While it's written and directed by first-time director Lee Yong Joo who previously assisted Bong Joon Ho's "Memories of Murder", but "Possessed" perhaps is one of the best horror films to come out of Korea in recent years. The film also has won "Best Original Screenplay" in the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards currently. Although not entirely free from influences of the popular genre staples but it was strikingly original in its design and conception, and shrewdly restrained in its manipulation of the generic elements as well as audience expectations. Korean Starlet Nam Sang-Mi takes the lead, and even though her previous films roles seems to have mainly been action flicks and rom-coms, this film marks her returns to the horror genre since "The Ghost" five years ago. "Possessed" is now up for pre-order on DVD, just get it soon as one of the better addition for your Asian horror collection.
Synopsis: Hee-jin (Sang-mi Nam), a college student currently studying in Seoul, receives news that her 14-year-old sister So-jin (Eun-Kyeong Shim) has disappeared. Hee-jin then quickly returns home to look for her missing sister. Meanwhile, her mother prays obsessively for her daughter to return and asks Hee-jin to do so. Veteran detective Tae-hwan (Seung-yong Ryoo) becomes involved in the case, but at first doesn't take things as seriously, believing So-jin is a runaway. Then another person, Jeong-mi (Ji-eun Oh), falls down from a roof and discovers So-jin's note. The apartment's security guard Kwi-kap (Chang-jik Lee) and apartment resident Kyeong-ja (Hee-kyeong Moon) reveal that So-jin was possessed by a ghost. The detective and Hee-jin become confused with these news facts. Shortly later, Jeong-mi is found dead and Det. Tae-hwon learns that Jeong-mi attended the same church as the missing girl's mother. The security guard Kwi-kap is then found dead. Meanwhile the mother continues to pray silently, while Hee-jin sees dead people in her dreams ...
The Korean edition DVD of "Possessed" comes with audio commentary, making of, art and lighting featurette, sound design featurette, and trailer. PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA
"Five Senses of Eros" DVD is about 5 different episodes of different peoples revealing the different senses of Eros. Each story of this omnibus flick not only depicting unique aspects of sensuality and sexuality, but also featuring a host of high-profile actors who provided moviegoers with a more colorful audiovisual experience. Five very different shorts written and directed by Hur Jin Ho (Happiness), Daniel Byun (The Scarlet Letter), Min Kyu Dong (Antique), Yu Young Sik (Anarchist), and Oh Ki Hwan (The Art of Seduction). Covering comedy, melodrama, fantasy, and teen drama, the omnibus boasts a who's who's lineup of top and rising stars, including Jang Hyuk (Volcano High), Cha Hyun Jung (Lovers of Six Years), Kim Kang Woo (Le Grand Chef, Rainbow Eyes), Cha Soo Yeon (Beautiful), Kim Min Sun (Portrait of a Beauty), Bae Jong Ok (Herb), Kim Su Ro (Our School E.T), Hwang Jung Ming (Private Eye), Uhm Jung Hwa (Insadong Scandal), Kim Hyo Jin (Mr. Wacky), Kim Dong Wook (Antique), Shin Se Kyung (Cinderella), and Jung Eui Chul (Do-Re-Mi-Pa-Sol-Ra-Si-Do).
Synopsis: In this anthology film centered around the theme of "Eros," five seperate stories are presented by five top Korean directors. The main characters from each segment are connected with each other in one way or another.
His Concern: A man is attracted by the women sitting across from him on a train ride to Busan. He then gets off the train after her, even though its not his stop. He is then able to get her phone number. A few days later the man plans to meet the woman for the second time.
I'm Here: Hye-rim Ahn (planyed by Su-yeon Cha) awaits for her husband, while hiding, to give him a surprise. Hyeon-woo Kang (played by Kang-woo Kim) always worries about his wife being left alone. Hye-rim worries about Hyeon-woo because he will be left alone soon.
33rd Man: On the set of a movie, fresh new actress Mi-jin Kim (played by Min-sun Kim) and her charismatic senior actress Hwa-ran Park (played by Chong-ok Bae) are having difficulties because of their stubborn & demanding director Jan-woon Bong (played by Su-ro Kim). In the end, the senior actress Hwa-ran transforms Mi-jin into a sexy vixen to seduce the director.
