Acacia (2003) User Reviews

Pay attention!

[gambits_cheri · 7/10 · 30 November 2005]

Acacia is a slow-moving film; I'll grant any viewer that truth. There are lot of scenes within the film that seem completely unrelated to the tapestry of the film itself, like the expounding of the relationship between two children. The dialogue of the adults is also stilted and questionable, which in turn confuses the viewer and tempts one to just shut the film off.

To that I plead: just hang on a little bit longer! Acacia is an odd film, repeating a time-line and waiting until the very end to make sense of everything. It's not a film for people with short attention spans, and that's just stone-cold fact. But by paying attention to the peculiarities of the actors, the ending is made just that much more impactful.

When the adopted son "disappears" and the scene opens with the mother, the father, and the father-in-law sitting at the table discussing what to do, it seems odd that one of the comments made is "We can't let him go unreported". That seems like a pretty "der" observation; but in the end, it comes out that the three adults are in on the accidental murder and subsequent cover-up of the adopted-son's death.

Suddenly, as the adults all succumb to their own guilt and supernatural influences, the stilted acting and peculiar scene-shoot make sense. The film is shot as a circular progression, rather than the typical linear style that nearly everyone is accustomed to. It's like combining the experiences of watching "The 6th Sense" the first and second time--you're unaware of what's going on, but at the same time you're noting the inconsistencies of character behavior.

I enjoyed this film because there wasn't a whole lot of predictability to it, and it lacked the key trademark of most Asian horror films--the freaky noise that the characters hear before they die. I appreciated that, because after "Ju-On" I can't stand freaky noises anymore.

Ambiguous, Bold and Original Chiller

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 12 November 2007]

After unsuccessfully trying to have a baby of their own, Dr. Kim Do-il (Jin-geun Kim) and his father convince his wife Choi Mi-sook (Hye-jin Shim) to adopt a child in an orphanage. Mi-sook is connected to arts and chooses the six years Kim Jin-sung (Oh-bin Mun) that loves to draw trees. The boy becomes close to the eight years old next door neighbor Min-jee (Na-yoon Jeong) and is attracted to an old Acacia tree in their lawn. When Mi-sook unexpectedly gets pregnant, her mother asks her to return Jin-sung to the orphanage, beginning the rejection process of the boy. When the baby is born, Mi-sook does not treat Jin-sung well, who believes the acacia tree is his mother, and in a rainy night he vanishes. Along the next days, the family becomes insane, disclosing a dark secret about Jin-sung.

South-Korean horror movies are the best in the genre usually supported by three points: ambiguity, boldness and originality in non-linear chillers, with a great twist in the end; The writers and directors are not afraid to usually explore bold situations that Hollywood does not dare to use – like for example death of children. These three factors are constant, and in "Acacia" is no exception. The ambiguity of the screenplay permits to disclose in a low-pace either a family drama or a supernatural story. All the situations have explanations; the viewer has just to join the pieces of the puzzle and find them. In this story, the innocence of the foster kid makes him believe that his mother is a tree because somebody had justified the loss of his mother in a rainy day explaining that she became a tree. The rejection process of the boy when the baby is born is usual between siblings, imagine with a little child brought from an orphanage. The greatest difficulty of South-Korean movies is that they force the viewer to think, and unfortunately many people are not used to do that, giving a low rating to a very good movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Good but...

[Dockelektro · 6/10 · 4 March 2004]

... there's a mixed feeling while watching "Acacia", a family thriller with flirts to the horror genre. Here, a married couple adopts a boy, who they see as the angel to light their lives. But soon they have a child of their own, and their adoptive one isn't happy at all... Cleverly using its shots, this is a superbly framed picture which at times is really creepy without ending up too gratuitous. Editing, however, ends up confusing more than helpful, and even after the final denouement, it's still a bit confusing. But it isn't a bad movie at all, instead it's a solid exercise with some pretty scary stuff. Very interesting indeed, and a proof that there is always an alternate way to shoot this kind of material.

so disappointing

[mollycat · 2/10 · 27 July 2005]

Having just watched Acacia, I find that I have to agree with the negative reviews here. I like Asian, and Korean horror, and I had great expectations for this film. Man, was i disappointed. Watching this, I kept thinking "surely they just do this to catch me off guard later on", and for a while I expected something ingenious to happen. However, I slowly realised that the film really is that bad. It is the cheapest cash in into the Asian horror market I have seen so far.

