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A jeoseung saja (저승사자), kind of like Korea’s version of the Grim Reaper.

New to Black Metal Banchan?  You can read earlier entries here!

That’s right everyone, it’s time for another Black Metal Banchan!!  This time around, we’re going to discuss the delightful music of a mysterious Korean black metal entity by the name of Pyha (폐허).   Y’see, many years ago  began floating around internet metal forums about some Korean kid who was creating some pretty dark, depressing black metal (many years before depressive suicidal black metal (DBSM) became the trend that’s all the rage these days), and there was much speculation as to the validity of these recordings in terms of the alleged identity of the creator.   However, that’s not to say that high school kids can’t record high-quality metal, as everyone knows that Burzum, Emperor, Blut aus Nord, Dissection, and Sarcófago were all teenagers when they formed these bands and recorded their debut albums.   Anyway, as it turns out, the internet rumors about Pyha (I don’t know why he chose to spell it like that, as “Pyayheo” or something like that would be more accurate if you’re going by the Revised Romanization of Korean) were quite close to the truth for once, although there is still much mystery that surrounds the project.   You’ll just have to read on for more info!

Anyway, since we’re talking about bedroom black metal made by an angsty teenager, why not also talk about some snacks that are all the rage with the kids here in South Korea these days?  This time around we’re going to talk about something everyone, but especially Korean teenagers, love- ramen (or in Korea, “ramyeon“)!   I always see kids eating ramyeon in convenience stores here.  This is because in many Asian countries most convenience stores have hot water dispensers, cup ramen/noodles, and chopsticks so that you can get a cheap, delicious (and completely devoid of any nutritional value whatsoever) snack.  I’m not sure about other countries, but I know that in South Korea they usually have extra stuff that you can buy if you want to make the snack more filling (and delicious), such as kimchi, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, imitation crab, etc.   Eat Your Kimchi has a great video about this if you want some more info.   Anyway, whenever I think of the snack that the kids go crazy for over here, it’s definitely Korean ramyeon!  Furthermore, this is a really exciting time in the Korean ramyeon scene right now, because culinary scientists have finally figured out how to combine ramyeon with the absolutely killer Chinese-Korean jjambbong!!  More on that below.

Last, to continue with the whole middle school/high school theme, we’re going to explore the popular Korean Whispering Corridors (여고괴담) movie series, a pentalogy of nightmarish horror that always takes place in an all-girls high school!   While some are certainly better than others, it’s interesting to consider their underlying themes and what they suggest about Korean culture and society.   Having taught at a Korean middle school myself for several years, some of the themes in these movies hit fairly close to home.

Let’s get to it!


PYHA (폐허)

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 So what’s the deal with Pyha?   Well, to cut right to the point, I actually met the dude before I had ever heard of this project.   It was a couple years ago, and he was playing live in a powerviolence duo called Bamseom Pirates at a small punk/metal basement show in Seoul, and seemed like a nice dude, if a bit shy.   It wasn’t until much later, when I was exploring Korea’s black metal scene that I finally realized who this dude was/is.   I was really surprised!   He just seemed like a pretty normal, friendly guy.   It’s already shocking to me whenever I meet Koreans who are into punk or metal in the first place, and the concept of a kid producing their own bedroom black metal demos in elementary school is pretty unusual as well.    The fact that this music was created by a Korean elementary/middle school student blows my mind.
“But bro,” you may ask, “is it any good???”   That’s up for you to decide, but at least in my opinion some of it is pretty interesting!  Join me as I delve into the bizarre, mysterious world of PYHA!!
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흉가 / The Haunted House (2002)

If the rumors are true and Pyha really started this band when he was 12, then this is arguably the most depressing album ever created by a 12-year old.   It first starts out with a feedback-laden, Burzum-worshiping (think Hvis Lyset Tar Os-era), whispered, “evil” vocals, and a depressing drone metal motif that occasionally includes some mysterious, atmospheric keyboards, clean guitar ambience, and tortured wailings.  Hell, on some tracks that’s all it is!  For 2001, I’d say this could almost be considered proto-DSBM, or at least similar to something Xasthur or Nortt were doing at the time.   It also reminds me a lot of Abruptum.   By the time the simple, possibly-programmed drums kick in, you pretty much can tell how the rest of the album is going to play out- hypnotic, gloomy, bedroom black metal.  Also, I’m pretty sure this is a concept album (at least partially) and is set in a…you guessed it!  Haunted house!!! For a 12-year old to create this on his own, in 2001, in South Korea, I’d say this is pretty impressive!    However, it’s still probably not something I would sit around and listen to, as I’d probably just end up offing myself eventually.

