Whispering Corridors

I really didn't expect much going into this film. I think I'd been burned by too many mediocre horror movies featuring ghosties in the past, so to watch one of the grandmamas of the modern Asian ghost girl genre had me bracing for every trite conceit that could be thrown my way. Whispering Corridors surprised me. Rather than really being a flashy story about hauntings and killings, it turns out more to be an exploration of the impact of the brutal South Corean high school system on the youth that attend it, using the horror genre as the medium.

First of all, I have to say that I wasn't frightened during this film. Not even for a brief moment. Rather than suspense and thrills, I was hooked into the mystery and dramatic elements that were at play. The way that the story is spun, there's no question as to who the ghost was or why it's doing the haunting, but rather, what the ghost's secret is. Now, astute viewers will pick up in the first few scenes of the film what we're looking for and I even managed to make the correct guess at it--although I really just had to watch to have my guess confirmed.

Another interesting aspect of the story is that there are three stories going on. One about an artistic student trying to express herself in a system that cares little for her expression, another about a former student who returns as a teacher trying to make peace with her memories and the last about a student rivalry between a model student and the second-rank peer. The strength of this approach is that we anticipate the collision of the separate story lines and are rewarded when they do collide. The weakness of the approach is that the story has to juggle three (well, really two--the third is a B-story) protagonists and sometimes seems to suffer from a lack of focus.

The film was clearly made in an era of Corean film-making that hasn't yet reached its more modern proficiency and the equipment/film stock used will have an almost grindhouse/direct-to-video feel to it for those who are only used to modern American/European cinema. Nevertheless, while the directing nor acting is spectacular, it is presented sufficiently as not to serve as a detraction from the story.

All in all, this is actually a pretty decent film, even if it's not as much of a horror film as I was expecting. The interesting intertwined story lines and the use of horror to explore societal and personal burdens (and with some measure of tact) left me pleasantly surprised with Whispering Corridors. I can't recommend it to all viewers as the aesthetics might turn off those only looking for beautiful films and those looking for scary ghost or gorefests will be horribly disappointed. But this is an interesting look at the Corean high school experience as well as an intriguing mystery. So, recommended to those with open minds and a willingness to look past the genre for the story within. 8/10.

While investigating the school files, the frightened teacher Mrs. Park startles and calls the young teacher Eun-young Hur (Mi-yeon Lee), telling her that the deceased Jin-ju Jang is back. The line dies and Mrs. Park is attacked and killed by a ghost. On the next morning, the teenager Jae-yi Yoon (Kang-hie Choi) waits for her friend Ji-oh Lim (Gyu-ri Kim), who has the ability to call the spirits, and they begin a close friendship. The abusive and aggressive Mr. Oh, a.k.a. Mad Dog, is the substitute of Mrs. Park and prohibits Ji-oh to paint and compares the performances of the pretty So-young Park (Jin-hie Park) and the weird Jung-sook Kim(Ji-hye Yun), raising a barrier between the two former friends. Miss Hur misses her former friend Jin-ju, who committed suicide, and while trying to contact her, she discloses a dark secret about the past of her friend and Mrs. Park.

I believe that the first point that impresses in "Yeogo Goedam", a.k.a. "Whispering Corridors', at least for Westerns, is the abusive treatment spent by the teachers with their students, brutally spanking and offending the harmless girls. I do not know if it is usual and acceptable this behavior of teachers, or if the intention of the director is to criticize and denounce how terrible this type of education might be. The story about friendship, needy and revenge has a magnificent cinematography, movements and angles of camera and some subtle insinuation of lesbianism. The performances are very convincing and my vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

'Whispering Corridors' is set in a South Korean all-girls high school, focusing on a senior class and four of its students. Although it's a horror film, Whispering Corridors seems to be a drama at heart. The school building is very atmospheric and eerie, and there's some spooky shots of long corridors and deserted classrooms. Along with that, we also explore the extremely competitive and harsh South Korean education system, identity and reputation, and the relationships between the four students and one teacher.