The basic story is perhaps not even that bad, but the way it is filmed it seems like the most laughable plot ever. The tree as a 'scary' device might be okay if used cleverly, but all the filmmaker does is giving us different shots of...yes, a tree, over and over again. He seems to hope that the tree will do all the work for him in terms of tension and build-up, but it just feels like what it is: shots of a tree. For goodness' sake!

Slow build-ups can be very effective, and a film that presents the viewer with only few glimpses of what is wrong might deliver good scares, but not Acacia. Sure, we get a glimpse of a child on a tricycle disappearing around a corner, and, yet again, meaningful shots of the tree from above, or underneath, or the side, but these scenes are just not scary. They feel silly, especially because you realise that the director means them to be scary. They simply aren't.

Apart from that I agree with some of the other reviewers, that the characters are ridiculous. In particular the one character's 'descent into madness' is laughable. However, what really breaks Acacia is the terrible editing. Its hard to see why scenes were cut together the way they are, but it's bad, and it kills any spark of interrest it might have had. It also makes me feel patronised, because I can see what they are trying to achieve with it, but I cannot believe that they think I would fall for such cheap ploys.

There are lots of great Asian ghost films, and lots of bad ones, but this is by far the worst I have seen. They must have been going through the list of 'what to put into ghost movies', and ticked them all off, but in the end they forgot to add the actual movie.

Solid Asian Horror...

[ddevil2347 · 7/10 · 13 September 2005]

...with one big problem: To fully appreciate it, you have to watch it twice. Yet you probably don't want to, since it is terribly slow and you're frustrated by the confusing editing.

The turning point is the first blood which the audience can't know of until the end. And without knowing it, the character development only seems odd and inexplicable. Not to mention the rage of our angry tree or the red wool... But If you know what happened, things are quite different.

Especially between husband and wife. The boy's mother, in denial, passes the guilt to her husband. He, on the other other hand, can't deal with that pressure. Alone, without the attention or love of his wife and also loosing the counsel of the grandfather, he builds up enormous rage. They're both caught in a vicious cycle of guilt, anger and violence finally resulting in them killing each other (more or less).

Another interesting aspect of the movie is the demise of the patriarch of the house. His pain lies in loosing control. First he struggles with the somewhat strange kid, then his son and daughter-in-law kill his grandchild and finally the girl next door robs the secret grave (the wooden necklace). Without the supernatural ant-part, this could have been very good. I would have killed him off with a stroke or something like that.

Fortunally, supernatural scenes are quite rare in this movie. Most of the time they appear in dreams anyway. What's left are the angry ants and a moving branch.

The movie's end somehow caught me. The last scene with its disturbing beauty and tranquility and the absolutely awesome credits. So I gave it a second chance before completely dismissing it as a waste of money. You should too. Its the age of DVD - jump to some scenes and re-watch them, you might come to like them too.

Just because it is Asian horror doesn't mean it's good...

[miriad · 4/10 · 30 March 2007]

From the acclaim it got I was expecting more from a Korean horror if it's going to be viewed in the same caliber as A Tale of Two Sisters, as some other reviews have stated. This movie isn't in the same caliber except in budget spent on special effects. Think Amytiville horror. With a tree and sparse dialogue.

If you're going to have a movie with limited dialogue, the plot line and characters have to carry the film. This film could have been told quite well in a 30 minute short film concept, 2 hours with a lot of staring at trees and terror scenes that make you not only not scared, but detract in a "What the..." sort of way does not a good horror movie make.

Those people who are stating that this film gave them lasting impressions must literally have heart attacks when decent horror films lay it in.

Promising

[BennyM · 7/10 · 7 March 2004]

This movie has an original premise, but ultimately winds up a little too confused about where it wanted to go. The storytelling, which starts off with fine, mood-filled, dwelling shots, veers off into a style more reminiscent of standard psycho-thrillers as the conclusion draws near. One scene in particular (*SPOILER*: the death of the father-in-law) jars with the visual style right up to this point and seems to mark a clear break in the narrative. The first hour is absolutely riveting, though, and I'll certainly want to see other films by Ki-Hyung Park.