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       The Haunted House (2008 re-release)

 
길닦음 (2004)
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                        길닦음 (Gildaggeum) 

Wow, the opening track on this album is actually quite beautiful!  Distorted, reverb-laden guitars mixed with atmospheric keyboards and more whispery, evil vocals combine to make honestly a pretty cool, mysterious intro… Anyway, this album is definitely a bit more upbeat than the The Haunted House, which was pretty bleak and nihilistic.  This one is definitely faster and more “rockin'”, even though it definitely still maintains a sad, haunting atmosphere, and can’t ever quite get away from still sounding like bedroom black metal.   Honestly, my favorite parts of this record are the non-metal tracks, each of which creates a mysterious, mournful atmosphere that is really cool!   Some of these tracks sound like you’re watching ghostly funeral rites, and then others sound like you’re meditating on a mountain under the stars and being contacted telepathically by extradimensional entities.   While honestly this album is a little too “out there” for me and not really my style, I really loved the keyboards!   They sound like they’re from a low-budget 80s horror movie only available on VHS, and really enhance the mysteriousness, epic, haunting atmosphere.
Songs for Darkspirits (2005)
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                  Songs for Darkspirits 

 While not the most exciting album cover, this also isn’t the most exciting album either.   In fact, it’s not even a metal release at all, and is actually what many would call “dark ambient” or something.  It’s also almost 2 and a half hours long, so it’s obviously not something you can listen to probably in one sitting.   That being said, it’s pretty fucking brilliant!  Fairly creepy/unsettling, it definitely reminds me of something that was created under the influence of drugs, or is meant to be listened to while on drugs.  This is especially unusual for something coming from South Korea, given its harsh penalty for possession of ANY illegal drugs (even weed), so most Koreans have zero experience with anything like that unless they travel overseas and somehow get the chance to experiment with them.   For a Korean teenager to come up with this kind of music without the use of psychedelics is pretty impressive, I’d say!
Anyway, as I was saying, this album is great, and almost seems like a collection of just random “leftover” tracks that were never used in any of Pyha’s other music, as there seems to be no overarching theme, motif, or style that kind of ties everything together compared to the other albums.   Some tracks are creepy soundscapes that wouldn’t be out of place in a game like Silent Hill or something (“To Server Against His Will” (pretty sure that’s a typo), “Inner Communication – Terminated”), while others sound like eerie, atmospheric, “haunting” piano interludes (“At the Deathbed”).   There’s only a couple songs that are actually metal (“…of Burning Sacred” and “My Ruin in Snowstorm”) and I’m surprised that it didn’t make it on any of his other albums, as it’s quite good and typical of his style (hypnotizing, depressing, atmospheric, droning).

맞불놀이 (2011)

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 맞불놀이 (Matboolnori)

 Are you in a good mood?   Well, sorry, but it’s time for some more death-obsessed bedroom black metal with mysterious ambient interludes!  Even though this is the most recent Pyha release (not including the 2013 “The Lost Empire” split with Pyha and 5 other bands), it is also the most obscure.   There are only a couple tracks that have been uploaded to YouTube, and I can only find the physical CD for sale on some sketchy online music sites that are only in Korean.   I’m not sure if Pyha himself even has any copies left of the record.
Anyway, this one definitely has the strongest Burzum influences of the albums I’d say, as it’s similar in style to stuff like “Filosofem” or “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss”.

