ARANG

ARANG

Can you remember a time when the Asian horror film didn't rely on long haired ghost children -- particularly adolescent female spirits -- as their general motif, milking their sexual identity, exotic nature, and seeming innocence for dread? Neither can I. And while there has long been an influx of way too many copy cats recycling the imagery and themes of the 'dead girl'/ghostly revenge' trope, again and again Tartan's Asia Extreme manages to find films that prove the exception to the rule. Arrang is an intelligent, emotionally powerful, downright creepy movie -- a celluloid shock to the nervous system! Combining the detective and ghost genres (similar to the film Face), but with deeper penetration into the black depths of the human heart, the structure of the film, with its motif of a supernatural deadline, ushers forth the same kind of immediate terror that resonated in Ringu and its ilk.

In a plot that combines the themes and stylistic trappings of the distinct genres of the Cop and supernatural thriller, this horrific hybrid transcends the limitations of both approaches. Finding its own identity by mirroring the unnatural with realistic characterizations, Arrang successfully captures the shock tactics of horror and methodical emotional escalation of the crime picture. A veteran female detective, So-Young, and her assistant, a rookie, are assigned to investigate a recent series of bizarre, terrible murders. They discover that each victim looks to have died as the result of an acid that was spilled inside their bodies, unleashed as though by a mechanism (though none can be found). As the detectives investigate further, with the crimes and their dreadful mystery corrupting their lives, they unearth a terrible crime -- a tragedy that exerts its foul malignance into the future. These fresh killings may be connected to a death that occurred ten years ago, and when So-Young finds her dreams plagued by a dead girl, the line between reality and surrealism threatens to destroy her sanity.

Revitalizing the nature of the genre with unique interpretations of a supernatural world intimately connected with the seemingly concrete existence of the everyday, Arrang weds the episodic nature of the police procedural with the uneasy atmosphere of the occult film. While other films have tried to merge these formulas and failed, making movies either too fragmented or shallow to arouse emotion, Arrang uses convention to its advantage, anchoring fantasy in the believable, evoking dread in the everyday. While it owes clear debts to horror hits that paved the way for its experimental tone, both the director's approach and narrative structure show originality. The picture reaches an impressive level of thematic maturity, emotional depth, and intellectual resonance -- and is scary as hell! Playing out a grisly series of crimes against symbols of cosmic menace, the filmmakers question Man's perception of himself, the illusory nature of reality, and the line between victim and victimizer. Both the unique deaths and eerie moments of spiritual horror are played seriously, lending what could have been shlocky a straight-faced sense of nightmare that mirrors character's lives. An emotional powerhouse of chills and dark revelations!

Arrang is presented in anamorphic widescreen, and the transfer is clean and crisp, featuring sharply defined images and clear colors that emphasize the noir-like imagery. Audio features include the original Korean language track in crisp Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with optional subs.

Extras go above and beyond the usual suspects, outclassing companies who fill their discs with nothing but fluff and self promotion. First off is an insightful and entertaining Audio Commentary with both the Director and the Cast which comes across as intelligent and personable. Jung Dong In and fellows cover the basics of the project, the story, and their take on the characters and themes. Each seems as though they took their role seriously, although the director is clearly the most articulate. The Making of Arrang is your typical self promotional featurette, spiced up with background footage of the film. Interviews with both the Cast and Music Director turn over what little facets of the production wasn't discussed in the audio commentary, with the former being especially intriguing, examining the music of the film. Deleted Scenes are fun yet hardly essential to the movie as a whole, and one can see why they were cut. A Theatrical Trailer and Promos for other Tartan features conclude this DVDs offerings.

Review by William P. Simmons


 
Released by Tartan (USA)
Region 1 - NTSC
Not Rated
Extras :
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