Witch Board: Bunshinsaba

My girlfriend and I were staying in Utah for the Sundance Festival, and one night back at home, we found this movie on the On Demand digital cable. We dig the Asian horror genre, so we went for it. And I was thinking it would have the potential to be really crappy, but to my delight, it was actually pretty good. It kept me entertained, and it was pretty creepy. So if you like Asian horror, and you don't demand that every movie be Citizen Kane or whatever, then you should like this. Unfortunately, it's probably a moot point for anyone here in the US, because it doesn't appear to be for sale? But you could try one of those Asian-DVD places like Red Sun or something. I had a difficult time finding this on here, because the alternate titles were a mess... the cable company listed it as one thing, and the English translation in the opening credits had something else. But good ol' powersearch eventually brought me home.

Bunshinsaba is your typical long-haired ghost-girl trope horror movie, that runs out of steam really fast. It has a very good first act, and is well directed, well lit, and does not rely on special effects. It also has an original premise, and is well acted. I especially liked the opening, which wasted no time to get right to the premise of the movie. The problem is, that the movie quickly turns into a paint-by-numbers of The Ring. A lot of the foreshadowing (if you can even call it that) is so obvious, that if there were any surprises or twists in the second act, they are long gone before you even get there. The movie also over-indulges in dramatic lightning strikes during close ups, and shows the ghosts way too much. This sucks the suspense right out of the movie. Halfway through the film, it started to drag, and I just wanted the movie to end. One of the movie's main problems, is that there are no stakes in the third act. The main characters have no means of stopping the ghost, and thus there is no tension. We're basically just watching the ghost kill a lot of characters that we don't like any way, with no means for the main characters of stopping her. No stakes or likable victims, means no suspense. It's a shame, because the movie is well directed, well shot, and has great use of scene lighting. I even liked the music that played over the ending credits, before it was interrupted by a standard Asian pop song. But I can't really recommend this movie. It's not bad, it's just sub par.

Yoo Jin was transferred back to a high school in her parents' hometown.Having a tough time dealing with her new surroundings,she puts a curse on four girls that tormented her.As each of them mysteriously burns to death,the school is thrown into a chaos.The mayor of the village throws fear into the entire town when he announced that Yoo Jin has called upon the spirits of a mother and daughter who were brutally killed in the village some thirty years back.He suggests that they drive Yoo Jin and her family out of the town.However mysterious deaths still occur...Admittedly the story of "Bunshinsaba" is highly unoriginal as it borrows heavily from "Ringu","Whispering Corridors" and "Into the Mirror",but there is enough creepiness to keep fans of Asian horror on the edge of their seats.The girls in high school uniforms are cute and the acting is decent.Se-eun Lee is stunningly beautiful with her big expressive eyes and soulful looks.The sequence which takes place on a barren highway at night is truly eerie."Bunshinsaba" is definitely quite derivative and uninspired,but if you like Asian spooky flicks give it a look.7 out of 10.

Bunshinsaba is not a name that will roll off of your tongues. Comes in the wake of other far eastern horror movies, and generally follows similar traits to them. Story surrounds the horrific "suicides" of girls at a school in a Korean village, whilst bringing back memories of dark chapters in the communities past.

As is the norm for Korean movies, probably the best in the world at the moment, the film is set in beautiful scenery whilst the direction and acting is surprisingly great also taking in the age of a number of the actors. Really puts to shame the teen horror films from the US.

On the other hand, the film's main weaknesses are two fold. The story meanders and doesn't seem coherent, whilst the film also takes too much from others in the genre, e.g. the teenage girl with long hair who is the outsider (e.g. Ringu, Phone), broken families, ghosts, revenge etc... At points it appeared to go for frights above all else, trying to outdo it peers, but really its the storyline that is usually the most important point of the Far Eastern horror films. Regardless, original it really isn't, but its still not bad. I enjoyed it, but I still wouldn't push anyone to go watch it. A good viewing but no classic.

Well is there anything we haven't seen before? The answer is simple 'NO'. As the plot suggests, the whole movie revolves in the consequences. As any other Asian movie you'll find the same girl with long hair coming over and over on the screen to frighten you with some acoustic bass and creepy sounds. Here the problem is that it repeats again and again with very low scare scale. The story is pretty simple and there's nothing much to expect. Still it manages to keep us awake with the screenplay. They should have modified the story and presented with some surprises as the basic idea of horror i.e. the woman with long hair fails here. The atmosphere which builds is definitely creepy to some extent but not up to the mark. The theme is also the old lame revenge of ghost type which makes it just an average movie who might be able to frighten amateurs.