[Kmovie] Spellbound (Chilling Romance)

Korean Movie - 2011

Horror Romantic Comedy

114 minutes

Synopsis:

“I see dead people” is a common phrase used in parody, but if it were true, as it is for the leading lady in “Spellbound,” it would be a shockingly terrifying trait to hold.
Ever since she was young, Yeo-ri (Son Ye-jin), has had the unnatural ability to see ghosts, and when they do appear, usually when she has company, unexpected things occur to the people around her. Yeo-ri chooses to isolate herself from the outside world but is approached by a street magician named Jo-goo (Lee Min-ki), who offers her a job in his show.

One year passes, and Yeo-ri ends up playing a part in the magician’s horror-themed act, in which she plays a ghost in a closet. Every day, Jo-goo’s staff successfully close the show and invite Yeo-ri for drinks, but she always rejects their offer. She is fully aware what will happen if she gets close to people.
When eventually Yeo-ri opens up to Jo-goo about her tragic and lonely life, things start to change for the both of them. Can Jo-Goo help her find a way out? Or will he be chased away by the ghosts like all of the other people in Yeo-ri’s life?

Click below to read my review. May contain spoilers. So be aware. =)

Review:

A romantic comedy with a chilling twist!

Jo-gu (played by Lee Min Ki) is a small time magician. One day he sees a somber looking woman in the audience (Yu-ri, played by Son Ye Jin). She's wearing the only frown amongst smiles in the audience and so captures his attention. (You can tell he has weird tastes from the get-go.) Jo-gu, being the adorable creep that he is, decides to follow her. They partner up and Jo-gu starts a business, putting on a horror magic show called Horror Illusions, in which Yuri plays the ghost. (How can you not love this movie already?) Soon, Jo-gu learns that Yuri can see ghosts due to a traumatic event while in high school! (And it gets better!) Feelings slowly develop between the two, but can Jo-gu deal with the extra "baggage" in their relationship? Who knew falling in love could be so scary!

This was a really strange film. Not strange in that it was weird per se, but strange in the fact that it managed to effectively mix several different movie genres. Chilling Romance can be classified as a Horror-Thriller-Romantic-Comedy. (Try saying that five times quickly!) I was a little unsure about this movie because this is my first time seeing a horror film with romantic elements. However, this movie was extremely enjoyable because it managed to strike the perfect balance between creepy "ohcrapohcrapohcrap" moments that made you sit up straight, funny "that's so ridiculous" scenes that you couldn't help but chuckle at, and sweet "awww" moments as Jo-gu and Yu-ri's relationship deepened. The portrayal of the story/plot was also surprisingly realistic. I was afraid that the ghost scenes would be cheesy, but they had a level of realism that made specific scenes suspenseful. It was great! You gotta love a movie that makes you scream, cry, laugh, and smile endlessly within a two-hour time frame! It even had the perfect ending for both  the Horror and Romantic Comedy plot lines! That takes skill, baby, skill.

I don't watch too many horror movies because I'm a wuss and Asians are just a tad bit too good at portraying "grunge-lookalike" ghosts and such. Chilling Romance is a definite must watch for both the wuss and non-wuss alike. Go check it out!

Creepily Yours,
Fatuma
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