The Wig (2005)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The Age of Commercialism

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Best movie ever!

I had high hopes for The Wig, after-all, South Korean horror is often as entertaining as it is spooky. It is true, this particular feature does have a number of great jump scares, for we are rarely able to predict what we are soon to encounter, and though the title may influence viewers to suspect the malevolent presence is tied directly to a collection of hair, this isn't always the case. Seeing the wig moving on its own accord, though peculiar, offers a further layer of disturbance, the film's opening setting the tone for both the oddness of the film, and the spontaneity of the spooky moments. Though very character oriented, and despite the adept acting talents of the leads, what unfortunately forbids The Wig from being comparatively great to other genre films, is the narrative.The lacking chronological order is not what nefariously affects the film so much, as it is the handling. Rarely is warning given when a precursor to the film's back-story is shown, and initially I experienced difficulty trying to ascertain where the past concluded and the present began. Moreover, on many an occasion, prior events occur in quick flashes that neither assist in developing or contextualizing characters and the plot, significantly more depth being needed to accentuate these pivotal explanations.This aside, the audience is able to exhibit an emotional reaction towards the two female leads, who are equally sympathetic characters, themes of hardship, infidelity and betrayal heightening our feelings. Ji-Hyun (Yoo-Sun) is a young woman, who, after a traumatic accident, suffers considerably, her heartless former paramour Ki-Suk (Bang Joong-Hyun) regarding her with considerable disdain. Though emotionally fragile, and largely alone, Ji-Hyun dedicates much of her strength to helping her recently discharged sister, Soo-Hyun (Chae Min-Seo), who, despite chemotherapy, is inevitably on the verge of losing her battle with leukemia.To help ensure her sister's final week is spent in happiness, Ji-Hyun purchases her a wig, the originally sickly Soo-Hyun immediately exhibiting a positive physical transformation, alongside the admittance she feels remarkably better. However, Soo-Hyun's initially sweet, familial personality begins to adversely change, the vindictive, possessive persona that begins manifesting itself being tied to the apparition, whose hair was used in the construction of the wig.Though the ambiance throughout the feature efficaciously coincides with the genre, one of the film's scariest moments is when Ji-Hyun's search for answers leads her to the abandoned factory where the wig was made, the shadowy corners, body-less heads of mannequins, and large quantities of jet black hair, making for a genuinely unique and creepy environment. The unsettling atmosphere however is marred by plot-holes. Towards the end, without explanation, characters are miraculously transferred from one location to another, while the inclusion of repetitive scenarios takes away from the originality and entertainment. Though there are some violent images, a couple of which employing a significant amount of blood, the feature also possesses mature themes, including suicide and homosexuality, these potent social ideas being refused the generous screen-time they deserved.Finally, the film's ending is guaranteed to shock, heightening the feature's capacity to emotionally draw viewer's into the story, though the still lacking answers from the remainder of the film, alongside unanswered questions instigated by the conclusion, will undoubtedly leave viewers with a desire for more.

• The artist sister is engaged to the art teacher. • She wins an award and tells her sister about the engagement. • Then she has an accident in the car which injures her throat and she can no longer speak. • Meantime the art teacher meets a young man with long hair and falls in love with him. • The young man is set upon by other men, possibly because he's homosexual, and they cut his hair short. • He commits suicide (not sure why) by jumping off a building. • His cut off hair is made into a wig. • The art teacher breaks up with the artist sister either because she's damaged goods without a voice or because he realizes he's homosexual. • Meantime, the sister of the mute artist is hospitalized with leukemia and loses her hair to chemotherapy. • Nothing further can be done for her, so the hospital decides to send her home to die, but her sister tells her she's cured. • Now the film begins. • The mute sister buys the wig for the leukemia sister made from the hair of the suicide. • The spirit of the dead man takes over whoever wears the wig and so the leukemia sister tries to seduce the art teacher. • The leukemia sister doesn't take her medicine because she knows she will look healthier without the pills and either she believes she's cured and doesn't need the pills or she sees through the lies and realizes she's going to die and so why bother taking the pills. • By the end, the mute sister has gone insane from (a) the accident; (b) losing her voice; (c) being rejected by her fiancé and (d) seeing her sister possessed by the dead male lover of her former fiancé; and she kills the leukemia sister.

I bought The Wig because I liked the trailer of the movie plus I really like to buy Korean horror movies.I bought it along Red Shoes which I still have yet to see and I really liked it.It's like a mix of A Tale Of Two Sisters in style and Thai movie Shutter in substance which are also really good movies.There are a couple of twists along the way and the end twist,I really wasn't excepting it and it shocked me.I would've liked a happy ending but they chose to make it really sad.I own and have seen A Tale Of Two Sisters,Face,The Ghost,Bunshinsaba and Phone which are all Korean and I would recommend best A Tale Of Two Sisters,Bunshinsaba and The Wig.If you are not interested in seeing The Wig in Korean then maybe you should wait for the remake.

If you'd know me by now, I take my pick of horror flicks depending on my mood. I'm game anytime for zombie films, might take a little persuasion with vampire flicks, ghosts and goblins I might like too. The Hollywood movies that is, heavily laden with effects, and most of the time compensated with gore. I haven't watched an Asian horror movie since The Ring, and now have taken my first plunge with The Wig.Oh OK, it's all about the chicks again. Dark Water had Jennifer Connelly, Skeleton Key yesterday had Kate Hudson. In The Wig, we have two beautiful (actually in my opinion, one only) sisters Ji-hyeon (Yu Seon) and Su-hyeon (Chae Min-seo). Su-hyeon is suffering from leukemia, and isn't given too long to live. Her sister Ji-hyeon takes it upon herself to care for her until the end, which isn't expected to be too long. We see sisterly love abound after a cheesy start to the movie, and Ji-hyeon presents a wig for her sister to cover her bald head, the side effects of chemotherapy.Of course, the wig's possessed by a spirit (hence the obvious title), and therefore takes over the life of Su-hyeon. She seemed to rapidly recover without the aid of drugs, and has a sudden lusting towards her sister's ex-boyfriend Ki-seok. Attitudes and habits change. You can experience the occasional standard horror fare like dream sequences, hallucinations, sudden appearances, pesky cats, dark corridors, creepy attics and the likes. Familiar territory for horror buffs.So it's left to our heroine Ji-hyeon to quickly discover the whos, wheres, and whys, before it's too late to save her beloved sister from the devil. I suppose with most formulae, this discovery always ties down to the various characters in the movie, and their back-stories. It might interest you that Ji-hyeon didn't speak throughout the movie, as she was injured in an accident, so don't expect a lot of screams from her to raise your goosebumps.But the main back-story, once revealed, is actually quite sad, especially the scenes after the revelation. It might be brief, and it might just bring out a tear or two from some sensitive audience. A slight twist at the end too when they tie up some of the subplots, which might raise some eyebrows, but only after a few cheap scares by the filmmakers.And yes, I'll make it a point to peek under the toilet seat for the next few days. Gee, must every spirit from horror movies start to appear from everyday objects? Handphones next, anyone?