DVD Moo-seo-woon I-ya-gi

"Horror Stories" – too bad about the mundane title – is an anthology from the elite horror country South Korea. Personally, I would have preferred any next new horror film from South Korea to revolve on a serial killer fed up with the annoying trend of Gangnam Style and going out on a sadist rampage to butcher everyone who performs the stupid little dance moves… including, of course, the massacre of the original performer during the grand finale! But alas, no Gangnam slashing just yet… "Horror Stories" is a collective of four relatively young and still debuting writers/directors with each one or two films on their resumes. I sincerely doubt that this largely prototypic and unmemorable omnibus will become their jumping board towards international success, but it's nevertheless a worthwhile viewing experience in case you're a fan of Asian horror and/or horror anthologies in general.

Like with its title, "Horror Stories" also suffers from an extremely mundane wraparound story. A young high school girl is held captive by a dull serial killer and, in order to gain herself some valuable time, she narrates folklore horror tales. That's pretty much the same premise as the early 90's flick "Tales from the Dark Side", but even that one had an inventive twist. "Horror Stories" exists of four segments, two of which are very enjoyable and suspenseful and the other two rather derivative and tedious. The opening segment centers on the two children of a strict businesswoman who are home alone late at night with a suspicious delivery guy outside their door. This short story is reasonably atmospheric and the children give above average performances, but it's extremely banal and predictable. The fourth and final tale is yet another umpteenth variant on the exhausted theme of zombies/virus-infected people. An ambulance with the some of the last survivors desperately rushes back to the hospital. They are transporting a girl of which her mother stubbornly claims that she wasn't bitten by zombies… There's brutal violence and explicit gore in this chapter, but sadly also a total lack of originality and coherence. The best two stories are in the middle, with the second one revolving on a serial killer who frees himself during a private prison transport by plane and promptly goes after the cabin crew and stewardesses. This tale, directed by the same guy who made the crazed "To Sir with Love", benefices from the claustrophobic setting and features some deeply disturbing images. The absolute finest of the four tells the tale of a young girl who's jealous of her older stepsister because she got engaged to a handsome, sophisticated and wealthy. When regular flirting and even plastic surgery doesn't help to catch his attention, the girl – with the help of her mother – locks up the stepsister in the bedroom and takes her place at the altar. But then, naturally, the man turns out to have his share of dark secrets and peculiar routines as well. This segment is delightfully absurd and thus the only one that has that typically Asian cult/bizarre atmosphere.