The Jjammbong Ramyeon Wars

War has broken out on the Korean peninsula once again!!   Is it North Korea?!   Has Kim Jong-un finally lived up to the hype and started blowing shit up everywhere?!
No, no, nothing like that.   In fact, shit’s only going down in South Korea, and it’s actually between the various chaebol and their quest for ramyeon supremacy (I guess it’s important to note that Koreans spell ramen as “ramyeon”, so I’ll use both interchangeably just because it sounds weird to refer to Korean ramyeon as “ramen”…ugh I’ve lived here too long).   Look, I know what you’re thinking.   There’s a shitload of different ramyeon available here in Korea, so haven’t these companies always been competing?  Also, ramen attempting to emulate jjambbong isn’t new…ramen companies have been trying to do that for years (if not decades).   So what’s the deal with this post?
Well, for about the past year or so I began to notice random new jjambbong ramyeon flavors being heavily promoted at convenience stores and supermarkets.  I also realized that it was impossible to go on the internet or watch TV without being bombarded with jjambbong ramyeon advertisements.   Curious, I began to ask my Korean friends what the deal was, and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed!  Four powerful food/snack companies (Ottogi, Nongshim, Samyang, and Paldo) had all decided to
Jin Jjambbong (진짬뽕)
s-l300Not content with the regular ol’ ramen noodles, Ottogi has decided kick off the Jjambbong Ramyeun Revolution by upping the ante with some bigger, chewier noodles, I’m guessing in order to emulate real spaghetti noodles (which are typically what is used to make jjambbong).   At first I thought I wouldn’t like them, but actually I prefer these over regular ramen noodles!   As for the broth, it actually tastes like real, spicy, oily, smoky jjambbong!  This would be perfect to eat for a snack after work or school on a cold winter day.  Quite possibly the greatest (store-bought) Korean ramen I’ve ever had in my life.  Highly recommended!!
Rating: 9 
 
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OK, so you might be thinking, “Wulf, why would you bother reviewing the same product twice?  Isn’t the cup version the same thing?”  Well, any tr00 ramyeun warrior knows that the cup ramen version is definitely not the same thing as the original.   I’m not exactly sure why this is, but if you compare both it’s pretty obvious that the stove top-cooked ramen is significantly more tasty.   I guess the broth is more or less the same, but the noodles just don’t taste quite as good for whatever reason.   Anyway, why would I bother with even discussing the inferior cup noodle version of Jin Jjambbong?   Well, it’s actually not quite the same thing… y’see, Ottogi decided to take shit to the next level for those of us who wanted something a bit more hardcore, so they released Boggeum Jin Jjambbong!!  Boggeum or “bokkeum” in Korean translates to “stir-fried”, so yep, you guessed it!  There’s no broth in this version, once the noodles are cooked in the boiling water you dump the water out and then mix in the spicy paste and chili oil.   Also, you know this shit is kvlt as fuck because if you search for it in English on Google you’ll get like 2 results total, so you’re getting into some of the more obscure shit that’s torturing tastebuds here in SK.   So…how does it compare to the original soup version?
While the noodles aren’t that impressive (the cup noodle version never is), this is still pretty good!  When you first dig into it though it tastes decent, kind of like a shittier version of the dreaded Buldalk Bokkeummyeon, but over time once the chili really starts kicking in and mixes with the flavor it actually tastes great, and fairly similar to the soup version I guess.   It would be better to just cook it over the stove, which apparently they do make as it’s advertised in the commercial (see below), but I haven’t really seen it around.   Still, I’d personally stick with the original (gotta love that broth) if I had the choice.
Rating: 7.5
Mat Jjambbong (맛짬뽕)
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 Perhaps I’ve spoken too soon…
Mat Jjambbong is very similar to Jin Jjambbong in terms of taste, presentation, etc., so there’s not really much else to add unfortunately.   However, on top of the little bits of veggies and seafood, unlike Jin Jjambbong it doesn’t have little bits of imitation crab, but rather squid instead (I think) as well as kind of a bonus, which is definitely more sexy.   So, would I recommend it MORE than Jin Jjambbong?   I don’t know!   Perhaps this calls for a rematch between these two, as their taste is quite similar (maybe even the same?) but Jin Jjambbong remains to be the highest seller, so maybe I’m missing something?   Highly recommended!!
Rating: 9 
 
