Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Yoo Sun-dong
Starring: Jung Eun-ji, Lee Sung-yeol, Choi Yoon-young, Shin Joo-Hwan, Jung Won-Chang
For much of the 21st century, American horror filmmakers have been ripping off the specific thrills found in the explosion of Asian horror movies (mostly Korean and Japanese) that occurred at the turn of the century (the last time English-speaking audiences were willing to read subtitles on any notable scale; the recent success of Oscar winner Parasite notwithstanding). With few exceptions, most simply borrowed the patina of Asian horror (ancient curses, straggly-haired ghosts, an integration of modern technology with the spirit world) and failed to reproduce the unique atmosphere of the best K-horror and J-horror movies.
I guess what goes around comes around, as with his new supernatural shocker 0.0Mhz, Korean filmmaker Yoo Sun-dong appears to be aping the bad American ripoffs of his own country's horror cinema, complete with that very American trope of a group of largely obnoxious young and attractive protagonists.
The title refers to the radio wavelength which purportedly allows for contact with the spirit realm. While this might suggest something along the lines of Poltergeist or the Michael Keaton vehicle White Noise, in which spirits use TV static to make contact with the terrestrial world, this concept is never really explored. Instead we get a very generic story of college kids battling demons in a cabin in the woods.
[ New Release Review - We Summon the Darkness ]
The kids in question, members of a college paranormal society, fall into the usual Breakfast Club designations - the jock (Jung Won-Chang's Tae-Soo), the blond bimbo (Choi Yoon-Young's Yoon-Jung), the asshole (Shin Joo-Hwan's Han-Seok), the sensitive nerd (Lee Sung-Yeol's Sang-Yeob) and of course, the introverted girl who emerges as the film's heroine (Jung Eun-Ji's So-Hee).
Having heard tell of a legend involving a remote house in the woods purportedly haunted by the ghost of a suicide victim (as played out in the pre-credits sequence), the Mystery Inc wannabes head off to the countryside. Most are simply out for a fun weekend, but for So-Hee, it's a far more serious matter. Unbeknown to the rest, she possesses the ability to see dead people. She's regularly visited by her late grandmother, and when the gang stop off at a grocery store, where they receive the usual warning about staying away for their destination, So-Hee sees the spirit of a dead schoolgirl.
[ READ MORE: New Release Review - Why Don't You Just Die! ]
At the haunted house, Yoon-Jung volunteers to be the receptacle for the spirit, and unfortunately for her, all goes to plan as the ghost takes over her body. The gang rush her back to the city, where she is hospitalised, only to find that they can't escape the malevolent intentions of the spirit, known as "the hair ghost", which I can only assumes sounds a lot creepier in Korean.
Director Sun-dong struggles to establish any atmosphere, and the various stalking/kill sequences are rendered with little to no visual flair or imagination. There's literally nothing here that you haven't seen in countless low budget teen horrors.
K-Pop star Eun-Ji boasts an ethereal, Sissy Spacek-esque presence that lends a small veneer of spookiness to the proceedings, but the sub-Evil Dead antics drag on interminably, culminating in a twist that comes off like a final act of desperation.
0.0Mhz is available on Shudder from April 23rd.
"A pleasingly schizophrenic thriller-come-torture-porn indie."— 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕖 đť•Žđť•’đť•—đť•—đť•ťđť•–đť•Ł (@themoviewaffler) April 19, 2020
THE HOST is on UK VOD now.
Read @filmclubchs's reviewhttps://t.co/BSpNVVeOKy pic.twitter.com/5DKPgtfwZt