Awkward horror

[Atavisten · 3/10 · 7 May 2005]

About an adopted child in a family who when the parents get a child naturally, gets ignored. He then makes a close connection to an acacia tree in the garden.

This is built up like most other Asian horror films, that is slow moving, using good cinematographers and focusing on creating atmosphere rather than just shocks. Somehow it manages to fail completely. When it tries to build up tension, the over the top editing takes it quickly away. The editing tries to make the film clever, instead it makes me not take it seriously at all. About the drama; how can they ignore their adopted son so soon? This looks like a cash-in on the horror boom and should be avoided.

Trees can be very scary, this is not.

acacia review

[pinoy_na_man · 24 April 2004]

this movie was terrible!!! what a complete waste of time and money, not only for me but for the people involved in shooting this film. The movie is like watching a preview for an hour and a half. Absolutley disgusted with the attempt at film making. Editing is at its worst ever and the main focus of the movie is the wife thinking. Just showing 100 different angles of a person thinking does not make it very interesting! I am speechless...quite possibly this production will be the laughing stock of all intl. films, if any one even notices it. This review is purely fair and reasonable, not being harsh in anyway. The movie was the absolute rock bottom of the movie world. I enjoyed the previews 100x more.

Tones of the Earth

[avianskateboards · 7/10 · 2 January 2009]

While watching this your eye will wander and you will notice a repeating pattern of shades. Black. White. Brown. Red. Over and over you will see these colours painted over the screen, bringing this movie to life. Frankly thats the most I recall of this film. A fun movie to watch with friends on a rainy night, but we ended up spending half the movie going "Huh?". Trust me when I say I'm an Asian horror pro and this wasn't scary. There was, maybe, one scene where you would jolt but this movie wasn't to frighten you but make you think. A talk about a strange adopted boy being cast out by his ever-growing-apart parents. And he really takes the term Tree Hugger to the max. This boy loves his tree. It's sick...Dying...and the boy is desperate to make it healthy again. It's it best friend. Lots of turns in later half, and finally when it's over it takes a few minutes of discussion to fully understand everything. Overall, its enjoyable, but not scary. Good for people who love Asian flicks and no gore.

not too good second tier j-horror

[Bezenby · 3/10 · 20 April 2011]

It seems to me like in the wake of tarnished US versions of cool Eastern horror the entire genre has been tainted. The original versions of The Grudge, Ring and Dark Water are classics, but these newer eastern horrors are not up to scratch at all...see this one, and Double Vision, for instance...

Hey - if I went to an orphanage to pick a child, I'd pick the weirdest one too! Wouldn't anyone? Well, no...but the reason I would write down for getting an orphan would be more along the lines of 'must be able to go to off license' or 'must be silent at all times'. I'm sure if I went to the orphanage it could well be plausible that I would emerge with a kid, who even though he is good at drawing, thinks his dead mum has been reincarnated as a tree. Not even that - he thinks his mum is the acacia tree in his new family's back garden! And here starts the yawn fest that is Acacia. After half an hour I wasn't sure whether the film was supposed to be horror or not. Seriously. I was rather confused. It just seemed that there was this very moody kid, his neurotic new mother and crazed dad, and equally weird and annoying grandparents. The kid is too weird to like, but the family try anyway, even though all his affection goes to the acacia in the back garden. Surprise - a family grown babe arrives! Cue jealousy and weirdness, then the strange kid goes missing and the acacia tree starts killing people through it's leaves and protective ant army. Cue me starting to fall asleep, only to wake up to find the husband raping his wife for some reason (explained in the film, but I'll leave it out)... At one point the kid manages to:

Set fire to a shed while being inside it and emerge unburned. His new mother doesn't even bother asking why

And also:

The kid manages to break a glass patio door with a beetle. Explain that.

