In the 1990s, a strain of cinema came out internationally that played fast and loose with structure and time. Most of the names connected with that movement, Tarantino and Nolan among them, are American, but it could also be seen in the international realm, as indicated by this South Korean film. Memento Mori is actually a pretty basic ghost story built on guilt and grief, but transcends the genre through digital video techniques and a lot of creepy ambiance.
It's set in a girls school where hormones run rampant and can barely be contained within the walls. Two girls, Hyo-shin and Shi-eun, spark a friendship and then a relationship, writing it all down in a shared diary that is later found by Min-ah. After Hyo-shin kills herself, though, things go quickly awry, and figuring out what is going on is put secondary to the emotional trials the girls have to go through, both individually and as a school.
Now not everything in this movie works, but the whole is definitely better than the sum of its separate parts. The watery imagery of the beginning sets a tone but doesn't actually come to mean anything to what happens later in the movie. The two girls, apparently, have ESP, but it's not really indicated for what purpose other than that it helps them communicate without others listening. There's this strange shot of the dead girl staring from the roof down on the panicking school that's not nearly as effective as the flash of judgment in her eyes right as her body is found outside. Some moments are legitimately creepy beyond typical horror tropes, such as the hands going over Min-ah's body, whereas others are clichéd flashCUT! shocks that have less resonance than the cut piano wire. In terms of building suspense, this movie is all over the place, and yet overall it is a chilly and atmospheric shocker that will more than keep your attention.
Fans of the Tartan Asian Extreme label will definitely enjoy it, fans of Korean cinema should definitely check it out, but I'm not too sure everybody would like this one. I wish more focus was put on the internal world of Shi-eun, who is losing her hearing and feels the most alienated from the day-to-day life of the school. Her story was a lot more interesting than Min-ah's, and her guilt much more emotionally compelling than the thrill-ride it causes.
--PolarisDiB
It's set in a girls school where hormones run rampant and can barely be contained within the walls. Two girls, Hyo-shin and Shi-eun, spark a friendship and then a relationship, writing it all down in a shared diary that is later found by Min-ah. After Hyo-shin kills herself, though, things go quickly awry, and figuring out what is going on is put secondary to the emotional trials the girls have to go through, both individually and as a school.
Now not everything in this movie works, but the whole is definitely better than the sum of its separate parts. The watery imagery of the beginning sets a tone but doesn't actually come to mean anything to what happens later in the movie. The two girls, apparently, have ESP, but it's not really indicated for what purpose other than that it helps them communicate without others listening. There's this strange shot of the dead girl staring from the roof down on the panicking school that's not nearly as effective as the flash of judgment in her eyes right as her body is found outside. Some moments are legitimately creepy beyond typical horror tropes, such as the hands going over Min-ah's body, whereas others are clichéd flashCUT! shocks that have less resonance than the cut piano wire. In terms of building suspense, this movie is all over the place, and yet overall it is a chilly and atmospheric shocker that will more than keep your attention.
Fans of the Tartan Asian Extreme label will definitely enjoy it, fans of Korean cinema should definitely check it out, but I'm not too sure everybody would like this one. I wish more focus was put on the internal world of Shi-eun, who is losing her hearing and feels the most alienated from the day-to-day life of the school. Her story was a lot more interesting than Min-ah's, and her guilt much more emotionally compelling than the thrill-ride it causes.
--PolarisDiB