Haunters (2010)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Haunters is a film for people who love offbeat characters and stories. One part M. Nights Unbreakable, a dash of Zebraman, yet unique enough to be its own take on the superhero genre.Look elsewhere for a summery of story and characters, but know that nothing can prepare you for the cerebral conveyance of mood and style. Its goofy, tragic, meaningful, and absurd.Haunters stacks several memorable scenes together, and while characters backgrounds are not fully developed, I could not help but care for them, their motives and fates. All but the antagonist reminded me of friends. The villain's motives are not without merit, but his crimes can not be rationalized or redeemed.A couple themes revolve over and over - Why does one chase fate (?), and are others responsible for our own actions? Do we convince ourselves that others make us act and feel a certain way?Advice I got long ago when painting is always make the corners interesting, and acknowledge the outside edges. Haunters' opening and closing are both memorable, and bookend nicely (something about emergence from restraint?). Presentation, design, look, and feel - this film is well considered with emotional and sensory depth.Way above average 8/10

Great start, good concept, good ideas, good looks, good production values, some nice scenes... All totally wasted because of a deeply stupid plot and a very bad script. Haunters looks very pale and small compared to its clear reference, Shyamalan's Unbreakable.Here we have a similar powerful and unaware hero whose main strategy seems to be getting mad and yelling at the bad guy for him to stop being a bad ass at once. Really. Moreover, he doesn't seem to quite understand that the bad guy can control other people and make them do whatever he wants. So our smart hero keeps confronting him openly and always around many people, never armed and never with the slightest shadow of a plan.The bad guy, in turn, doesn't seem to understand that he can kill the hero very easily at any moment if he calms down for a moment and thinks a little bit. Or just leave to another country, for god sake. He has the power to control everybody and he can get all the money and anything he wants.It would take some time to go through all the plot holes, inconsistencies and silly moments of this wreck but is not worth my time or yours.Watch it at your own risk and with some warnings: don't expect any of the characters (much less the main ones) to make any sense on their actions. Also, be aware that the plot is thin as paper and just keeps repeating itself for most part of the movie.Could have been good, but is not. And no, "the special korean way of film-making" is not an excuse. If you want solid, top notch korean cinema, try Oldeuboi for instance.

The description of this movie alone convinced me to watch it, and the cover said it was better than any superhero film, and I'd say they weren't far off.It reflects a very Korean style; kind of unsure about what genre it wants to be, switching between drama and comedy, but having just enough character development to have you care about the important characters but not explaining anything you don't need to know, held up by great actors.There's some very memorable scenes in this film, and some very memorable performances, along side a great story, similar in some ways to American films like Unbreakable and Chronicle. The score to the film was also good, and quite fitting, while not necessarily memorable.Overall I give the movie 8/10 and recommend it to anyone wanting to see a semi-dramatic movie with many entertaining, exciting, superheroesque themes.

Review In One Breath: A man who can control people's minds (as long as they are within his line of vision) encounters a person who is immune to his powers. After an unfortunate death, they square off against each other. Within the opening 15 minutes you'll know that this one is gonna be crazy. Realism is not a priority, which means that this roller-coaster ride aims simply and solely to entertain. The premise allows for some very unique sequences that are refreshingly different, shocking, and damn exciting. The psychic's victims move in a slow, methodical, creepy manner that creates an ominous mood.I'm quickly becoming a fan of Dong-won Gang, who starred in "Woochi", "M", "Secret Reunion" and a few other films. Here he plays the villain with panache and charisma. The scriptwriting in "Haunters" could have added more character development, but it's still a lot of fun to watch. My favorite scenes are the car chase and the office balcony sequences. The premise itself is fascinating and the film did a good job in terms of executing some thrilling interaction between the protagonist and antagonist, which does get over-the-top at times but is charming so.Some have complained that the origins of the characters' special abilities were not explained, but what kind of ridiculous explanation should we expect? Another generic biological mutation that we see in superhero movies? Sometimes it's better just to leave the exposition alone because any attempt at a scientific explanation would be flat out preposterous anyways. I think it's best to approach this film like one would approach those old school Hong Kong action flicks that throw logic into the wind while focusing on pure entertainment. Sit back with a cappuccino and relax. You'll enjoy it.