The story premise isn't new: three years after a group of college friends drive a girl with Sadako-like powers to kill herself, they all start dying violent deaths. What's unclear until the final act is whether the spirit of the deceased girl has come back to wreak her revenge, or whether one of the group has cracked up and is committing the murders themselves.
Fans of Korean cinema may remember lead actress Gyu-ri Kim as the Jessica Alba lookalike in "Whispering Corridors" (aka Yeogo Goedam) and she turns in another fantastic performance here. All of the cast members do, in fact - with Ji-won Ha as the Sadako-like girl mentioned above particularly impressive in the flashback scenes. Director/Writer Byeong-ki Ahn, who went on to direct "Phone" in 2002, shows a competent hand at direction with a few excellent set pieces and some genuinely spine-tingling suspense. If you manage to avoid jumping at least three times during this film, you're a braver soul than I!
NIGHTMARE's shortcomings come in the plot department, with a few plot holes and convoluted story strands making it hard to follow at times. You're also not sure whether it's a slasher pic or a ghost story - but that's intentional, I suppose! Watch out for the final twist at the very end - it completely turns the rest of the film on its head - which, although out of the blue, at least leaves the viewer in no doubt as to what's happened.
Had this been a little easier to follow throughout, NIGHTMARE would be getting my highest recommendation of 5 stars. As it is, though, fans of Asian horror shouldn't be disappointed and - although it's no RINGU or THE EYE - there's plenty to keep the average horror fan entertained. ***.5 / *****
