Arang (2006)

Genre: Horror/Mystery
Directed by Sang-Hoon Ahn
Written by Sang-Hoon Ahn, Seon-Ju Jeong, Jeong-Seob Lee, & Yun-Kyung Sin
Korean w. English Subs

/5


(Watch the Trailer Here)

The Deal...
Director Sang-Hoon Ahn borrows the traditional Korean folktale "Arang" and transforms it into a modern-day thriller about a series of inexplicable murders, a haunted salthouse by the sea, and a vengeful ghost that carries a shameful secret. Haunted by an encounter with a vicious sexual predator as a young woman and determined to deliver justice, Min So-Young becomes a detective at a Korean police headquarters. Having been assigned the fresh, inexperienced Lee Hyun-Gi as her partner, Min is handed the case of several mysterious murders: young men that were friends in life, and have apparently been suffocated by ghostly hands. Driven by her own emotions, Min takes a special interest in the case when she discovers a vague and mysterious connections between the string of murders and an abandoned salthouse in the Korean countryside that is said to be haunted by the ghost of a girl that disappeared 5 years ago. Gradually, Min and Lee unravel the sorrowful tale of the girl's last weeks alive, the reasons for the serial murders, and the true identity of the serial murderer...



Did Wrongs:
I encountered a lot of hype about "Arang" before viewing it, and I must admit that I was disappointed. This movie is boring. I generally enjoy movies that are well thought-out and slowly paced, but "Arang" takes this to the extreme. Despite being a twisted-fairytale turned murder mystery, "Arang" manages to be generally unexciting and only somewhat interesting. The plot and dialogue are extremely disjointed and somewhat hard to follow; many details are thrown in that are admittedly creepy and yet completely unrelated to the story, or details are left unexplained and brought up later, eliciting a viewer reaction of "Wtf?"
Although many a commenter on the website upon which I viewed this film described it as "pretty," I was unimpressed by the CG and appearance of the "Arang" ghost. The haunting scenes are very predictable: just "same ol'" Asian ghost moments .
The main acting is poor, and the ending is overly drawn-out with a ridiculous and unnecessary twist.

Did Rights:
"Arang" is loosely based on a Korean folktale of the same name. In the traditional "Arang," a young noblewoman is raped and murdered, her body mysteriously preserved. She returns from the grave as a ghost to beg the living for vengeance on her killer, eventually receives it, and is able to rest in the afterlife. Sang-Hoon does an interesting and impeccable job of transforming the story of Arang into a modern ghost story. He successfully updates the folktale, while still remaining true to the original events, and adds in quirky twists and modern edits/omissions. The story of the vengeful Arang is intriguing in itself and an interesting choice of fairytale to adapt (reminiscent of Yong-Gyun Kim's film "Bunhongsin"/"The Red Shoes" (2005)).
Sang-Hoon attempts (and fails at) the addition of small subplots to the main murder/haunting mystery, so credit must be given.The characters are somewhat believable, and (despite the bad acting) the female lead is an admirable and strong protagonist. Meanwhile, the surprise antagonist is superb: his/her reveal is very well done and very surprising. It was my favourite part of the movie... indeed, the only parts of the movie that I liked.

You can find a somewhat more complete explanation of the folktale "Arang" Here.