Asian Horror Movies

Perhaps one of the most talked about and hyped Korean films in recent times, the Host left me with a sense of awe. Released on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006 and breaking box-office records throughout its domestic run, hopes of another great horror was at an all time high.

It isn't often that you see such a beautiful piece of story-telling. A story of horror, humour, and death. A story about a monster compelling enough, yet somehow seeming to keep it as realistic as any movie you would see.

The story evolves around an unremarkable Korean family - slow but whole hearted Park Gang-du, who runs a food stand with his father Hee-bong. Gang-du's independent 14 year old daughter, Hyun-seo, and her drunk uncle Nam-li along with her underachieving national archer Auntie , Nam-joo.

The family find themselves caught in the middle of a carnage caused by a mutant beast out of the local Han river.

When one of the members gets taken, the characters experience courage that they never had, to change the ways they have lived, and work together to save one so close to their hearts.

The beast in itself evoked a sense of disgust, awe and terror at the same time. Devouring any human live to satisfy it's hunger, yet scheming to escape any sort of entrapment. Think of it as what Jaws would be like if it could walk the streets, and with what looks and acts like tentacles.

Some of the filming took place in the real sewers near the Han River, rather than on a set. The stars and crew were inoculated against Tetanus and included inoculation against blood-sucking tapeworms that inhabit the sewers.

During filming, the crew had to deal with the effects of changes in weather and ambient temperature.

It's not horror in the traditional sense, but more of a movie that explores the extremes of human courage, behaviour, and the repercussions of past actions. A movie that makes you realise that sometimes, we should take that time out to appreciate the ones around us, even if for just that one moment.

Catch this before the sequel hits out screens in 2008.

Shutter (photography), a photographic device that administers the exposure by limiting the time over which light is admitted - Wikipedia

We've all heard about the image or blur in our photos that weren't quite there when we took the picture.

Shutter is one of those tales that confirm the very worst of our fears, and the very best in suspenseful horror.

The story centres around photographer Tun(Ananda Everingham) and his girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee), and the events that occur after hitting a woman on the road.

Returning to their lives in metropolitan Bangkok, both protagonists find themselves having to deal with eerie occurances, dreams, and a increasing death rate of everyone close to them.

Always a skeptic, Tun's haunting photos start to make you believe that sometimes, it's not just what you see that can hurt you, but what you can't see that can make you believe.

Tun and Jane soon realise that the deaths of those closest to them may not be so much of a coincidence, but a result of what lies behind the lens and past of their lives.