Bloody Reunion (2006/Tartan/DTS)

 

Picture: C     Sound: B     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

Continuing the wave of ambitious Korean Horror films is Lim Dae-Woong’s Bloody Reunion, an amusing attempt to mix melodrama, slasher films and the thriller, but it just becomes to uneven and choppy to work and ultimately falls under its own crushing weight.

 

A group of school students and their teacher are part of a class reunion, but soon, someone is stalking them and killing each of them.  Though not quite as crude as its U.S. equivalent, it still does not work and when the killer goes around in a rabbit mask that looks like Donnie Darko on a budget, it was time to throw in the towel.  The directing is competent and acting not bad, but it never picks up and the ending is silly too.  For the curious only.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is soft and color desaturated more than it probably should be, with this transfer being softer than the film print likely was intended to be.  Kim Yun-su’s cinematography is not bad, but this transfer is not that bad that one cannot see the visual intent.  A Dolby Digital theatrical release, Dolby and DTS Korean 5.1 mixes are available, but the DTS is much better and the highlight of this disc.  Music and sound effects are surprisingly good.

 

Extras include a making of featurette, special effects & make-up featurette, trailers for six other Tartan releases, interview with Dae-woong, photo shoot and deleted scenes with optional commentary by Dae-woong.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo