrible, reproaching words will break off from the tongue. However, everything changes after meeting a guy with one of the ghosts - a girl dressed in a school uniform, and looking his age. Parallel to a sweet and kind spirit, Ying-soo meets a malevolent ghost in a mask, brutally punishing high school students. For what? Why the mask? Who is this ghost and how do the victims know his name? The film keeps us in suspense until the end, where we finally learn the terrible truth.
The drama caused me unpleasant emotions and strongly touched my heart. It is impossible not to remember a thousand or more situations in your life when you turn away from a suffering person, afraid to attract the attention of his tormentors. In every class, I have no doubt, there was a scapegoat on which all the bumps fell. The abuse of such a person reached an incredible cruelty, and adults could not do anything about it.
For what? The ghost of a girl who committed suicide was once a living and cheerful person. Who loved justice and proved his love by the surest method of fighting for it. As soon as she took a step aside, she immediately came under fire from her classmates who hated her. How come she dared to protect an innocent man? Now she will be back in ten times!
The film is in one breath, from the first to the last minute. In some places there is a wild tremor, but not the same as when watching a normal horror. Human cruelty has no limits, and pictures of it always evoke the strongest eerie emotions. A little dilutes the atmosphere of the uncle of the main character, a funny “wise sander”, who intends to sit in the shelter all his life. He chose to hide from reality and not help the spirits. Not knowing what their last hope is. No one listened to these ghosts when they were alive, and no one listened after they died. Nothing is more oppressive than the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, and the indifference of those who hear you.
The musical accompaniment in the film is always in the theme, at the right moments, whipps up the atmosphere, and at tense breaks off, forcing us to hear our own rapid breathing. I wouldn’t call The Grave of a Girl a full-fledged horror movie, but rather a drama full of realism, despite its mystical component.
The film does not impose its vision of the world on the viewer, it does not encourage everyone to go and do justice - it simply shows us what awaits a person who has acted according to conscience. It is terrible to be in the place of the downtrodden society, but even more terrible to get into a crowd of indifferent. Those who are silent, hide their faces, turn away, close their doors and windows do not realize that they are full participants in the crime. There is nothing in the world more terrible than indifference, this is the main idea of the drama. It is up to us to decide whether we will stick to it in our lives.
A strange boy visits his strange uncle and meets a strange girl. A boy sees the dead, an uncle sees the dead, a dead girl sees her. The boy goes to school, the girl does not remember anything about herself. A boy draws, a girl pretends to be alive. In genres, it is stated that this is a thriller, but the fear here is frankly secondary. It is more of a drama, with the drama of secondary characters interrupting the main line. The main characters have everything in bright sadness on sunny days and their story is lubricated against the background of restlessness, loneliness and fear. A boy is cute, a girl makes beautiful faces, but a little dead girl makes them at times.
The plot itself is not as standard as you expect, but nothing that would highlight it (the plot) in a separate plus. The actors play smoothly, again nothing outstanding. I was missing a few explanations, but I can see more.
Sometimes there comes a time when you want to tickle your nerves. Everyone has a time when you get tired of all these vanilla melodramas, the always wet eyes of the heroine of the next drama and sudden movements in each scene of the action movie. I want a pleasant horror that will interest you with a thoughtful plot, scare you in certain scenes and end well. This was the “Girl’s Grave” – not tensing, but not annoying.
The plot in itself is not very twisted, habitual. There's a guy who sees ghosts. There is a girl who is a ghost. They start to communicate, they have a lot in common, and they are not afraid. But then a terrible secret comes to the fore... If you remember that in every film there should be intrigue, then in “Girl’s Grave” it is average. The viewer will guess who is killing everyone, but the interest will remain, because the cause of the murders will be vile and shocking. In many ways, the "Girl's Tomb" is built on stamps - here and the effect of surprise, abomination and dirt, darkness and abandoned places, the wilderness of the province and new in this province. In the end, whether everything is in the best style of horror, or the lack of imagination of the creators.
Heroes are cute, beautiful in themselves, but no more. There is no clearly written character in them, although if you think about it, then this is not the main thing in horror. The main thing is that you need to skilfully scream, make a frightened look and be popular enough to pull a mid-budget film to a hit, or even higher. And under these three factors, the actors were perfectly matched. Kang Ha Nul was the one pulling for the hit. Kim Seo-un is a beautiful heroine with frightened eyes, and all the minor heroes knew how to scream.
As a result, a good entertainment horror came out, after which it is not scary to look under the bed in the dark, do not listen to every rustle in the dark and do not think that your house is inhabited by ghosts. I was pleased with the slight hint of a sequel, if the second part comes out, I hope it will be with the same atmosphere. The most important moral (and she turns out to be horrified there is!) is that school is like a prison, there is always someone who is bullied.
A beautiful story about salvation, friendship and love, so pure and sincere, from which you just want to smile and rejoice. But, alas, she came out tragic, like the main characters like Romeo and Juliet, loving each other with all their heart, but unable to get out of the strong hands of fate, which played a cruel joke with them. But I would like to touch on a not so romantic line, which is actually very weak. If you do not look closely, then the relationship of the main characters is similar to family, as if they are brother and sister, who are ready to go through fire and water to save each other. They stumble, fall on stones, scratching the body in the blood, but continue to get up, overcoming the obstacles of fate.
One of the truest truths is also shown in the film. While the strong mock the weak, suppressing them with their spirit, the rest quietly pretend that everything is in order. No one interferes in other people’s affairs, believing that he does not need unnecessary problems. Most often, this leads to similar outcomes, as with the main character. Then all those who pretended to be ignorant change a little, only now they convince themselves that they are not guilty of anything and it happened for another reason. In fact, it's very frightening to watch people ignore other people's problems. It's really incredibly scary. If earlier, fleeing from some maniac, the victim fled to a large crowd, now it is difficult to say whether she would have escaped there. As Sehi endured the bullying, losing hope of salvation every day, her classmates continued to move on, smiling and laughing as she sobbed and begged to stop.
The film turned out to be scary... not scary, as most often in Asian horror films, but scary. Or did I become too impressionable that I could not even stand the second? Sahee to the point that the half of the story just closed its eyes when it appeared. Mysticism attracted, especially the ghost who visited the uncle of the main character. He is really very sweet and so friendly that he pretty much defused the atmosphere every time he appeared. After tears, looking at him, came peace and a smile.
There was a strange aftertaste, as if something was missing. One thought never leaves my head: “What if he had stayed?” Would Sehi have suffered as well, or could he have helped her with a helping hand in time? It is sad to realize that such an opportunity existed, but they missed it and therefore everything ended in a similar kind.
The finale ... clearly reflects the main idea of the film. Nothing is over and bullying other people will never go away. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to save everyone.
9 out of 10
"Am I guilty of something?" Do I not live happily in this great world? Why am I the only one suffering? Why doesn’t anyone help by pretending everything is okay? I want them all to feel the same. Can you hear your heart pounding faster with fear, your bones breaking, and a cry of pain coming out of your throat? It's easier for me now.