In my End is my Beginning: Jeong-ha Lee (played by Jeong-hwa Eom) learns that her husband Jae-in Min (Jeong-min Hwang) has just died in a car accident while on a road trip. She then discovers that her husband was having an affair with her old high school friend Na-ru Kang (played by Hyo-jin Kim). After the car accident Na-ru comes to Jeong-ha and asks to live with her under the promise of her unconditional devotion.
Believe in the Moment: Three couples (Ji-woon Han & Yun-jeong Lee, Sang-min Seo & Se-eun Jeong, Jae-hyeok Yu & Su-jeong Shin) are all high school students & close friends. None of the couples have strong convictions about their relationship. They then decide to exchange partners for 24 hours.
Park Chan-wook has been so popular with his Vengeance trilogy which begins with “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance” (2002), the film about the class conflict in his country and it divided the Korean public because of its extreme style, but became a cult classic at home and abroad, and a favorite on the international film festival circuit. Next from the director is a masterpiece opus “Oldboy” (2003), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and soon will be re-imagined by Hollywood filmmakers. After his last feature, the quirky romance “I'm a Cyborg But That's OK” which was not particularly well received, Park is tackling the vampire project which he has been talking about for years. “Thirst” (a.k.a. Bakjwi or Evil Live) is the title of the film that also written by Park himself. Universal Pictures and Focus Features have been invested and co-produced the film that was shot in Korea and Australia. In addition, Focus now distribute the film worldwide in its home entertainment version. After the film made good impact in its theatrical releases and some International film festivals including Cannes Film Festival, it's time to experience "Thirst" in your own home.
Plot: We are introduced to Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a priest whose free time is spent volunteering at the local hospital and providing ministry to the patients. He is well respected for his unwavering faith and the dedicated service he provides to all those around him, but he secretly suffers from overwhelming feelings of doubt and sadness about living in a world that seems to be drowning in suffering and death. After getting fed up with the endless cycle of human suffering that the world offers, Sang-hyun volunteers to participate in an experiment to find a vaccine for the deadly F.I.V. virus with the hope of saving even one life, and heads off to Africa. Although the experiment fails disastrously and Sang-hyun is infected with a seemingly fatal disease, he makes a complete and rapid recovery. News of his marvelous recovery is quickly spread to the devout parishioners of Sang-hyun’s congregation, and they begin to believe that the man has a miraculous gift for healing. Soon, thousands more people flock to Sang-hyun’s services. Among the new churchgoers are Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin), Sang-hyun’s childhood friend, and his family. Later on, Kang-woo invites his old friend to join the weekly mahjong night at his house, and there Sang-hyun finds himself precariously drawn to Kang-woo’s wife (Kim Ok-bin), Tae-ju. Suddenly Sang-hyun relapses into his illness; he coughs up blood and passes away. The next day however, he opens his eyes in dire need of shelter from the sweltering sunlight; he has become a vampire. At first Sang-hyun feels a newfound vigor and is energized by his insistent bodily desires, but soon he is aghast to find himself sucking down blood from a comatose patient in the hospital. After attempting to kill himself, he finds that he is drawn back to the taste of human blood against his will. To make matters worse, the symptoms of F.I.V. have come roaring back. Desperately trying to avoid committing a murder, he resorts to stealing blood transfusion packs from the hospital. Tae-ju, now living with her ill husband and her over-protective mother-in-law, leads a dreary and unhappy life. She finds herself drawn to Sang-hyun and his odd new physicality, and his inability to resist his desires. The two begin an affair, but when Tae-ju first discovers the truth about Sang-hyun’s new lifestyle, she retreats in fear. When Sang-hyun pleads with her to run away with him she turns him down, suggesting that they kill her husband instead.
Another creature film from South Korea entitled “Chaw,” is an action adventure/thriller about a small village being terrorized by a man-eating, mutant boar. The Korean title "Chaw" apparently has multiple meanings. It is a variant of the English word ‘chew’ and is defined as ‘to bite and grind with the teeth; to masticate’ while in the Korean dialect of Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces it also refers to ‘a trap’. The film is helmed by Shin Jung-won, director of "To Catch a Virgin Ghost," a horror-comedy hybrid that was moderately successful at the Korean box office. According to an interview with one Korean weekly movie magazine, Shin said that after his first feature he has received many comedy scripts, but none of which were funny enough to him. So he began writing “Chaw” to make ‘a funny movie’ by himself. The interview indicates that Shin’s definition of the word ‘funny’ is not what it traditionally means, and claims that his imagination is very twisted. He also said that he began making films after admitting that he enjoyed crashing clichés. Somehow, Idea for “Chaw” was came from a survey which shows that it was the boar that sat on the top of the food chain and periodically appeared all over the country leaving serious damages to farms and sometimes even attacked people in Korea. But strangely people took boars as one of the pig sorts as livestock not knowing their nature or having met them in real. Comes from this unexpected dual image, it has been developed to be a cannibal creature in the movie. In the end, this tall tale of horror and adventure proves to be a fine addition to the local stock of computer graphics-ridden monster flicks ― offering a believable, rather than realistic, experience that persuades the viewer with more than just flesh-gnawing gore. Now, you can also check the "Chaw" monster via your home entertainment set as YESASIA will release it on 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.
