H (2002)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Ten months after the imprisonment of serial killer Shin Hyun (Seung-woo Cho), who gave himself up to the police after brutally murdering six women, a copycat murderer begins to replicate his grisly crimes. Detectives Kim Mi Yun (Jung-ah Yum) and Kang Tae Hyun (Jin-hee Ji) are assigned to the case, and after interviewing Shin Hyun, begin to suspect that he has somehow masterminded the killings from behind bars.Directed by Jong-hyuk Lee, Korean thriller H is, rather ironically, something of a copycat itself, being a little bit Silence of the Lambs and a little bit Seven, but nowhere near as good as either film: the plot is a little too convoluted and confusing at times, the pacing way too slow, and the inevitable twist nowhere near clever (or believable) enough. In an effort to make his film as stylish as those he is trying to emulate, director Lee throws in endless rain-drenched scenes and moody shots of his cops smoking, but even though his film looks good throughout, it fails thanks to its leaden storytelling, a lack of tension and originality, and an ending that beggars belief.

The fact of the matter is this. Just because a film is released under the Tartan Asia Extreme banner, that's no guarantee that it'll be "extreme," or even particularly good. Mind you, I've seen far worse films than H. It's better than America's similarly themed "Copycat," for instance. Then again, what isn't? H is a decent nod to superior serial killer films (Manhunter/Red Dragon, Se7en, to name a couple), but is essentially just a popcorn film. I usually take a chance on anything that flies the Tartan Asia Extreme banner, and I don't regret seeing this film, it's just that it needs to be said that not all films made in Asia are masterpieces.

H is another of those moody Korean movies that moves at a deliberately slow pace. This measured approach to story-telling can sometimes add to the atmosphere of a strong well-told tale but, in this instance, it simply draws attention to numerous deficiencies in both plot and characterisation.A couple of mismatched cops investigate a complex case involving a serial killer who targets pregnant women or women connected with abortions in some way. The murders are copies of those carried out by a man ten months earlier who gave himself up and now awaits execution. The cops initially suspect the original killer has hired someone to carry out the killings but, when they have caught the person they believe to be the murderer and the killings continue, a much less straightforward answer becomes apparent.The Koreans seem to have a thing for slow and thoughtful movies, and there's nothing wrong with that if the storyline is strong, but this film borrows from too many other films – most notably Silence of the Lambs and Seven – to bolster a fairly thin yet paradoxically complicated plot. Strong on visuals – especially some extreme gore – there are a number of effective and well-staged scenes in H but it relies too much on a brooding heroine who betrays no emotion, and an excitable hero who would quite frankly be a liability in any police investigation. In fact the pair of them overlook obvious lines of investigation and generally stumble upon clues through luck or by drawing obscure – but accurate – conclusions from the vaguest of clues. Seung-woo Cheu makes a curiously uncharismatic villain in a role clearly modelled on Hannibal Lecter, and spouts enigmatic mumbo-jumbo about blue skies and an abyss that probably made no sense before its meaning was mangled by the translators responsible for some truly excruciating subtitles. And for all the moody atmospherics from first-time writer/director Jong-hyuk Lee, the film is almost completely devoid of any tension or suspense.There are many exciting and inventive films coming out of South Korea these days, but unfortunately H isn't one of them. Of course that doesn't mean we won't be seeing an American remake within a year or two

HI am a huge fan of the Korean serial killer drama Tell me something. So when the review on the box of this movie said `tell me something esque' I thought I would give it a shot. My history with Korean films are hit or miss. This is a miss. I will say this the plot twist is something you would never see in American film. Of course you would also never see it in reality either.The film is paced so boring. Maybe the moody feeling just doesn't translate but I think the film was going for the SEVEN moody feeling. The camera work was somewhat interesting. The gore was there. The acting was so so. In the end I kinda had to force myself to finish it.I would say if you have a choice get `tell me something' instead.