Chan Wook Park shows his understanding of psychological horror in a way that's very reminiscent of the 1970's work of noteable Italian directors such as Dario Argento in this short, twisted tale.
It's all here: the very long swooping camera shots, the bright vibrant primary colours, the terror of real-life melted with the terror of the extreme and illogical. Though it's not a pastiche, it's a very individual piece with many Park trademarks and twists of his own.
Park takes fictitious film Director Ryu Jin-ho, a man with a seemingly perfect life, and puts him in the control, and at the mercy of, an individual with complex and twisted psychological processes, then watches as it begins to play havok with the minds of those involved: the kidnapper himself, Ryu and his wife.
Park shows a hefty understanding of the conventions and purposes of psychological horror in this short tale. The familiar surroundings of one person become the location for unfamiliar happenings. Mental stress predominantly, physical stress, a twisting pathway and dramatic conclusions.
I enjoyed the use of limited locations, which had it not been for the use of a camera, could almost be done as a stage play. The visual style is harsh, vibrant and colour-heavy. It has the nightmarish quality of an apparently real situation: a living nightmare. Park blasts the eyes of the viewer, but demands more of you than to sit back and take in the visuals.
The script is heavy, twisting and deceptive. Again, like "Box" from Takashi Miike, there's a large element of deception apparently occuring, you aren't quite sure if you're managing to follow the story. The end throws it all up in the air again, but this time it's an entirely different approach to "Box" and indeed to other Park work as well.
I appreciated this film for its wide ranging understanding of film, reality and its ability to meld the two into a cohesive and disturbing whole. It's not as obviously complicated or difficult to pin down as "Box" but it's no less a film for it. You can sit down and take it in at a purely visual level, or you can try to read between the lines of the complicated script. The more you delve, the more potentially uncomfortable the whole experience becomes, but additionally it's the more rewarding route on offer.
It's shocking to see the kidnapper break into the minds of his captives, pick apart their lives and hopes to find and exploit the imperfections hidden away in their minds; his motivation is the hatred of the apparently over-successful or over-privelidged. Park uses it to show, communicate and discuss his understanding of the difference between film and reality, and how one can become part of the other in so many positive and negative ways.
The film isn't as substantial as the more slowly paced and drawn out work in "Oldboy" or "Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance". However, in the convention of the horror film and in this short time frame he has packed in as much as you could wish to find. Don't expect something too familiarly Park, as it is something different, yet alot of the familiar touches are in there. It's technically faultless, impressive: the use of computers to meld long and complicated shots, and the camera work and use of a tight space is very effectively exploited.
It's with this film the subtitles begin to faulter. Admitedly they're perfectly adequate but they're littered with slight faults. It's worth noting that there's two different Korean dialects being used simultaneously here. The picture is perfectly good, as is the sound. The only problems appear in the "making of" featurette when artifacting and poor quality imagery is on display.
Overall, having watched all 3 sections of the Three Extremes project in one form or another, I am both reassured by the skills of those involved (Miike expecially, showing a return to form after the abysmal "One Missed Call") and impressed at their adaptability and understanding of what is the most extreme about reality and fiction (when a part of reality itself), and present it in a fascinating and unreal manner.
I think there's lots here for fans of any of the three directors, and for anyone interested in seeing good film making which utilises limitations and restrictions. One of the best things I've watched this year. Highly recommended.