We follow the path of Joo-ran/Shizuko, who is a sick girl shipped into the institution as she appears to maybe have TB. She coughs up blood a lot, anyway! She soon finds out that there was a girl there before her called Shizuko which is why, I think, they have dubbed her that. The first Shizuko disappeared one day without even a goodbye to the rest of the girls, who all appear to be about 15 or 16. Then, as she's settling in and people are getting to know her, another girl disappears during the night - the nasty headmistress tells the girls that her parents took her away. All very shady and like in Level 16, our central character is keen to find out what's going on with this place and why girls disappear, assuming she's probably next!
The girls are all told that when they get better, if they take their 'medicine' and injections (like Level 16's vitamins) they would get 'taken to Tokyo in Japan'. The Japanese military are kind of in attendance and clearly have something to do with it, being just before WWII and when Korea was colonised by Japan. It's apparently not a true story, nor based on anything factual.
Anything more regarding the plot would be a bit of a giveaway so I'll leave it there and fill you in with some other stuff. Like it's a bit gory in places, turns from mystery to sinister thriller/horror eventually and has a few surprises up its sleeve - the main one being the big reveal as to what it's all about. Again, very Level 16.
There's quite a bit of atmosphere in places, the tone and themes are very dark, obviously, and although not really scary in any way, it's certainly an unsettling watch. I don't know the director Lee Hae-young nor any of the actors, but certainly the two or three girls in the lead roles do a decent enough job in having the audience convinced. A decent enough little thriller if you can track it down.
No comments:
Post a Comment