Cello/"Homgmijoo Ilga Salinsagan" (2005)

Genre: Horror/Drama/Mystery
Directed by Woo-cheol Lee
Written by Woo-cheol Lee
Korean w. English subtitles

/5

(Watch the Trailer Here)

The Deal...
When music theory instructor Hong Mi Ju gives a bad grade to a cello prodigy, the angered student vows revenge. Mi Ju is shaken, but thinks nothing of it... until her household is turned upsidedown by a series of terrifying events: Mi Ju recieves threatening text messages, finds her car tires slashed, and hears haunting cello music coming from her eldest daughter's room. At first, Mi Ju blames the vengeaful student and seeks disciplinary action... until a mysterious, mute housekeeper arrives unannounced, and someone ends up dead. Mi Ju's focus shifts from a simple shunted pupil, to the untimely death of her best friend, 10 years prior. As her family falls into turmoil, it becomes clear that this is more than an issue of bad-grades. What Mi Ju has on her hands may be something supernatural; something that she must search her traumatic long-buried past to conquer...



Did Rights:
Woo-cheol Lee's "Cello" is a ghost story, centred around a troubled young professor and her peaceful young family. The happenings depict a traditional haunting: phones ringing when they couldn't possibly be working, objects moving unexplainably, and malicious ghost's appearing in portraits. It shares eerie events not unlike those in "The Ring" with posession-style murders not unlike "The Shining."
There is no mindless violence in this movie; the deaths are realistic and not overexaggerated, and there is only as much violence as would be expected. "Cello" uses characters, tone, and storytelling to create an atmosphere of fear, rather than relying on gore and shock value. There is some interesting CG and cinematography, and Lee does a superb job of blurring the lines of fantasy and reality, ensuring that the viewer keeps questioning what is real and what isn't up until the final moments, and thereafter. The flashbacks are very well executed, as are the dream sequences.
The acting is very good and the characters are - for the most part - believable. The child actress in the role of Mi Ju's youngest daughter is absolutely adorable, and probably the best player of all.
Finally, and what I first noticed about this film, the wardrobe is superb. Although this is definitely not enough to change my verdict on a movie, the costume designer for "Cello" definitely had a very good eye for fashion. The outfits were very fun, modern, and prettily-coloured. The female hair and makeup was beautifully done. Aesthetically, the characters were all pleasing.

Did Wrongs:
This movie is not a "thriller" as it boasts. Rather, the film is extremely slow and largely uneventful; there is almost no action or haunting sequences in the entire 90+ minutes, and what little there are occur predominately in the last 20-30 minutes.
As is customary in most Asian horror films, "Cello" has a twist ending, and I was not impressed with it. I recognise Woo-cheol Lee's attempt to be shocking and post-modern, but it was ultimately lacklustre, and definitely left something to be desired.
There is nothing shocking, exciting, or compelling in this film. This is not so much a "ghost story" as a drama about a woman's inability to cope with the guilt of a friend's death. Overall, the events and murders would have made for a very interesting episode of CSI, but unfortunately did not make for that interesting of a ghost story.