Mysterious, gruesome deaths plague Sammae-ri, a peaceful little village in the Jirisan National Park of South Korea, which boasting no criminal cases for 10 years. Some parts of dead body ripped off cruelly are discovered by ecologists who stayed in the mountain for studying wild animals. Among the victims is the granddaughter of Cheon Il-man (Jang Hang-seon), a native of Sammae-ri and a professional hunter. Police cannot find any clues and there is no progress in the investigation. Then Kim (Eom Tae-woong), a recently relegated police officer from Seoul who is now partnered with lead detective Shin (Pak Hyeok-kwon), finds out that the killer is none other than a wild boar. The news attracts many hunters from all over the Korean peninsula, but the situation quickly goes from bad to worse, causing counterattacks from the wild boar. In this chaos, Kim’s mother (who suffers from dementia) goes missing. Kim forms a team with Shin, Cheon, a hunter named Baek (Yoon Je-moon) and zoo-ecology researcher Soo-ryeon (Jeong Yu-mi) to track the wild boar’s hoofmarks and face the deadly beast on its home turf.
At a budget of 5 million US, “Chaw” actually requires a team of visual effects artist to create a fully CG generated giant boar, and like another CGI heavy South Korean film “Haeundae,” special effects of “Chaw” has been provided by The U.S.' Polygon Entertainment. Hans Uhlig, Polygon’s founder and CEO gave his own statement, “Although we were able to use a practical, full-scale model of the creature for some of the effects shots, the majority of these shots required computer-generated imagery. We assembled our own team of highly skilled and experienced artists who created a fully CG creature, and their work is truly amazing. Be prepared to see some really incredible and frightening visual effects!” Though set in Korea, this film is actually was shot in a forest outside San Francisco, just like a report that Uhlig, who also served as 2nd Unit Director, added in “Chaw” press release, “As the majority of the film takes place in a rural setting, we were able to shoot most of the principal photography right here in northern California.” One of the many reasons for filming in the U.S. is that it was much easier to get permission for shooting in the woods than would be the case in South Korea. And the San Fransisco area commands a striking view and looks similar to many counterpart locations in Korea. Rising star Uhm Tae-woong (Birth of a Family, Forever the Moment) leads the cast in the battle against the carnivorous pigs with the help of Jang Hang-seon (Seven Days), Yoon Je-moon (The Show Must Go On), Jeong Yu-mi (Family Ties) and Park Hyeok-gwon (A Good Day For an Affair).
This 2-Disc Edition comes with the following special features: # Audio Commentary by Director and Cast # Attack of the Killer Boar # Five Member Pursuit # Horror vs. Comedy # Deleted Scenes with Director's Commentary # Premiere # Poster Shoot # Trailer
The 2009 horror suspense "A Blood Pledge" is the fifth film in one of the most popular franchises in South Korean film industry which is “Whispering Corridors” a.k.a. “Yeogo Goedam” that literally means "Girls High School Ghost Story.” In a traditional Asian horror genre, the series takes the supernatural tale as its basis and locates the narrative within a contemporary girl’s high school. The first film smoothly combined the ancient horror genre and the more modern anxieties of Korean high school which struck a powerful chord in its young audience. It instantly became a box-office success and turn into a new franchise in the industry. Another great thing about the franchise is the many fresh young actresses who would make their debuts in the industry. During its 10-year run, the franchise has introduced many up-and-coming actresses, including Kim Ok-bin, who made her name known through her role in the fourth installment "Voice" and is now at the Cannes film festival for Park Chan-wook's vampire flick "Thirst." Now, in "A Blood Pledge", we also met with the five young and beautiful actresses who have so far appeared briefly on TV and in movies. Like the previous actresses who rose to stardom after appearing in "Whispering Corridors", these aspiring actresses have all it takes to gain recognition. At this instant, you can also watch their goods in the home cinema version of the film which you can purchase at YESASIA.
