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Whispering Corridors, a review by Danae Cassandra

Whispering Corridors (Yeogo goedam)
Year of Release: 1998
Directed By: Ki-Hyung Park
Starring: Kang-hee Choi, Gyu-ri Kim, Min-jung Kim, Mi-yeon Lee, Jin-hie Park, Ji-hye Yun
Genre: Horror

Overview:
Life is what you'd expect for young teenagers in this seemingly normal private all-girls school, until a past alumni returns as a teacher. She strikes up a friendship with two very different students and a horrific course of events ensues. A teacher is found dead, apparently having committed suicide, and circumstances that inextricably link both the past and the present are unveiled. As the body count rises, the memories of the deaths unleash the echoes of ghosts down the corridors.

My Thoughts:
This was a really good piece of horror. That some of the most horrific scenes are carried out by the living in no way diminishes the power of the ghost story. The ghost is a powerful supernatural being. And she does bring a brutal retribution down. But the true horror is a school culture that not only condones bullying but has teachers actively participating in it, pitting student against student, berating and belittling them for low scores in front of all their peers.

The film creates a great oppressive atmosphere in the school, and the actors all do a good job. Some things are a bit confusing, but with a bit of patient thought can be worked out. Recommended for fans of Asian horror.

Watched For: Hoop-tober 3.0, Scavenger Hunt 19, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 3.5/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 25/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 13th, 2016)

No Reservations, a review by DJ Doena

September, 1st


Catherine Zeta-Jones    ...    Kate
Aaron Eckhart   ...    Nick
Abigail Breslin   ...    Zoe
Patricia Clarkson   ...    Paula
Jenny Wade   ...    Leah
Bob Balaban   ...    Therapist

Synopsis: Kate's life is the kitchen. She's the head chef of a famous restaurant and she's the best. But then her sister dies in a car crash and suddenly she has to take care of her niece. And to make matters worse, her boss hires an additional chef, Nick, whose specialty is italian food. And from where Kate is standing, it looks like he's taken over her kitchen!

My Opinion: I really liked this after the disappointment that was Alex & Emma, especially since it has this melodramatic element of her adopting her niece and the difficulty to adjust to this new situation that both of them have. What I also liked was that the basically mandatory bump in their relationship wasn't caused by him this time, but by her. And I loved it when she threw a raw steak onto a customer's table because the previous two weren't rare enough for him.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on September 1st, 2009)

Tru Calling Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

My Thoughts:
No... the Unaired Pilot is not i the DVD release. I just happened to have it on VCD so I thought I would start off the marathon with it. This episode really is very similar to what they actually aired. They just changed a couple things. One is her friend Cameron. In this version of the pilot he is making a video game based on Tru's running. And that is the other thing... Tru runs much more in this version of the pilot. And maybe had a couple people played by different  actor... not 100% sure about that. I didn't add the Guest Stars to this one as I didn't find any info on them online. And the credits were not on the VCD that I have.

My Rating:

(From Tru Calling Marathon on April 27th, 2010)