Yesterday, I completed one of my 2009 goals by watching a horror film by myself for the first time. Or rather... I was told it was a horror movie, but would probably classify it as suspense. ^^; The film was actually really good! I was expecting something a lot different, but was quite happily surprised. In fact, it was also the first movie that made me cry (and not because it was too scary... haha).
A brief summary:
When Eun-soo crashes his car on a country road, he meets a young girl who leads him to her beautiful house in the middle of the forest, where he is welcomed by her parents and two young siblings, who appear to be the picture of the perfect family. The morning after, when he tries to get back to his car, the forest seems never-ending and inevitably leads back to the house. Soon Eun-soo realizes he’s trapped in the kids’ gloomy fairy-tale alternate reality, a world no other adult has managed to escape alive before him.
I would definitely recommend the film~ The eerie but playful imagery was probably what most impressed me. Someone who recommended this film to me said that if Tim Burton decided to make a movie in Korea, this is probably what it would look like. I think in a way I would have to agree. The "House of Happy Children" is full of rabbit decor, colorful toys, and other childlike imagery. But despite the cheerful appearance of the house, the darkness overshadows such colors... while we still see such imagery throughout the film, the movie continues to become more and more creepy. The brightly colored house stands as a disturbing reminder of who is really causing the havoc in the forest. The child actors gave excellent performances as well, blending a strange mix of cuteness and creepiness.
I guess the movie isn't really for everyone, as some people complained that the film used cheap tricks to try to scare the audience... While I agree that some of the scary parts were possibly overdone (I've only seen one other horror movie ^^'), the true reason why this movie was scary was because it wasn't a monster or a demon who set the trap in the woods; again, instead it was just three children. -_-; But... I was scared sometimes... haha. Maybe I'm just a chicken though. ^^;
I mentioned above that this was the first movie to make me cry. The end of the movie was quite emotional, and one scene in particular was just so sad ;o; At the time I was kind of tearing up, but... once they told Eunsoo... I couldn't help it, and tears came out haha. I told Richard about the movie today and started bawling xD Well... I actually have a lot more that I could say about the film in terms of plot, but I'm not sure how to do so without spoiling the movie -_-; So I guess you guys are going to have to watch it for yourself!