Bul Jjambbong (불짬뽕)
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With hands-down the best commercial (see below), Paldo’s Bul Jjambbong has obviously decided to enter into the war with a bang!   They even got master chef of Chinese cuisine Lee Yeon-bok, arguably Korea’s most popular celebrity chef, to (allegedly) create the soup’s recipe, and then smile smugly on the front of the packaging because he knows full well that what you’re buying looks nothing like what is actually contained inside, not to mention that it’s also really fucking terrible for you (honestly, how the dude over at Ramen Rater is still alive absolutely blows my mind).    But how does it taste?  Well, as expected, the noodles are very similar to the other jjambbong ramyeon brands, as is the taste of the broth.   However, it could just be my imagination, but I feel like this stuff is slightly spicier than the others I’ve eaten so far…but maybe I’m just full of it.   Either way, I was kind of disappointed by the lack of extras (I feel like the others had a bit more veggies and “meat”), plus, Paldo decided to go for some weird beef/pork/mystery meat instead of the traditional seafood route that you normally find in jjambbong.   While I applaud them for trying to do something different, it’s just not quite right.   Instead, they should have shown up the others and hooked us up with some shrimp or clams or something…oh well.   Anyway, while this is still some damn good ramen and way better than almost every other non-jjambbong ramyeon out there, unfortunately it just does not take it to the next level, which is absolutely critical for Paldo since they kind of came in late in the game and really needed to do something dramatic to differentiate themselves.   A flashy commercial and hiring a celebrity master chef just isn’t quite going to cut it if you want to crush the competition completely!
If I were the “chef”/scientist or whoever comes up with these flavors, I would have made this jjambbong A LOT more spicy and, if possible, seafood ingredients instead of whatever weird meat stuff they had in there.   To be fair, the meat wasn’t gross, bad-tasting, or even really that noticeable, but still not as good when compared to the seafood garnish included in the others.   For sure though, it’s got to at least be more spicy!   It’s called BUL (“FIRE”) jjambbong!   Obviously Koreans can handle their spicy food, as not only is fiery jjambbong a huge hit here, but also buldalk bokkeumyeun (we’ll talk about this later) is one of the spiciest ramen brands IN THE WORLD and is also super popular here.   SO, if I were in charge of Paldo’s marketing for this product, I’d definitely try and brand this stuff as the more “dangerous” option or something… “do you DARE to eat BUL JJAMBBONG????” or whatever, and have some cartoon guy with bulging eyes on the front of the packaging frantically grabbing at his throat while belching fire.   THAT’s how they should have done this!
Rating: 8.75 
God Jjammbong (갓짬뽕)
57069_12821_1719Call me crazy, but I feel like this is the spiciest of the bunch!  Don’t get me wrong, anyone who’s associated with me knows that I’m a spicy food fiend, but this one seems to pack the strongest punch in terms of heat.   I guess this could maybe be expected since this is made by the same corporation that unleashed the dreaded Buldalk bokkeumyeun on the world (even though it’s not nearly that spicy), but for now let’s get into “God Jjambbong”…
Unfortunately, it seems like Samyang completely missed the boat with this product, as they should have really taken the opportunity to make it the spiciest (hey, Paldo, you call yours “fire jjambbong” and think it’s actually worthy of the name?  Wait till THIS comes out your ass!!), or at least come up with a name that doesn’t translate into “God” from the Hangul when you spell it phonetically in English, because it’s just going to immediately set you up for disappointment due it just tasting like the rest.   Also, no wonder they were last in sales compared to the others, as they never even bothered with putting out a sexy commercial like all the others.  Just look at the video below, it’s seriously the best I could find in terms of a “promo” and it’s obviously pretty fucking lame.   Samyang, get it together dudes!!
Rating: 8.75

BONUS:

Crab Chips (Ggotgaerang), Fire JJambbong (꽃게랑 (불짬뽕))

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Based off the popular crab-flavored Ggotgaerang (꽃게랑) snacks (I guess they’re called “Crab Chips” in English?), it seems as if Binggrae (the makers of Ggotgaerang) have formed an unholy alliance with Paldo in spawning forth Fire Jjambbong Crab Chips!!  Looks pretty exciting, so let’s get into it!
First of all, these are surprisingly spicy!  They also do a good job of emulating the jjambbong taste as well, which I was impressed with.   However, unlike jjambbong, these chips also have a slight hint of sweetness that balances out the heat, which is kind of nice…Korean snacks usually go overboard with the sweetness, so this is surprisingly restrained.   Pretty decent snack, I’d say!
Rating:  8 / 10
Oh, and also it’s worth mentioning that on the back of the packaging there’s a warning to not eat it if you don’t like spicy food (duh), but also to not boil it (lol).

WULF AT THE MOVIES!!

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Apparently, this is one of the first successful Korean horror movie series, and the first one is arguably perhaps is one of the first movies to kick off the whole “exploitation” theme that has haunted this particular genre of Korean cinema ever since.   It seems as if this is something that elevates these movies from just being an attempt at “being scary” (while there is still that, of course) to simultaneously also trying to convey a “message”.  In my completely uninformed and unprofessional opinion, it seems like the filmmakers for these movies grew up in “old-school” Korea, where society was even more rigidly hierarchical than it is today.   South Korea, in particular, is a country that has gone through massive changes in the last 100 years or so, and even in the present this metamorphosis shows no signs of slowing down.   It is especially apparent when comparing elderly Koreans with those who are of university-age, or even adolescence.   While much has been written about this phenomenon and I don’t want to turn this into some pseudo-intellectual rant, it’s important to keep this concept in mind when watching these films.   Whispering Corridors, in my opinion, is an allegory or metaphor for the changes in society and the psychic scars that the current younger generation continues to bear as they continue to develop and mature in Korean society.

