TELL ME SOMETHING

TELL ME SOMETHING

(a.k.a. TELMISSEOMDING)

A gory opening sets the scene in style - an unconscious male lies on a morgue slab. A masked person approaches him with a scalpel, and proceeds to hack the man's arm off as blood pours into a bucket placed beneath his feet. Once the dirty deed is complete, the mysterious "surgeon" takes off into the night, the severed limb crammed into their suitcase.

Following this, we meet downtrodden detective Cho (Suk-kyu Han, SHIRI), who is being interrogated by Internal Affairs. He is suspected of taking bribes from a mobster he'd been investigating, to fund his ailing mother's medical bills. Cho denies all allegations.

Later, he attends the site of an apparent suicide and his attention is drawn to the victim's gold cufflink. The cufflink becomes a symbolic keepsake for Cho as the film progresses.

At the suicide scene, we become more aware of Cho's tarnished reputation as his colleagues give him a hard time, accusing him of being a corrupt cop. Demonstrating our anti-hero's hot-tempered nature, Cho responds by punching one of them in the face.

After attending his mother's funeral, Cho becomes even more jaded and disillusioned with his work. He barely flinches when he is called to a murder scene and discovers the corpse sat in a car minus its arms. Later, an autopsy reveals that the cadaver had been stitched together from various body parts.

When a severed head and more body parts are found in a shopping mall elevator, the cops deduce they have a serial killer on their hands - and assign the case to Cho, telling him if he can catch the killer he may redeem his reputation somewhat.

It's not long before more gruesome bin bags filled with body parts turn up, and one of the victim's next-of-kin - the demure Su-Yeon Chae (Eun-ha Shim, THE UPRISING; INTERVIEW) - is called in to identify him.

Cho later visits Chae at her home when he discovers that she has had relations with all three of the victims. Initially, he believes the killer may be targeting her. But, as his relationship with Chae grows, Cho adds her to his list of suspects ...

TELL ME SOMETHING starts off superbly, with a quick pace and frequently stylish camera-work. The film's look is attractively colourful and slick. The acting and direction by Yoon-Hyun Chang (SOME) are top-notch, and while events may mirror BASIC INSTINCT on occasion, the whole thing is distinctively Korean in feel and structure enough to secure it's own identity.

Dark, gory and with a couple of decent twists, TELL ME SOMETHING has built a solid fan base over the last few years. It's not hard to see why - it's a competent, polished thriller with impressive gore and a mean streak we see all too rarely in cop thrillers these days.

On the down side, the movie is overlong and the second half cannot match the frenetic pace of the first hour. There's also a sense that, as accomplished and stunning as it often is, TELL ME SOMETHING is not treading any new ground. The ending was predictable too (although deliciously dark, nevertheless).

As ever with Tartan's releases these days, the presentation of the film is superb. Presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the image is anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TV sets and looks magnificent. The colourful style of the film is done vivid justice in this stunning, sharp transfer.

Audio-wise, the film is offered in its original Korean language - with 2.0, 5.1 and 5.1 DTS options. All are well-balanced, impressively loud and clear triumphs. Removable English subtitles are also on hand.

Nice animated menus include a scene selection menu providing access to the main feature via 16 chapters.

Extras consist of an 8 minute Behind The Scenes featurette that is just as gory as the movie; a 3 minute music video featuring clips from the film set to a tune by art-rockers Placebo; and the movie's original trailer.

The featurette and trailer both gain from possessing removable English subtitles.

Liner notes are also provided by the reliable Justin Bowyer - however these were not available for review with this screener disc.

A decent, gruesome thriller with visual style to spare. Perhaps not the masterpiece it's reputation has suggested over the last few years, but definitely of interest. It would make for an excellent rental.

Review by Stu Willis


 
Released by Tartan
Region all PAL
Rated 18
Extras : see main review
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