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Released by: Tartan Video
Released on: 7/19/2005
Director: Yoon Jae-yeon
Cast: Song Ji-Hyo, Park Han-byeol, Jo An
Year: 2003
The Movie:
The third film in the Whispering Corridors series of films, also known as the Ghost School series, that tell tales about haunted high schools in South Korea revolves around a pair of girlfriends, Yun Ji-seong and Kim So-hie, who are currently enrolled in an art program at college where they are learning the finer points of ballet. What sets this school apart from others is that, as legend would have it, there's a stair case in the dorm that will grant you a wish once you climb all twenty-eight stairs and discover the twenty-ninth.
Once they've been there a little while, they're delighted to find out that they've been selected to compete for a placement at the top ballet school in Russia, but the catch is that only one of them will be able to go and that they'll have to compete against one another for the honor. The teachers all figure that Kim So-hie will be a shoe in for the spot, as she's the top ballerine in the scool but Yun Ji-seong isn't out of the running and she isn't afraid to get her hopes up.
When faced with the reality that she might lose out in the competition to her friend, Yun Ji-seong is reminded of the stairs that grant wishes and so she heads up the staircase to assure herself a victory. What she learns, however, is that the stairs aren't as innocent as they seem and that although they can do as the legend says, it isn't without a heavy price to pay…
While the build up to this one is slow, once the supernatural aspect of the movie starts to kick in it becomes pretty interesting. There are some very suspenseful moments in here, a few jumps scares, and lots of long, lingering shots of dark hallways and creepy looking rooms. The actresses are all fairly believable in their roles and while some of the material is slightly melodramatic, they handle it well. The relationship between the two female leads, which has some seriously strong lesbian overtones to it at the beginning of the movie, is odd but not unbelievable and it does do a nice job of setting up the last third of the film very nicely.
The cinematography is very solid, with some nice use of shadow and some cool lighting lending the film a seriously thick atmosphere that makes it visually impressive. The pacing could have been tighter, some more emphasis on the supernatural/ghost aspect of the story and less on the not as interesting dramatics would have made for a faster moving film but that's really a minor complaint, and oft times part and parcel with South Korean genre films.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Aside from some mild trailing in a few scenes in the darker moments of the film, Tartan's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is quite good. The black levels, which play an extremely important part in the effectiveness of certain scenes in this film, stay deep and strong and don't break up or pixelate at all. There is some mild line shimmering in a couple of scenes but there aren't any issues with mpeg compression artifacts or serious edge enhancement. Color reproduction appears lifelike and accurate and there's a reasonably decent level of fine detail in both the foreground and the background of the image. Skin tones look healthy and realistic and overall the picture is generally quite sharp. Print damage is never a problem and the image is nice and clean.
The Korean Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS 5.1 Surround Sound tracks on this DVD are decent, save for one noticeable flaw that effects both mixes - the rears are way over used. Dialogue that should come at you only from the front instead at times comes from the front and the back or sometimes just the back of the soundstage, which produces some rather strange effects. Aside from that, the dialogue and sound effects are nice and clear and there's enough power in the lower end to make for a few decent jump scares throughout the film. The levels are well balanced and there aren't any problems with the performers getting buried in the sound effects or in the background score. Optional subtitles are supplied in both English and Spanish and they prove to be clean, clear, easy to read and free of any noticeable typographical errors.
Tartan has done a very nice job on the extras for this release. First up is The Making Of Wishing Stairs, which is basically a fairly extensive look at the making of the movie and an overview of the series it's connected to. The first half is a bit of talking head footage, some interviews, some promotional bits, and a lot of behind the scenes footage. There are also interviews with the main actresses from the film and with the director as well. They explain the roots of the story, where it fits with the other three films, and give us a good overview of what it was like to be on set while the film was being made. There's also a fair bit of information given on a lot of the effects work and pre-production work that went into the movie before the cameras even started rolling, as well as information on the score and its composer.
Rounding out the extra features are a trailer for the feature, trailers for other Tartan Asia Extreme releases, a still gallery, and a section containing notes and sketchbook material from the director of the film.
The Final Word:
A decent film, though hardly a classic, Wishing Stairs hits region one DVD in style thanks to a solid effort from Tartan Video.