Well, if you want to see something boring - feel free. I'd avoid to be honest.

excellent for me

[mich_girl010 · 10/10 · 7 February 2006]

Ever since i saw this movie I look for it in any VD stores. At first I thought the movie is boring but I focuses my attention to the story not on it's mood and even sounds. I was horrified about what happened to the kid, it was mysterious at first but as the story goes I soon find the movie great. Well, the only matter which confuses me is the genre of the movie. I got almost cried after the end so I do recommend that the movie is drama not horror. I really like the movie!!! Especially the kid!!!.... Hope I could have a VD of that movie because there is none available in the store in here and also a book or story book about it... I was shock about the comment of some people out there... I love the movie, hope the director will soon have another episode about that story....That's all..thanks.

Nothing that you can't miss.

[wierzbowskisteedman · 4/10 · 11 April 2006]

No serious spoilers, but some very minor ones.

"Acacia", a Korean contribution to the ever popular Asian horror wave, concerns a husband and wife who decide that they're getting on a bit and decide to adopt a child. The child, who has an usual obsession with the dead tree in the family's garden, eventually disappears when the couple eventually have a child of their own and the aforementioned tree seems to hold a grudge against the family itself.

And that's about it. The film moves at a snails pace, clocking in at over 100 minutes with 80 minute material. It is essentially a thin family drama with a creepy tree, and there is very little in the way of scares, just shots of the tree with weird mumbling noises playing over the top. However, the idea of the tree being the child's mother is a pretty original one, but it isn't exactly exploited to its full potential. This sort of separates "Acacia" from much of the new wave it belongs to: films like Ju-On and Ring tend to do the opposite, and milk bland ideas until they are red in the face.

The film does begin to get going towards the end; however the realisation of the child's fate and the parent's actions not only dampen the earlier curiosity of the story, but are revealed with such machine gun editing that it's difficult to take in all at once. The final sequence is undoubtedly creepy, however it feels like too little too late.

Overall, the film does not feel too much like a Ring cash in, however with the "film renaissance" that Korea is currently going through, I couldn't help but feel this film could have been so much more.

Fine, if you like films where nothing happens

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 18 May 2013]

Acacia is a film that brings new meaning to the definition of 'slow-moving'. It's a South Korean oddity and addition to the ever-popular cycle of ghostly horrors, eschewing the typical long-haired vengeful female spirits in favour of a creepy kid and a decidedly odd tree growing in the back garden. Despite lots of potential and some hints at something genuinely unsettling, this turns out to be one of those films that's all style over substance.

The running time clocks in at one hour forty-five minutes, but there's only enough plot for a half-hour short. Inevitably, that means lots of scenes are d-r-a-g-g-e-d out endlessly while the viewer checks both their watch and growing impatience with the film's steadfast refusal to provide concrete detail or meaning. There's plenty of attempted spookiness, yes, and a couple of half-decent scare sequences thrown into the mix, but it's nowhere near enough to sustain such a long movie.

To make matters worse, the cast and crew don't help. Writer/director Park Ki-hyeong ably handled the high-school ghost story WHISPERING CORRIDORS, but he does badly here, failing to make much of the premise. It doesn't help that his script sucks, failing to provide even one sympathetic character, and those that exist are underwritten. The wife is miserable and unappealing from the start, while we never get to know the husband. The creepy kid is okay, but the film needs more than that to get by.

It all leads to a distinctly underwhelming climax that solves one plot mystery only to leave another half dozen unsolved. Come the end, you're left wondering 'was that it?' instead of having been wowed or impressed in any way.

Never adopt the freaky kid!

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 14 March 2015]

After unsuccessfully trying for a baby, Dr. Kim Do-il (Jin-geun Kim) convinces his reluctant wife Choi Mi-sook (Hye-jin Shim) to visit the local orphanage, where they decide to adopt Jin-seong (Oh-bin Mun), a creepy young lad who draws disturbing Edvard Munch-style pictures (which wouldn't make him my first choice, but then perhaps I've seen way too many horror films). Once at his new home, their new son forms a strange attachment to the sickly acacia tree in the garden, and befriends the equally frail girl next door, Min-ji (Na-yoon Jeong).

