Ever since, when was it, 1998? It felt like a tradition, the summer onslaught of Korean horror flicks, with their shiny shells and often dubious genre sensibilities. If anything, it was a great training farm for young actors, especially female ones. If you just look at the High School Horror Series which started from 여고괴담 (Whispering Corridors) in 1998 and went all the way to 목소리 (Voice), the amount of fresh new talent emerging through those films is staggering. But, save for the occasional highlight a la 장화, 홍련 (A Tale of Two Sisters), the genre had become a mere training farm for new directors, a proving ground that replaced the wear and tear of short films. The results were a lot of good looking but ordinary projects, and box office prospects vanishing into thin air.

But not all hope is lost. Although horror will surprisingly come back to TV, in the form of 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends), the lone horror film of this summer season is Yoon Hong-Seung (a.k.a. Chang)'s 고死 (Gosa - Bloody Midterms). So we're mixing the gosa, the traditionally crucial midterms that mean just about everything to Korean high schoolers, and the character for death. Young blood will be spilled, methinks. Casting is a little on the thin side, with Lee Beom-Soo carrying the torch, but the rest is interesting as well, at least in a business sense. Tv starlet Yoon Jung-Hee, singer Nam Gyu-Ri of See Ya, and young Kim Beom of 커피프린스 1호점 (Coffee Prince No.1) also star in what looks to be a potentially interesting premise. The subtitle? "For every wrong answer, one student dies. Let the test begin."

Films opens this August. Trailer below the break.