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Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: October 8th, 2013.
Director: Various
Cast: Ji-won Kim, Ji-won, Tae-woo Kim, Bo-ra Nam, Mi-ran Ra
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Horror anthology pictures seem to have made a comeback in the last few years, not just in North America but overseas as well. Case in point? The 2012 Korean film simply titled horror stories, directed by five filmmakers: Beom-sik Jeong, Gok Kim, Sun Kim, Dae-wung Lim and Kyu-dong Min. Though some of the stories here work better than others, as is often the case with anthology movies, most of what's here is quite good. Yes, it's low budget, sometimes obviously so, and yes, sometimes you'll be bombarded with a few horror movie clichés, but those expecting long haired Asian ghost girls scattering about or creeping out of old television sets ought to look elsewhere.
The movie is bookended with a storyline directed by Kyu-dong Min involving a serial killer and his pretty female victim, an unlucky schoolgirl who just so happened to catch his eye. Completely at his mercy, he asks her to tell him the scariest stories she's ever heard, which allows the movie to segue in to the four chapters that make up the bulk of the running time.
The first story, Don't Answer The Door, is directed by Bum-shink Jung. In this story a young brother and sister duo are home alone when an unexpected guest arrives in the form of a deranged burglar. The second story is called Endless Flight and it's directed by Dae-woong Lim. Here a murderer is under the watch of the police who escort him on a flight only to have him somehow escape while in transit. Director Ji-Yeong Hong's entry, Secret Recipe, follows the exploits of two very competitive sisters both after the same young man. Although they both want him, he'll choose only one but the lucky girl may be in for a lot more than she bargained for, particularly once plastic surgery becomes an issue. Last but not least, brothers Gok Kim and Sun Kim direct Ambulance On The Death Zone which tells the story of an ambulance attendant who has to confront the mother of a girl who may be infected with something that will turn her into a zombie.
Although the bookend segments are on the weak side (which is surprising, given that Kyu-dong Min's Memento Mori was such a strong film), the other four stories all have their merits. This is a pretty solid mix of horror here, some grounded entirely in reality and others taking on more of a supernatural bent so we do get a bit of variety spread through the four main chapters. Production values are decent as are performances and while this does look to have been made with a modest budget, some moments of genuine creativity certainly help to compensate for that. There are more than a few clichés spread out, however, the most obvious being in Ambulance On The Death Zone, but even here where we know exactly what's going to happen watching it unfold is at least entertaining enough in its own right as it uses its singular location in clever ways.
All in all, this was a nice surprise. The generic title and cover art don't make this look like much, but Horror Stories, if not the 'be all, end all' of modern Asian horror at least delivers what you'd want out of a horror anthology - a few instances of black humor, some good scares, a few decent moments of effective gore and some memorably twisted set pieces.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Horror Stories is presented on DVD in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen. Shot on video, the image is quite clean but looks a little soft in spots. Colors are a little on the flat side and black levels veer more towards dark grey. Detail is generally okay and there are no issues with compression artifacts outside of a few seconds here and there in some of the movie's darker scenes. The image is consistently clean and watchable. It looks fine, but never approaches anything too amazing.
The Korean language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track sounds decent enough. Range is okay and there are no issues with hiss or distortion. The levels are properly balanced and the optional English subtitles are easy to read and free of any typographical errors.
The main extra on the disc comes in the form of nine minutes worth of cast and crew interviews, presented in Korean with English subtitles. This material is fairly standard, the participants sharing their thoughts on what they liked about this project. Outside of that, we get a trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other Artsploitation Films DVD releases. Menus and chapter stops are also included. Inside the keepcase is a booklet of liner notes including an essay that details the history of the movie and a text interview with Bum-Shik Jung.
The Final Word:
Artsploitation Films' release of Horror Stories isn't as stacked with extras as some of the label's other releases have been but it looks and sounds decent enough. As to the movie itself? While it occasionally dabbles in clichés it does offer up enough creativity and genuine scares that it turns out to be a pretty decent horror anthology.
Part 3 is coming soon...Even though part 2 was reviewed badly on its release...