In Seoul a young girl is battling leukemia and has lost all her hair. But her sister buys her a wig that not only transforms her appearance but begins to have an effect on her personality too... Read more
| Starring | Min-seo Chae, Hyon-Jin Sa, Seon Yu |
|---|---|
| Director | Shin-yeon Won |
| Genres | Horror, World Cinema |
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In Seoul a young girl is battling leukemia and has lost all her hair. But her sister buys her a wig that not only transforms her appearance but begins to have an effect on her personality too...
| Starring | Min-seo Chae, Hyon-Jin Sa, Seon Yu |
|---|---|
| Director | Shin-yeon Won |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 46 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | New releases |
| Genres | Horror, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Korean |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 14 Apr 2008 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
A classily packaged scarefest
Great packaging, looks great, sounds great, great title! Japanese horror, The Wig, I thought, I want some of that!
For the first two thirds of the movie I was happy; great cinematography, decent opening plot, good acting, good looking actors and an almost scarey wig that has a mysterious and dark past.
However, the scares weren't scarey enough and even the ironic, knowing, inner smile a live wig brings disappeared as the plot fragmented into gratuitous pieces and the ending left me gutted.
It began stylish, with potential, and right up until the penultimate act I was ready to award it three stars, but the final quarter was an unhappy experience that disappointed. It deserved a better finale.
One of the images that made films such as 'The Ring' and 'Audition' so disturbing was that of the face hidden by long, straight, jet-black hair. This film takes that particular trope and runs with it in the tale of, believe it or not, a haunted wig. I might not have bothered contributing a review had it not been that most of the others were so negative, from people who found it dull - which is fair enough - to the inevitable boring whinge about subtitles, and I wanted to recommend it as quite an effective example of the genre, not, maybe in the concept as a a whole - and I agree with the reviewer who found the finale disappointing - but in the detail. There's a collision between a car and a truck which is worth the price of the DVD alone, and some excellent work done with reflections, particularly in the window of a moving train. There's more action in this than is usual for a genre which excels in atmosphere, but, although that's not to my taste, some may like it. Take note of the constructive criticism, ignore the moaners and give it a go, is my advice.