Spellbound (2011)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It's not very often that a film actually makes me mad, and even less often that I'll shut a movie off with 10 minutes left on the clock. OK, these things have never happened other than when I watched this film. It started out incredibly promising and interesting, yet quickly faded into formulaic oblivion. Granted, this is a romantic comedy film, and regardless of the country of origin it is to be expected that a certain level of cliché will be present. However, I had high hopes that the underlying premise of supernatural activity would have broken up the formula a bit. Not so. For all of the promise of the idea, it just fell flat. The supernatural aspect of the story really added very little, which was a shame because had it incorporated the element as effectively as, say, "Shaun of the Dead," it would have been an incredibly solid romance/comedy/horror film. The acting was actually very good, hence not rating the film as awful, and the comedy was such that it did garner a giggle or two at times. Sadly, the comedy and the acting was wasted on a very lackluster story, one that had an incredibly clever, creative, and promising idea yet was sadly incapable of carrying it through to fruition.

"Spellbound" ("O-ssak-han Yeon-ae") aka "My Girlfriend Can See Ghosts" is another one of those sure win Korean movies. There is just something fantastic about so many of the movies that come from Korean cinema, and "Spellbound" is well worthy addition to the collection if you enjoy Asian movies.The movie is about Kang Yeo-Ri (played by Ye-jin Son) who is a gloomy and mysterious woman who, by sheer luck and chance, ends up working with Ma Jo-Goo (played by Min-ki Lee) in his Horror Illusion magic show. Ma Jo-Goo soon finds out that perhaps he gotten a bit more than he bargained for when he starts to find out the haunting secrets that surrounds the enigmatic Kang Yeo-Ri."Spellbound" combines three genres of movies quite nicely; being romance, comedy and horror. And the end result is a very enjoyable movie with a story that sinks into you and sticks with you. Especially because the director, In-ho Hwang, did a really good job with this movie and delivered right on the money.The characters in the movie are well-detailed and stand out as very believable characters, and this is, of course, helped quite well along the way by the talents of the people on the cast list, who all contributed quite nicely to the movie, especially the two leads who really had great on-screen chemistry, but also great charisma on their own.The effects are quite nice in the movie, although this is not a movie that rides high on special effects. But those put to use are really spectacular and serves their purpose quite well; be it the magic tricks, the make-up, or the ghost.The odd mixture of romance, comedy and horror does make for a very peculiar mixture, but it worked out quite nicely, and I am very happy that I sat down to see this movie, and can strongly recommend it to any fans of Asian or Korean cinema in particular."Spellbound" gets a definite 8 out of 10 stars from me. Thumbs up for this movie, way, way up...

Original and interesting. Like L HH said, this film is one of a kind. However, there are so many stops, "Chilling Romance" never takes off and loses momentum.This film makes a brave attempt to mash difficult genres. The end result is a dish that is hard to swallow, but somewhat edible. I was not satisfied with "Chilling Romance," because the story was not engaging and progressed roughly. I want to blame someone whether it's the director, editor, screenwriter, or all three. The multi-talented actress Son Ye Jin saved this film from disaster. Always surprising her fans with new and unique roles.All in all, if you want try something new, give "Chilling Romance" a try.

The romance is super cliché. The horror is also very cliché. The humour, well, maybe less cliché.But to combine those, you make quite a great movie. At first, I really don't know how it would feel to see a "romantic comedy ghost" movie. I know you will agree with me. You can't scream your lungs out in a funny movie, nor can you enjoy the romance and humour in a ghost movie.But I did. I laughed. Then I screamed. Then I smiled. Then I laughed and screamed again. This movie gave me mixed feeling. Very entertaining, I must say.Seriously, if you don't believe me, check it out!