re:mote voices

Title: To Catch A Virgin Ghost [Sisily 2km]
Cast: Im Chang-jeong, Kwon O-joong, Lim Eun-kyeong, Byeon Hee-bong, Shin-ee, Ahn Nae-sang
Director: Sin Jeong-won

A guy steals a handful of diamonds from his gangster friend, leaving for him for dead and running for his life. 2km from the small farming village Sisily, he swerves to avoid a girl on the road and crashes his car. Walking to Sisily, the farmers are happy enough to help the guy out - until they find out about the diamonds. In the meantime his friend has been found, and he and his gang are coming for the diamonds. While the three groups try to win and keep the diamonds, the girl that was on the road turns out to be a ghost, stalking the visitors.

Depending where you live/what you read this film is known either as To Catch A Virgin Ghost or Sisily 2km. It showed last night in Glasgow as To Catch A Virgin Ghost, the third of four films to show as part of the third annual Korean Film Festival On Tour. Sandwiched between last week's So Cute and next week's This Charming Girl. As far as this short season is concerned To Catch A Virgin Ghost is the token inclusion of Asia Extreme - the genre which has become such a sensation in recent years. Dictating the bulk of the films that make it over here from Japan and Korea.

Except that To Catch A Virgin Ghost is something different. Elements of gangster and horror films, the two mainstays of the genre. But combined here with strong elements of parody - so that we have something more in the vein of Shaun of the Dead or The Happiness of the Katakuris. Which is to say that To Catch A Virgin Ghost is still dark and violent, but mixes in a dose of slapstick absurdity.

One thing that might be of interest, the girl that plays the dead girl in To Catch A Virgin Ghost was also in the Korean horror Whispering Corridors. Whispering Corridors was made in 1998, the same year as the Japanese film Ringu, which made the whole horror genre. Though, ironically Whispering Corridors was included in 1998's Edinburgh International Film Festival where I saw it, compared to the first showings of Ringu in the UK in the same festival 2 years later.

To Catch A Virgin Ghost is darkly playful, cleverly written and constructed, with an eye for some great horror and humour visuals, and overall is just lots of fun.