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Released by: Tartan Films
Released on: 7/26/2005
Director: Jong-chan Yun
Cast: Jin-yeong Jeong, Myeong-min Kim, Chang Jin Young, Jin-Young Jang
Year: 2001
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The Movie:
Yong-Hyun is a young taxi driver who moves into a run down slum of an apartment building in Seoul, Korea. It's a rather odd decision for him to have moved into the building, as there are only four people left living there seeing as it is scheduled to be condemned and sooner or later torn down, but he makes himself at home in his mess of an abode. Once he's settled in a bit, he gets to know his neighbours - there's an older man who tries to make his living as a writer with middling success named Mr. Lee; there's a pretty young piano teacher named Eun-su; and then there's Sun-young who has to deal with some serious domestic problems courtesy of her abusive husband.
Once he gets to know them, he learns some strange things about the place he calls home. It seems that the man who lived in the apartment before he did was killed in a lethal fire that broke out and to make matters even stranger, a man who lived in the apartment with his wife and child killed them both and ran off with the lady who lived next door. Seemingly recreating past events, Yong-Hyun starts to grow closer to Sun-young despite the fact that she's married and he strikes up an amicable friendship with Mr. Lee. But the more the know about one another the more it becomes apparent that everyone on this floor has got a skeleton or two in their closet, including Yong-Hyun himself.
Despite the nicely designed creepy cover art and some back copy that makes mention of a ghost, there are no supernatural elements to this film, nor are there really any horrific moments of spooky set pieces. There's some mild suspense towards the end of the movie but this one plays out more like a serious character piece or a drama than your typical Asian new wave ghost story or a slasher. What the movie does have, however, is atmosphere in spades. Though it takes a good while to start moving (the first fifteen minutes are, quite frankly, dull) once it picks up the film makes use of some excellent moody cinematography and a deftly designed sound mix to build ambience and atmosphere with subtlety and class.
The movie moves along very slowly but the end result is worth it as the characers are interesting, as are their predicaments. Script wise the movie is clever enough once you get past the dreadfully boring first scenes to tie everything up nicely and although if you pay really close attention to the movie you'll likely figure it out, there are a couple of worthy twists here and there that make Sorum a decent enough time killer.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Tartan's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer does a great job of reproducing the dark color scheme that the director worked with in the film. Black levels are strong and solid throughout the film, and color definition is sturdy and consistent. Mpeg compression artifacts are virtually invisible and edge enhancement is very slight. There are a few scenes that are grainy, and the odd speck here and there, but other than that Sorum looks just great.
There are three audio mixes on this DVD, all of which are in Korean - Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, and DTS 5.1 Surround Sound. All three mixes sound great, with the slight edge going to the DTS mix for, as usual, slightly stronger bass levels. There's plenty of distinct channel seperation throughout the mixes, which helps out with the jump scares and helps create a nice, creepy atmosphere. Optional subtitles are available in English and Spanish that are free of any typographical errors and nice and easy to read.
Aside from a still gallery, a trailer for Sorum and a few trailers for other Tartan/Asia Extreme releases, there's a pretty decent Making Of Sorum documentary that includes an interview with director Jong-chan Yun and lead actress Jin-yeong Jeong in which they discuss how the movie was made, some of the themes that they were going for and share some anecdotes about how it went on the set. Parts of this feel very promotional in nature, rather than exploratory or informative but there is enough substance to this piece to make it worth a look if you were into the film itself.
The Final Word:
More a drama than a horror movie or even a thriller, Sorum isn't a bad film despite its predictability. Tartan's DVD looks and sounds very nice and the extras are decent if not all that plentiful. Overall, a decent release for a decent film.