Voices (2007)

Sadly Over-hyped

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

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Based on the cover of the DVD and the fact that it is a part of the '8 movies to die for' series, then "Voices" (aka "Du saram-yida") seemed promising and it was with a certain amount of anticipation that I sat down to watch it.And now that it is finished, I must admit that I have an empty feeling and a sense of having been cheated out of something potentially great.So why did "Voices" fail to deliver? Well, because it was a predictable storyline that held no surprises to throw off the audience. And director Ki-Hwan Oh failed to impress where it mattered.The acting performances in "Voices" were good, despite of the limitations imposed by the director and the lack of a proper script.And the absence of scares and spooky moments just made the movie even more mundane - to put it mildly.This movie scores a mere four out of ten stars from me solely on the production value and acting performances.

The opening scene is of a young boy in shock, reaching out to his (apparently) recently murdered mother. Who is this kid? It isn't the brooding "new guy" in school- he murdered his father. It isn't the boyfriend- his father tried to burn everyone to death. Mom, in her final act, shielded her son from the flames with her body.Okay. So why was the aunt murdered? Is the brooding boy a demon? Who was the recluse? What did he have in connection with ANYONE? Is our lead character insane? I don't know much about Korean culture, but I find it odd that the parents of a high-schooler didn't bother with at least finding out the name of her adult boyfriend, whom they we well aware of. In a flash-back, we learn that the boyfriend blames our lead character for his ill-fortune, even though our lead character was a toddler in the flashback, and her father showed an act of charity. How were the two families connected? If this review is muddled, choppy and not quite cohesive, then I've put you in the perfect mindset for "Voices"

In Sung-Nam City, the teenager Ga-in Kim (Jin-seo Yun) goes with her family and her boy-friend Hyung-Joong (Ki-woo Lee) to the wedding of her aunt Ji-sun and she sees the bride falling off a balcony. Then she witnesses Jung-sun (Yu-jeong Seo) violently stabbing her sister Ji-sun in the hospital. In school, the outcast Sung-min (Gi-woong Park) tells her that the events were not accidents and advises her to not trust anyone, friends, and family, not even herself. Ga-in believes in a family curse and almost gets killed by the classmate Eun-kyung (Kan-hie Lee); then by her teacher; then by her mate in fencing. When her mother attempts to kill her, Ga-in becomes completely paranoid and travels to visit a strange with Sung-min to seek answers for the curse."Du saram-yida" a.k.a. "Voices" is an ambiguous and confused tale of manipulation and paranoia with a great potential. Unfortunately the flawed and messy screenplay is never clear and it seems that Sung-min is indeed a manipulative demon or evil force that is visible only for his victims that pushes the characters to a paranoid behavior, culminating with a death wish. I like Asian movies that usually requires interpretation of the stories; however, the subplot with Ga-in's boyfriend is ridiculous and the weakest part of the complicated screenplay. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): Not Available

Pretty good K-Horror film starring Yoon Jin-Seo as Ga-in, a young lady who seems to have a good life. She does okay in school, has parents, a younger sister and a good boyfriend. The story begins unfolding when her aunt is thrown from a balcony on her wedding day by her own sister. It turns out, the family has a history of violent death, just about all at the hands of family members. There are good special effects and Yoon Jin-Seo is a good actress. The story is never boring and a few crazy things happen but that is all part of the "fun". If you like horror check this out. If you have never tried K-Horror, there are better films like "A Tale Of Two Sisters", but this is good also.