This movie has an unique story, I've never seen it like this and this movie is quite remarkable. The movie uses the fairytale as the red thread, with some other things thrown in there.
The first half off the movie might come off slow and even boring, but this connects very well to the second part of the movie, so don't give up! I also had a hard time continue the movie, but it was so worth it.
The are some 'comical' parts, but I believe if they could have kept a serious tone throughout the movie that it would have made it better.
This movie is classified as horror, but I thought it has a more of a thriller/mystery vibe. But I do warn you that some things can be considered as gross.
The actors did a splendid job, I had sometimes a hard time with the facial expressions of the main lead. But overall it was well en greatly done!
The music was lovely, especially the music from the flute.
I would rewatch this movie, because I think it is one of a kind. But, this is also a movie that you really going to like or going to dislike, there is no inbetween.
Watch this if you like an unique storyline, great acting and good story.
Skip this if you want a horror movie or if you are expecting romance.
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a heartbreaking story
If you're looking for a happy ending, this movie doesn't serve that. But I promise you, you should still watch it because it's worth all your time. The rats aren't the disgusting ones in the film and you'll see that later on. It displays the different sides of humanity, to how cruel and wicked people can be, to what happens to even the kindest people when all hopes are lost.I am not a hard person to please. If the story line is decent and I am indulged in the movie, I will like it. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful as well. I like everything about this movie. The only reason why I gave the rewatch value an 8 instead of a 10 is because this movie is quite a hard watch, as in there are some parts that made me quite teary (also graphic). I would probably have to be in a particular mood to prepare myself to watch this.
While some people may question the demeanor change of our protagonist, I felt it was completely understandable? In a way? No, not because I'm a gruesome person, but because I can feel for him. He fulfilled what he promised to the villagers, yet, he was robbed of his payment, had his finger cut off, thrown out of the village with nowhere else to go, and then loses his son. It is pretty clear at this point he already had no more will left to live and saw no point of continuing (why he severed his remaining fingers and said he'll let the rats eat him later). Let's also not forget that all of this ties back to the curse the Shaman planted on the villagers.
Heartbreaking film, but I enjoyed it and it was well done~
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“People forget kindness easily, but they remember cruelty.”
The movie is basically 1 hour and 20 minutes of exposition that leads to the last 25 minutes of showdown that feel heartbreaking, but somehow cathartic. It’s really slow paced, until it’s not, but the wait is worth it.Would I call it a horror movie? No. Sure, it does have horror elements, but it’s far more psychological thriller, or even dark psychological drama. Most of the movie has this borderline silly vibe, with underlying tension caused by the Head of the village - it’s hard to predict his nature. There are quite a few comedic elements, which for me make the dark ending that much darker.
It’s a story of a normal, rather good man Woo Ryong, and how external circumstances affected him. It’s hard to talk about the plot without giving away any spoilers. Most of the movie is just him and his son slowly integrating into a village, until someone sees it as a threat.
What I really enjoyed was how many small moments, lines and actions in the first half came back closer to the end - tying everything together.
The acting was great. Ryu Seung Ryong aced both the light and darker side of Woo Ryong. I honestly wish we had seen more of the unhinged one.
Production wise, the rats could have been better. There were moments when they looked beyond fake. That said, the rest of the movie was simply beautiful.
Overall, worth pushing through, even if you feel like nothing is really happening. For some, the sudden change of tone can seem abrupt, but for me it was slowly, but meticulously crafted with many details and hints of what’s to come.
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I can already tell you that I wish this was a movie I could write a really long review to and hype it up.. But y'all... when I say this movie ripped my heart out, I mean I started literally gross sobbing and could not stop even when it was over. I see why people would say this is a horror movie, but to me... oh my gah to me there are no words. I still have no words which is probably why this will be the worst review I've ever written.
I really hope people read my review and decide to watch it though. Crying or not, it was a really amazing movie. Usually a cover and synopsis has to pull me in, especially the cover - This cover did little to pull me in. If anything when I saw it, I giggled and was like "what the hell is this?" but because it was in the "horror" category, I added it to my watch list.... where it has been sitting for over a month now. I am not happy about that. I wish I had watched it sooner.... As I always seem to feel when I delay on reading/watching anything for a while. Anyone else ever realize that? (Side note: If you have something sitting in your TBR/TBW list, pick it up NOW, because chances are, it's a gem. We sleep on gems for some reason!!)
The acting in this movie was really amazing and was so believable that I feel like if I see any of these people in other movies, I will probably hate them. I loved the piper and his son though. They were such angels and so pure. What happened to them was NOT fair. But that's like usual life isn't it? It sees the good and life is like "lol no. Kill it". It's really sad when you think about it.
Wow that was dark... but hell, this movie was dark.
The ending was so fucking amazing though. I laughed... because I am a terrible sadistic person I guess. But the very end-end (those that watch it know what I mean by this) made me kinda confused. Like... why didn't they attack them? and why would he do what he did? It kinda left me confused? I mean I get why. Grief makes you do insane things. So I get it yet I don't? I don't know. If anyone else has seen this movie let me know what you think about the ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
I started this movie because it seemed to be an interesting movie and wanted to see how it would all end. However, I was not prepared for the disappointing story, The attitude of the villagers, in the beginning, made no sense to me. Were they really that fearful of strangers. That was one of the odd things. The second odd thing was their reason for betraying the MC. I felt it was just an extremely lousy, stupid, selfish reason. They could have just set him on his way. The story was inconsistent at that part because the village head himself told his son that people do not remember good deeds just bad ones. He knew and believed this statement but went ahead and committed the atrocities he did? That is just a plain stupid character. Then, the fate of his son was just unexpected and I think it was just thrown in for shock value because, at that point in the movie, I was already angry at the foolishness of the villagers that I was not even saddened by what happened to Young Nam. The third odd thing was the world-building. It was not done well because I do not understand how the parents and the children could have slept separately. The good things about the movie are the acting and the tragic ending of the villagers. Very disappointed. Was this review helpful to you?
I did feel sad at those parts but not enough for the guy to react in the way he did after basically being 'a good person ' all this time. I couldn't see his crazy, i couldn't feel that switch flipping in his brain, so the end I'm not opposed to dark nihilistic endings but this one just wasn't believable.
Still, for the overall story I feel it's worth watching.
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