Takes place, of course, once again at an all-girls school, the story of "A Blood Pledge" began with strange rumors that start to spread at the catholic girls’ high school after a student Unjoo, committed suicide one night. Unjoo’s younger sister Jung-un who attends the same school gets suspicious about Unjoo’s death. After persistent investigation, Jung-un finds out that on the night of the incident, Soy, Eugene, Eun-young, Unjoo, the four of them had tried to commit a joint suicide after making a vow on blood. But the three are still alive, and only Unjoo had died. The desire, jealousy, and lies behind the pledge of death between the four girls are revealed, along with the hidden truth behind Unjoo’s suicide.
This 2-Disc Limited Edition comes with audio commentary, making of, deleted scenes, promotion footage, soundtrack, music video, trailers, and other special features.
Bong Joon-ho's previous films are two solid box office hits, "Memories of Murder” (2003) and "The Host" (2006). And this year he's back with another acclaimed film called "Mother". Moved from monster film, the director is return to crime drama thriller, but the lead character is not a detective instead a devoted and determined mom. It’s also absolutely differing from most thrillers which usually boasts a lineup of younger male actors, Korean veteran actress Kim Hye-Ja plays the role of a distressed mother, when her son is accused of a horrible murder in their neighborhood, her maternal instinct forces her to conduct her own investigation, one that will uncover dangerous secrets as she unravels the mysterious truth. The 128-minute film, in Korean with English subtitles, received a standing ovation after premiering at this year's Cannes International Film Festival in May and also garnered attention at the Toronto International Film Festival. Through its South Korean theatrical run "Mother" sold a total of 3 million tickets (grossing 19.9 billion ₩) & staying in the top ten for 6 consecutive weeks. It also was chosen as Korea's submission to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010. The other candidates were "A Frozen Flower," "Thirst," "Breathless," "Old Partner," and "Lifting King Kong." Now, if you want to own the DVD version of this film, it will be available at YesAsia from November 5, 2009. So, let's pre-order now!
“Mother” tells a story about a mother who widowed for a long time and now lives alone with her only son. Her son is a 28 years old, shy and quiet young man, who’s also socially awkward, lacking the ability to deal gracefully with other people, always rubbing them the wrong way and getting into trouble around town. One day there is a terrible murder, and the woman’s hopeless, helpless son become the prime suspect. There is no real evidence against him, but he is an outcast and the police groundlessly suspect him almost instantly. He is a convenient scapegoat, but the trouble is that there is no way he can easily prove his innocence, either. Eager to close the case, the police are happy with their cursory investigation and they make their arrest. His defense attorney turns out to be incompetent and unreliable and a conviction seems inevitable. So, faced with no other choice, his mother gets involved, determined to prove her son’s innocence. She knows that the real murderer is still out there, somewhere, hiding and watching while her son gets punished for a crime he didn’t commit, and so she vows to track him down. Racing into the darkness of the strange countryside her obsessive love for her only son burns in her breast, like an all-consuming flame, driving her into the darkness on her mad, futile quest, dragging up and cracking open the darkest secrets of her small town, one by one.
The 2-Disc Special Edition of "Mother" comes with audio commentary, making of, deleted scenes, interview with the cinematographer, location stills, trailers, and other special features. (PURCHASE "MOTHER" DVD AT YESASIA)
More "Memories of Murder” than "The Host", "Mother" finds Bong returning to the small-town whodunit, but where the earlier film dealt with a community grappling with the unthinkable, this one operates on a more intimate scale. Kim's maternal instinct to protect her son, intensified by his child-like deficiencies, takes Mother to increasingly nervy places, as she takes it upon herself to exonerate the boy. Like Noel, I think the film could be a bit tighter, but the third act pays off big time, with a pile-up of revelations that suggest both the breadth and the limits of her devotion. And Bong becomes a more confident stylist with each successive effort: He knows how to draw out suspense-some sequences here are almost Hitchcockian in their elegance-and he's not afraid to cut the somber proceedings with quick hits of slapstick and black comedy. South Korean films are known for their tonal schizophrenia, but Bong has more control than most; the mix of comedy, drama, and suspense in his work is not jarring, but responsive to the complexity of human life. It's a supreme compliment to say that at the end of Mother, you appreciate the many sides of the eponymous character while still finding her mysterious. (review by Scott - www.avclub.com)