After the suicide of Mrs Park (or 'Old Fox' as she's known amongst the pupils), rumours begin circulating around the school about what caused her death. Girls fall out, and come together; there's a ghost who apparently haunts the old, disused art room, and people aren't who they first appear to be...

A thinking man's film indeed, this will have you scratching your head in some parts. Not a lot of blood, but some tense scenes of violence. A chilling atmosphere and setting endures throughout, the director certainly knows how to set a scene. He also gets the best of the cast, who are all exceptional. Mr Oh; aka Mad Dog, is a particular stand-out as a vile, abusive teacher. Altogether a very character and theme driven story, with interesting social commentary. If you like slow-burn, atmospheric, subtle horror, you'll like this.

P.S. There's an intriguing quote towards the end, where a character says "It didn't matter who I chose as long as I filled the seats." A comment on the emphasis upon status and reputation in the classroom, and thus, lack of identity? Or a jab at the thought that Asians look really similar? (At least to those from outside Asia.) Or both?

Whispering Corridors has much in common with the current tide of horror movie offerings from Japan. However, it is hardly derivative. The material may be recycled, but the filmmakers present it in a way that is different and anything but stereotypical. Don't watch this film expecting to see a massive body count and flying limbs. There are moments when you will see why this movie is classified as a horror film, but like most ghost stories, the power of this movie is demonstrated by what the filmmakers chose not to show us. The pace is slow and deliberate. I found it almost hypnotic, but it never lags. Some of the story elements are very convoluted, but ultimately this does not detract from the overall appeal of Whispering Corridors. A movie for the thinking horror fan.

Whispering Corridors is a totally scary, and entertaining horror flick from Korea. It's easy to see why this was the first of an explosion of Asian Horror films like the Ring and the Grudge, because the director, Park Ki-Hyung is definitely well versed in American horror and uses his understanding of the genre to make the movie really appealing to any American horror fan. Whispering Corridors is the first in a trilogy of films. The first death in the movie and all of the rest are really reminiscent of the slashers like Friday the 13th and other late 70's early 80's American horror which are the staples of the genre. If you like horror films and have seen the best ones, you'll immediately see why this one fits right in to that group. What's really cool about it, is that there's no CG (computer generated effects). All of the blood and deaths etc. are all done with real actors, and it's almost more believable than the over-the-top current American horror genre. There's something so tangible about the blood in the film. It's bright red, and creeps the viewer out in a way that CG children running around (like in the Grudge) could never fully achieve.

The whole film takes place around an all girls school-- and with girls in uniforms and mysterious murders, you've got the makings of a great horror narrative. The first 20 minutes really suck you into the story as Ki-Hyung moves the camera much like 70's DePalma or Hitchcock--It's seductive. The school building becomes horrifying in and of itself. The way Ki-Hyung presents the school makes it like an evil edifice similar to the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's The Shining.

The tone is similar to Rosemary's Baby in that the girls are consistently trying to figure out what the problem is-they want to get to the bottom of it, but the forces out of their control, i.e. the school teachers, get in their way, and they get in trouble. The grainy look of the film and the way the sound design/score are used is totally an homage to the classic horror films of the 70's. In the movie, the Korean school system is depicted as an evil force that represses the girls, abuses them, and ultimately is the motivating force that makes the one girl commit suicide and become the ghost who murders her enemies throughout the film. The performances by the girls are great. And the colors of the film are so dreary, that you can't help but feel like you're there. The end of the movie has a really amazing image of the two main girls alone in the classroom with blood pouring out of the walls and the ceiling. Overall, this film is really entertaining, and psychologically interesting, and will scare the crap out of you. The Tartan DVD release is pretty awesome. It has trailers for a lot of Asia Extreme films, 5.1 surround sound, photos, and English/Spanish subtitles.