Mi-sook struggles to make Jin-seong feel wanted—a task made harder by her unsupportive mother, who openly voices her opinion that adoption was a mistake—but things go from bad to worse after Mi-sook discovers that she is pregnant. When the baby is born, Jin-seong feels rejected and starts to pose a threat to the new arrival, and, as family life becomes more strained, the boy's strange attachment to the acacia grows stronger. After an argument with his adoptive mother, Jin-Seong declares that the tree is his dead mother, and mysteriously disappears.

With their adopted son missing, Kim Do-il and Choi Mi-sook's relationship rapidly breaks down. Meanwhile, Mi-sook's mother coughs up blood after an acacia bloom falls on her face and Kim Do-il's father is attacked and killed by the ants that guard the tree. Is the acacia really the reincarnation of Jin-seong's real mother, taking revenge on those who have wronged her son? And what is the sinister secret that eventually drives Mi-sook to homicidal madness?

Trees can be pretty scary: the ominous tree outside the young boy's bedroom window in Poltergeist, the terrifying trees of The Evil Dead, the baby-eating tree in The Guardian, and even the grouchy apple trees in The Wizard of Oz—all of them decidedly unsettling. The acacia tree in this lacklustre K-horror is rather weak by comparison, striking out with flowers and insects… hardly the stuff of nightmares.

The real horror of this film is not its titular tree, which actually looks rather tranquil and nonthreatening throughout, but rather the twist of fate and chain of events that ultimately results in tragedy and suffering—but it is all told at such a dull pace that it proves totally unengrossing. Director Ki-hyeong Park has clearly spent a lot of effort on making his film look as stylish as possible, delivering some admittedly striking imagery, but with such dreary storytelling, very little in the way of tension, and a muddled ending that required way more concentration and patience than I cared to give, Acacia leaves a lot to be desired.

Oh....

[animatralex · 3/10 · 22 January 2007]

I'm a fan of the horror movie, regardless of which hemisphere it comes from. I know what to expect from the West, the East and most horrors in the middle. So I received the DVD of 'Acacia' in the post and looked forward to a slow build of ever increasing tension and scary children with odd, disjointed movements hiding under duvets.

The major selling point for this film was that it has a far more linear story line than many of this ilk - you get who the characters are, where they are from and what they do. You get the baseline information (nice couple, can't have children) and realise that the premise is just too normal for something freaky NOT to happen.

And then comes the bad. The number one complaint is that the story is OBVIOUS. I got it pretty much the moment the kid hugged the tree. I knew where the film was going and was even able to predict the order of death and for what reason.

The editing is shocking and unfortunately, not to the benefit of the film. Even were I still pondering the events, tension isn't allowed to build because the director seems to have gotten a new editing suite for his birthday and wanted to use it as much as possible.

And my final gripe is this....the tree was unnecessary. This would have been a perfectly good tale of subtle horror with just the couple breaking down over the death of the child - the titular tree bought nothing new or exciting to the film. So I'll finish where I started - my overall impression was 'Oh.'

A slow-moving but creepy South Korean horror.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 22 October 2004]

"Acacia" stars Hye-jin Shim and Jin-guen Kim as a married couple unable to conceive a child.The husband is a doctor and the wife spends her time judging student art and knitting.Things change when the couple adopts six year old Jin-seong,a mysterious boy obsessed with drawing pictures of an acacia tree that he believes is the reincarnation of his dead mother.Soon the wife becomes pregnant and Jin-seong becomes more unhappy.On one rainy night he disappears mysteriously..."Acacia" is a slow-moving horror film with plenty of creepy atmosphere.It's a psychologically spooky little horror flick with a supremely dark score.The film delivers a few unexpected surprises and is wonderfully shot and photographed,so if you are a fan of Asian horror you can't miss it.8 out of 10.

Makes you think

[kennethsmith2004 · 9/10 · 25 August 2005]

I do believe this film is brilliant. I have just watched it on DVD and it really makes you think. Hollywood would do all the work for you but this film leaves you to dot the i's and cross the t's.

The emotions you think you are seeing on screen mean something different when you have seen the whole film.

This is a horror film in the sense it is about the horrible things people can do to each other. A boy is adopted, rejected, disappears.