Whispering Corridors (여고괴담) (1998)

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Yeah, it may not have a ton of special effects, high production, or even really be all that exciting, but I actually found this film to pretty enjoyable overall!   This movie’s got malevolent ghosts, abusive teachers, supernatural murders/suicides, and a very strange twist that I can’t decide if it’s supposed to be symbolic (kind of dumb on purpose) or just ill-conceived… but either way, an interesting commentary on the fairly fucked up nature of Korean schools at the time.   Having worked at a Korean middle school myself, I can say that it’s not hard to imagine that the abuse kids went through back in the day (and may still go through in some places!) isn’t exaggerated by much in its depiction in this film.   I’ve personally seen kids slapped and paddled, not to mention psychologically tortured due to the insane pressure placed on academic achievement by family, but I’ve heard stories from older Koreans that the shit kids go through now here is nothing compared to even 20-30 years ago or so.
Anyway, I’d have to say that for a horror movie, this movie is pretty decent!  Obviously, they didn’t have much money or high-profile professional actors to work with, and there is a huge plot hole that still kind of bothers me (I think you’ll notice it should you watch this film), but  besides that everything here is fairly solid…the acting (especially the students!), the writing, the suspense, etc.  Unfortunately, the movie is a bit slow and the scares are kind of few and far between, so I’d say this movie is a bit more relevant from a sociocultural perspective rather than just being a solid horror movie.

Whispering Corridors 2: Memento Mori (여고괴담 두번째 이야기) (1999)Memento_Mori_movie_poster

Is this even a horror movie really?   While it was indeed “controversial” in terms of being one of the first, if not THE first, depiction of lesbian high school students in a Korean feature film, I found this movie to be much more enjoyable once I realized that it wasn’t trying to be scary, and instead was just a complex, psychological drama that was once again explored themes of suicide, isolation, and the fucked-up nature of the Korean education system.   Yeah, it had very scares, and was overall pretty slow, I actually found this to be a pretty interesting movie in terms of its symbolism and themes.   Also, I’d like to mention that one of the central plot devices of the film is a diary that belongs to the lesbian student couple… you may roll your eyes when you think of a teen girl’s diary just because it’s most likely filled with bad poetry, angsty lyrics by awful bands, “deep” observations, etc., but this diary is pretty fucking cool!  Whoever was in charge of designing it did a fantastic job, as it’s stylistically quite well-designed, and it even has mysterious drugs hidden inside of it in different places.
Also, without giving too much away, I’ve read online that there’s an uncut version, or at least has a bunch of deleted scenes that you can watch on the DVD or something, that actually completely change the story and add a whole new twist to it.   I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with that, but I’d actually be interested in checking it out just to see for myself how including them would have influenced the movie.
Anyway, as with the last movie, I can’t honestly say this is an absolutely mandatory watch, but again it’s kind of cool from a sociocultural/teen psychology perspective.  The more I read about it, the more I think that perhaps this film is superior to the first one, and they took a risk in making it less of a horror movie and more of a psychological/supernatural drama.   It’s surprisingly complex in terms of its depth and symbolism.   Too bad it also is cursed with occasional, cheesy ’90s special effects 🙂

 Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs (여고괴담 3: 여우계단) (2003)
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This is arguably the “scariest” in terms of it being the most like a traditional horror movie in the series so far (hint: it’s not very scary) but also seems to have had a higher budget in terms of production value, more attractive actresses in the main roles, etc.  It’s also still arguably of a similar complexity as the previous two.   In fact, I actually didn’t really like this film that much the first time I saw it just because I thought the story was a little bit too similar to Memento Mori (a jilted lover comes back from the dead to get revenge on her ex-girlfriend and haunt the school!!), and the romantic relationship between the two girls wasn’t pronounced enough.   I actually thought they were just best friends who were just especially touchy-feely with each other (the way Judge Dredd and I are <3) as opposed to being a legitimate romantic couple in love.   I’ve actually never taught girls in the classroom before, but the boys would always cuddle with each other in class and hold hands so I just assumed they were doing the girl version of that.  Anyway, so that’s why I feel like the stories were a bit too similar.
However, honestly I had to watch this movie twice just to make sure I really understood it.   Upon doing so, I’ve found that my opinion changed, and that actually this movie is pretty good…even if it is kind of weird and confusing at times.
Unlike the first two, this one is more straightforward in terms of its story and moral (“be careful what you wish for”, or else the ghost of whoever you crossed may fuck your world up!), but I liked the funkiness of the first two more.   It seems like the earlier films had less of a budget, so they had to be more creative in terms of storytelling and concept in order to pull off a convincing, feature-length movie.   However, although this is a bit more slickly-produced and “commercial”, it still doesn’t shy away from the series’ typical themes of murder, suicide, bullying, obsession, and homosexuality.   Especially with the latter, although the lesbianism of the story isn’t as pronounced as it was in Memento Mori, it still plays an important role in the story.   Also, I believe that this is the first time that we’re treated to a proper cheonyeo gwishin (also known as a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl)!   Although technically I guess they have appeared in the first two movies, I feel like they don’t really count as a TRUE cheonyeo gwishin/onryō unless they move all herky-jerky and shit.
So, is this a worthy entry into the mighty WC series?  I’d say so.

Whispering Corridors 4: Voice (여고괴담 4: 목소리) (2005)

tumblr_m3ascovR5n1rsurwqo1_500Yeah, I can’t really say this one is that good, even though I think the poster looks fairly promising.  Whereas the others were slow and subtle, the stories seemed mysterious and compelling enough that they were able to carry the story.   Although the twist in this movie is still kind of cool, and it has all the familiar tropes found in the earlier movies of the series (suicide, a cheonyeo gwishin (kind of), lesbianism, illicit sexual affairs, greed, a shocking twist, etc.),  it’s just not enough to save what is overall a pretty boring film.  The acting and production is decent, but I found that the characters in this film just quite up to par compared with the others.  It just seems to be missing some of the edginess that made the other movies stand out, although I suppose it does kind of explore some Korean social problems in terms of the lack of support or care for the elderly/terminally ill and the burden this can have on families.   Lacking in thrills, creepiness, compelling characters, and an intriguing story,  this one just did not take it to the next level for me.   This next one better be good!

Whispering Corridors 5: Suicide Pact (여고괴담 5: 동반자살) (2009)

A_Blood_Pledge_film_posterWe finally made it!!  I never thought I’d actually finish this post…seriously, it’s taken me months to get this finally wrapped up just because it was a pain in the ass to find the time to watch these movies since it’s been an extremely hectic year (marriage, honeymoon, wedding celebration and trip back home, new job, moving to a different city, grad school, trying to start a black metal cover band, etc.).   However, here we are!
So, what’s the deal with this movie?  Did it seriously suck so bad that it ruined the series and that’s why they haven’t bothered to make another one since?
According to a Korean coworker, they stopped making these movies because the franchise was failing at the box office.  I asked why they were failures, and she just said…”boring”.  Well!  There you have it, I guess!
Anyway, at this point I was just happy to be done with the series.  All the typical themes and tropes from the previous films are here (obsession, jealousy, suicide, abuse, bullying, revenge from beyond the grave, a confusing storyline, petty friendship squabbling, etc.), but while the story is still fairly original (as they all are, I suppose), it does feel slightly tired.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s without its moments!  For example, one of the best scenes in the film is when this older woman is driving her car and she starts to experience some sort of weird headache, and then suddenly her head explodes!!  Holy shit!!!   Other than that, it kind of relies on the usual thrills…you know. supernatural hallucinatory scenes that end abruptly as they start, the cheonyeo gwishin popping up out of nowhere to exact her gruesome revenge,  the twist ending, and all the other stuff you’ve come to expect from the series.  It’s OK, but definitely not the groundbreaking stuff that we saw with the first two films.  I don’t know if they’ll ever resurrect the series, but it would be kind of neat to see if they’d be able to come up with something fresh or interesting, as it’s obvious that with this last film they were starting to run out of ideas.
 

Do you like black metal, ramyeun, and/or movies??  Have you ever eaten spicy Korean ramyeun while watching a Whispering Corridors movie on mute with Pyha as the soundtrack (a la Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with the Wizard of Oz?)??   Feel free to tell us about it in the comments!
Not enough Black Metal Banchan for ya?  Check out the older entries in the series if you haven’t already!