Yeogo goedam (199 Whispering Corridors

Directed by Ki-Hyung Park (Acacia)

Starring Roe-ha Kim(Memories of Murder), Mi-yeon Lee(Addicted), Jin-hie Park(Love Wind Love Song), Ji-hye Yun(Pisces)

A traditional style ghost story, slow paced and lacking the flash editing and effects that are overused in most modern horror films. Notable for a couple of reasons, as a platform for launching the careers of a fair few of its cast and for helping to create a better, healthier environment for learning within the Korean education system.

Strange things are happening at an all girl school, a teacher is found hanged (assumed to be suicide) while an ex pupil returns to take up teaching. There seems to be a cycle of odd events recurring every three years since the sad death in the school of a student who had been ostracised from her peers and friends. 

Death appears to be marking the teachers who take pleasure in bullying and brutally stamping their authority on the pupils, who or what is causing the deaths and why? Meanwhile the strict educational system is having a traumatic effect on the current pupils, one in particular has been pushed far too close to the edge.

The film ran into trouble by depicting the cruelty and punishments meted out by some teachers but it also did some good by bringing this taboo subject into the open and this alone makes this film stand out from the crowd. 

The acting isn't outstanding but it is certainly adequate, the film's success relies on the plot rather than shock value. In essence, an old-fashioned ghost story with the disclosure of the real horrors that were happening in Korean schools.

Not essential but certainly educational/controversial as well as entertaining.

More likely to remain a cult favourite than to achieve the success of a film like "Oldboy"

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

R2 Pal dvd available from Tartan, R3 ntsc also available.