The UK DVD is interesting as watching the two extra features show some scenes left out which might have made the film easier to follow but would have made you think less hard! I am really trying so hard not to do a spoiler so I wont nor do I want to sound pretentious. But do see this on DVD, watch the mini features and then go back to the scenes which now have a new meaning. This film has had praise and also a lot of stick but I do think it is a real work of art.

Nice little horror film.

[cadillac20 · 8/10 · 9 January 2006]

While Acacia won't really wow anyone, it is a nice little film that is a bit surprising. Almost immediately there is a good establishment of creepiness, most of which comes from the excellent camera work and music. Then there is the little boy who was an excellent pick for the movie. The story is different from typical horror, but conforms to the typical Asian horror style of taking something average and making it into a nightmarish object of hell, in this case an Acacia tree in the backyard of a family.

The story tells about a young couple who wish to have a child. Since they have been unsuccessful in making one, they decide to adopt. They take into their home a 10 year old boy with an obsession for trees. Once home, he immediately comes to love their dying Acacia tree in the backyard. However, almost immediately after he is brought home, strange things start to happen. And when the family does have a child of their own, it only gets worse.

Yes, the movie is a bit slow, but there are enough familiar elements, and the story is interesting enough to warrant a complete viewing. Both the camera-work and the acting is excellent, as well as the direction. Some of the shots are noteworthy and the sense of horror here is both subdued and in the cheese arena. You might find yourself giggling at some of the scenes, but the by the end, you should find yourself with something that you have enjoyed. One other positive note is that this film isn't complicated. There may be a bit of confusion throughout, but by the end, it is a pretty clear story, something that seems to be a bit rare in Asian cinema. So, if you don't mind your Asian horror straight up, then you might wanna give this a try.

A slow paced mixture of a family drama and psycho thriller

[kluseba · 8/10 · 7 March 2011]

"Akasia" is a fairly underrated mixture of a family drama and psycho thriller from South Korea. It is a really slow paced movie but the actors all deliver an amazing job and are always authentic so that the long introduction to a more and more terrifying downward spiral of terror with a great twisted ending was worth all the wait. One must underline the great performances of the two very young actors, especially Mun Oh-bin. Another strength of the movie is the atmospheric score and the artistic factor of the movie, for example the way the camera captures the different states and forms of the mysterious Acacia tree or the different drawings the young boy makes that mostly honour the Norwegian painter Edvard Much and its masterpiece "Skrik".

This is a movie comparable to a film by David Lynch where everything starts very slowly but at a certain point, most people are losing it and it's very difficult to follow the movie in the end. Every detail is important in this movie even if some scenes might seem weird or useless at first sight. The difference in here between Daviud Lynch and Park Ki-hyeong is that the ending of the movie offers us a disturbing conclusion that explains everything that really happened once again in a very detailed way.

This movie is surely nothing for the masses and addresses to a public that is at ease with exotic and slow paced psycho thrillers that ask to use the brain and not only relax and watch. The movie convinces me because of its numerous details and artistic roots. Anyone that is into weird Asian horror movies should give this a try and might adore the movie.

Very haunting and creepy Korean horror

[artemis0302 · 9/10 · 2 August 2005]

I got an advanced copy of the recently released Region 1 disc from Tartan Video, and I was curious about this... I ended up really loving it. Acacia is one of those rare tree-based horror movies, where a tree takes control of something and terrible events happen... What was special about "Acacia" was that it was not only very creepy and eerie, but it also contained some very beautiful and haunting imagery. This movie is really, very close to being perfect. Rent it and watch it open-mindedly, and you will probably like it as much as I did. And if you wanna buy it, by all means do it, because it's completely worth the money.

My rating: 9/10 (a minor flaw)

Family Issues...

[azathothpwiggins · 25 September 2020]

ACACIA is a solid chiller about an adopted boy, his new family, and the dead acacia tree in their backyard. All seems well until mum gets pregnant, and bad things start happening.

On one level this is a story of loneliness, jealousy, and extreme guilt. It's also about insanity, revenge, and death. The psychological and supernatural elements merge into a well-told, subtle, yet emotionally charged ghost story. Watch it and allow it to creep up on you...