Part of MKC's coverage of the 16th Puchon International Film Festival.
Omnibus horrors seem to be all the rage at this year's PiFan, with the inclusion of the much-ballyhooed
V/H/S and the Indonesian ghost offering
Hi5teria (not to be confused with period British vibrator comedy
Histeria, which is also in competition). But the one with the highest profile this year was the Korean
Horror Stories, which served as the event's opening film.
A group of talented filmmakers, most of whom are prominent genre filmmakers, were assembled for this production which many hoped would breath some life back into Korean horror cinema. Of late, K-horrors have been increasingly disappointing and the consensus is that there hasn't been a good example since the excellent
Possessed (2009). Hopes were high for last year's trio of summer Korean horror offerings (the traditional season for the genre) but
White: the Melody of the Curse,
The Cat and
Ghastly all failed to impress despite their potential.