Chungmuro Daily - Press Reactions 2006

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PRESS REVIEWS
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아랑 (Arang), Dir. Ahn Sang-Hoon [Cast: Song Yoon-Ah, Lee Dong-Wook, Kim Ok-Bin]
[Kim Yong-Eon, Film2.0]
The first film of this year’s Horror Season, 아랑 (Arang) is based on the famous tale of Arang from Miryang, developing its story in a modern setting. The film never tries to abandon the old-fashioned roots of its legend—even though the fact it’s been used by many past films makes it feel even more conventional—with flashy tricks, as it’s definitely a traditional horror film in all respects. More than following what have now become cliches of the genre, like the focus on ‘scary’ sound effects, editing emphasizing surprise, or kids twisting and turning their heads to scare viewers, the victims in the film are the first to experience fear, which is one of the elements weakening the impact of the horror in the film.
[Kim Gyu-Han, Maxmovie]
Perhaps the scariest thing for people might actually be the sense of betrayal and mistrust people you trust can give you. Telling the story of a woman innocently murdered and her grudge, 아랑 (Arang) has a different taste compared to other normal horror films. The director’s ability to convey people’s desires and violent instincts through horror is quite surprising. The film succeeds in advocating the return to traditional horror tropes through ‘modern’ concepts and style, and Director Ahn focuses on creating a gloomy atmosphere more than shocking bloodbaths. That doesn’t mean the film is free of weaknesses, though, as the director threads the conventional when wrapping up the story. It’s just the kind of film you should watch if all you ask from horror films is screaming your lungs out in fear.

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아파트 (Apartment), Dir. Ahn Byung-Gi [Cast: Go So-Young, Jang Hee-Jin, Kang Sung-Jin, Yoo Min]
- [Choi Won-Gyu, Movie Guide]
One of the common views of people who support director Ahn Byung-Gi is that ‘at least his films are scary’. But every time one of his films is revealed to the press, the real fun (?) is finding how many elements of older films (including his) he shamelessly copied. 아파트 (A.P.T.) walks that road once again. To find in which position this film puts itself, amongst Ahn’s older films and recent horror films vis-a-vis their mannerism, you can express it with two simple words. “Even so…”
- [Hong Sung-Rok, Yonhap News]
As a whole, the film’s structure is rather rough. There’s many scenes leaving you wondering about the characters’ motivation. As for Go So-Young, other than star power there seems to be no other reason why she was cast in this film. There isn’t much to say, except that I’m interested in how they’ll market this film, in a Summer flooded with horror films.
- [Kim Bong-Seok]
The outline of the original manhwa, about an apartment turning off the lights every night at the same time, and someone dying every day after that was fantastic. The tension created in solving the film’s central riddle is the film’s core. But the film isn’t able to do anything special regarding the appearance and actions of the ghost and its grudge. It develops the interesting outline in an old-fashioned way, neither creating chills nor entertaining the viewer. I mean, do all ghosts really have to twist and turn their necks, or make grotesque sounds?

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아치와 씨팍 (Aachi & Ssipak), Dir. Jo Beom-Jin [Voices: Ryu Seung-Beom, Im Chang-Jung, Hyun Young, Shin Hae-Cheol]
- [Kim Young, Film2.0]
Despite the presence of quite a few lively scenes, the most important thing in 아치와 씨팍 (Aachi & Ssipak) is definitely not the story. It’s just a variety of unique characters clashing with each other without any warning. There’s really nothing new in the film, but at least to us Korean viewers, that of ‘Adult Animation’ is quite an unfamiliar thing. Even if there’s many Korean films presenting gangsters and Jopok swearing left and right, Animation in Korea still has that ‘Family Movie’ image. Things like Beavis & Butthead and South Park were introduced, but they never really scored much of a response with the domestic audience. The film might polarize views according to everyone’s taste, but there’s something really tasty in this film, especially for those tired of wholesome and ‘good’ Animation films.
- [Kim Gyu-Han, Maxmovie]
Thought all the feature animation made in Korea was too plain? Think again, as 아치와 씨팍 (Aachi & Ssipak), which took 8 years to make, is everything but plain and obvious. Just the originality of the story and the way it develops is surprising. All the preconceptions we had about Korean Animation are relentlessly crashed. If you’re one of those viewers who thinks Animation is only for kids, you’ll find something that will change your mind here. But while ‘Adult Animation’ will make people think of eroticism, it’s the violence and swearing in this film which earn the 18 and Over rating. Popular stars like Ryu Seung-Beom, Im Chang-Jung and Hyun Young dub the characters, and there’s plenty of parodies, from The Matrix to Misery, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spiderman,  БРОНЕНОСЕЦ “ПОТЕМКИН”  (The Battleship Potemkin) and more. Setting aside box office for a moment, Aachi & Ssipak is likely to be remember as the film raising the bar in domestic animation.