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Koren horror - anyone know about these earlier titles?

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Brucifer	Koren horror - anyone know about these earlier titles?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 49 (09/25/06 08:40:23) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None I had a question the other day about one title, THE BAD FLOWER, from 1961, which would seem to be the first Korean horror film (save Kim Ke-Young's THE HOUSEMAID from 1960, which is more of a psycho movie than a straight out horror), at least as far as I know. At first I heard BAD FLOWER was a vampire film, now I've heard (via IMDB) that it's as the title suggests, about a killer vampiric plant, along the lines of MANEATER OF HYDRA. Phil Hardy's encylopedia and an article on koreanfilm.org list a few others, namely a few each by directors Kim In-Soo (1974's EVIL SPIRITS,1980s GRUDGE OF THE MOON LADY, and 1981's THE VENGEFUL VAMPIRE GIRL), Kim Ki-Young (1969's LADY HONG, 1978's KILLER BUTTERFLY, and a couple of sci-fi titles) and Park Yoon-Kyo (1971's THE GHOST, 1981's BLOODY SMILE, and 1982's TWO WOMEN OF THE NETHERWORLD). In addition, I have heard about several others: THE REVENGEFUL GHOST from 1971, DRACULA RISES FROM THE COFFIN from 1982, REVENGE OF THE GHOST from 1981 (maybe I've got the year wrong and it's the same film as THE REVENGEFUL GHOST), STRANGE DEAD BODIES (a zombie flick) from 1981, and VALLEY OF THE GHOSTS from 1981. Seems the Korean horror industry has actually been going for a while. It's just that we in the West have had absolutely no exposure to any of these films. Does anyone know anything about any of these films? I'd also appreciate any info on how to obtain these films on video, DVD, or DVD-R, even if they're not subtitled. Thanks! - Bruce
todmichel	Re: Koren horror - anyone know about these earlier titles?	#1	[-]
Posts: 603 (08/15/07 12:01:09) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The only Korean films I have from this period (before 1990) are: - A Public Cemetery of Wol-ha (1967) with English subs - Devilish Homicide (Sal-Inma) (1965) no subs I think - Pulgasari (1985, North Korea) with English subs Some other "old" Horror / Fantasy Korean movies exist on DVD, with English subs (I think) but you must search on Asian Video Websites - they are written in English, anyway. For Brucifer, and other members of the forum interested in Korean horror movies, I have sent my own list of Korean titles that I made years ago. It stops in 1989 but of course a lot of similar movies were made from 1990 to our days...
Brucifer	Devilish Homicide/Public Cemetery of Wol-Ha	#2	[-]
Posts: 49 (09/20/07 10:38:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Do you have the technology (or inclination) to burn these two films for me? Alas, I don't so I couldn't return the favor in the fom of burns of other films, but I'd be happy to fork some cash or throw some pre-recorded DVDs your way. Or perhaps you could tell me where you located these? Much appreciated. thanks again for that comprehensive Korean horror list!
Godzilla 2000	Re: Devilish Homicide/Public Cemetery of Wol-Ha	#3	[-]
Posts: 23 (04/28/08 09:59:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm very interested in seeing old Korean horror films, too. Hundreds of them were made, but to see any of them is somewhat totally hopeless. Close to none of those films ever saw a release outside of Korea, and close to none of them ever saw a home video release or a TV screening even in Korea. They are simply rotting away in their archives, which is a pity. I believe that to this day, there are exactly 3 (three) old (before 1990) Korean horror/fantasy films that made it to DVD in Korea. They are - A Devilish Homicide (Sal-inma) (1965) - A Public Cemetery of Wol-Ha (Wolha-ui gongdongmyoji) (1967) - One Thousand Years Old Fox (Cheonnyeon ho) (1969) All of them are highly recommended! I've heard rumours that the classic 1960 film "The Housemaid", considered one of the most important films in Korean cinema history, is prepared for a future DVD release by KOFA (Korean Film Archive). It is long, LONG overdue, and I hope it will happen (I had the fortune to see this film in a movie theater when it was screened at a film festival).
Brucifer	Koren horror - anyone know about these earlier titles?	#4	[-]
Posts: 48 (07/07/08 12:01:35) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Excellent - Many thanks for these recommendations. I've just ordered Devilish Homicide and Public Cemetery at Wolha from DVD from Korea, which had both in stock. I'll add reviews to this page after I watch them. Good to know that obscure genre flicks like this are getting released gradually. I think there may be hope that they haven't all rotted in the vaults. Devilish Homicide director Yongmin Lee seems to have been a specialist, with other titles including The Bad Flower from my other post. Also (as translated by IMDB), Beauty with No Neck (1966), Bride from the Grave (1963), Devil and the Beauty (1969), Gates of Hell (1962), Black Ghost (1975), Man with Two Faces (1975), Revenge of the Snake Woman (1970), and Dangerous Husband (1970). How many of these are out and out horror films is up for debate... Thanks also for the top about the Thousand Years Old Fox DVD. Is this a fantasy or a straight horror film? If the latter, I'll seek it out on DVD as well. The Housemaid is great - really an over the top melodrama more than a horror film or even a thriller, but just crazy and amazingly filmed. I'm looking forward to that DVD release should it ever come. I was lucky enough to see it at a Kim Ki-Young retrospective in New York recently. The only film of his in the festival that was really "horror" (though more of a mystical thriller and very similar to The Wicker Man) was the amazingly good I-eo Island (1977), which seems to have come out on video in Korea during the video days, so I would hope to see a DVD of this. A great director, and apparently also horror, or borderline horror, are his films Lady Hong (1969) and Killer Butterfly (1978). Keep an eye out for these.
Godzilla-2000		#5	[-]
Posts: 34 (07/09/08 01:44:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi, I certainly hope that it isn't too late yet to save the Korean films. I always keep an eye on the Korean DVD market and hope that more old horror films will get their release gradually. However, when compared to all the old films that apparently exist(ed), very VERY few of them actually made it to DVD. >Thanks also for the top about the Thousand Years Old Fox DVD. Is this a fantasy or a straight horror film?< This film was actually re-made in 2003 as "Legend of the Evil Lake". The Korean title, "Cheonnyeon ho", is the same for both movies. The 1969 version plays more like a straight ghost horror film while the new version is more fantasy-like. The DVD is only available in the "Shin Sang-Ok Collection". It can be ordered from "DVD from Korea" too. A similar DVD set of movies for the Kim Ki-Young films would be great! I saw the remake of "The Housemaid", the 1982 "The Woman of Fire" as well and it is even more over-the-top than the original. Not as recommendable, though.
Godzilla-2000		#6	[-]
Posts: 36 (07/19/08 03:40:11) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Speaking of a Kim Ki-Young boxset... There it is!! http://www.dvdfromkorea.com/ Kim Ki-Young Collection (4disc Digipack) Containing at least 3 films that could be considerd horror, namely "The Insect Woman", "Promise of the Flesh" and "Ieodo" ("I-Eo Island"). Sadly, no Housemaid... not yet... Last Edited By: Godzilla-2000 07/19/08 03:46:03. Edited 1 times.
Godzilla-2000		#7	[-]
Posts: 40 (07/25/08 09:57:14) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I got this lovely boxset today. Brucifer, your wish of I-Eo Island on DVD has come true surprisingly fast. And it's subtitled, too!

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