The Quiet Family (1998)

I previously reviewed "The Happiness of the Katakuris" and have recommended it to all my friends. It's a wonderfully strange concoction from Takashi Miike--the Japanese director who seems quite adept in many genres. The film is a wacky fantasy musical--complete with dancing zombies, significant portions done in claymation as well as a Japanese man who claims to be Queen Elizabeth's unknown child who ALSO works for the CIA! It's strange beyond belief, but it also manages to be a heartfelt family movie that strongly advocates traditional values...and LOTS of accidental deaths. Imagine my surprise, then, when he told me that this film is NOT an original but was first made in South Korea as "The Quiet Family"! Naturally I HAD to see this original and fortunately he sent me a copy! I was so excited to see this film that I could practically burst!When the film begins, you might also think this South Korean film is a musical--as it begins with a weird hip-hop version of an old Herb Alpert song from the 1960s! And, oddly, throughout the film there are a lot of odd American tunes--including one from the Partridge Family. BUT, and this is important, it was NOT a musical--and this was very disappointing. In the Miike film, there were dancing zombies and other wondrous musical delights. But none of this is in The Quiet Family. I could live with this...though I missed the zombies. But what I couldn't believe was that this dark comedy really wasn't all that funny. Yes, it had an original idea but it clearly did NOT make the most of it. Miike and his writers clearly were able to transform a rather average comedy into gold--and often that meant significantly changing the original script.Like the remake, the film is about a family that owns a small hotel in the middle of nowhere. Because of this, their business is failing--as the long-promised new highway has yet to be built and they have no customers for the longest time. Then, out of the blue, comes the first customer and the family is ecstatic. However, when they check on their guest the next morning, they find that the man had killed himself in the room...and he'd used his room key to do the deed! Fearing that this awful exposure would kill any chance at making the business a success, they decide to bury the body. Guess what happens with the hotel's next guests? Yep...they die as well. And, since they've already buried one guest, burying a couple more won't be so bad...right?!At this point, the plot of the two films are very, very similar--though the deaths of the guests in "The Quiet Family" aren't really that funny- -but they sure are in "The Happiness of the Katakuris". This sort of trend continues through the film, as often the South Korean film fails to capitalize on potentially darkly funny situations. Additionally, the film makes a huge mistake later--it does not keep the viewer liking the innocent family who just want to make a go of their new business. Instead, some of the family members are pretty awful and so loses its charm and slowly fizzles. While "The Quiet Family" is not a bad film, it is a definite disappointment considering that I first saw the PERFECT remake. The bottom line is that this is just a very rare case of a film where the remake is much, much better--funnier and actually much more original because of all the insane things they interject into the old plot. I almost always prefer the originals unless there is a serious flaw in it. In the case of "The Quiet Family", there were several serious flaws.

This is Kim Ji-woon's debut film. He would go on to direct A Tale of Two Sisters, The Good, The Bad, the Weird and I Saw the Devil. The Quiet Family is probably most famous for being remade by Takashi Miike a few years later as The Happiness of the Katakuris. Miike's film is far more zany, and it's a ton of fun. Kim's film is probably a little bit better. It doesn't contain any musical numbers, zombies or sequences animated in clay. It's quite well directed, though there are some plot holes and loose threads. Kang-ho Song (Thirst, The Host) and Min-sik Choi (Oldboy, Failan) are the most recognizable of the five family members who own a remote mountain inn. Their business is doing poorly. After a few weeks, their first customer shows up. He dies. Probably a suicide, but it looks like murder. The family decides to bury them. More bad luck follows as nearly each and every guest who shows up at the inn dies under horrific circumstances. The family just keeps burying the bodies. The film is morbidly hilarious. It kind of gets sloppy around the end, but it's hugely amusing the whole way through. Probably my favorite of Kim's films that I've seen so far

This film is incredibly dynamic. There are multiple concepts at once. It's a horror film yet it's a tragic-comedy. It's a drama yet it's almost a documentary. It's a great film concept and the cinematography is second to none.It's very slow yet instantly jerks into action. It's got great casting. The actors are flawless. Even down to 5minute appearances. The score is first class and diverse. Rock-glam from the Stray Cats to hip hop. The setting is also a little interesting.It's based in a remote area outside some woods. There is scheduled yet delayed construction for a "road" which will provide transportation for guests to the inn. However during the film the inn guests are mainly hikers and scenic people.The opening of the film involves this new family moving into a little run down house. They prepare the house and botch it up ready for guests. They have minimum advertising which is a sign. Literally. They wait for the guests to arrive. This opening scene is lighthearted and slow.Then the guests eventually arrive. All hell breaks loose. There is a moment of continuous bad luck from the moment the first guest arrives. This is when the film turns to film noir. All in all the film goes from an easy melodrama to something completely insane. It's a marvelous script and the slowness is rewarded by great tense sequences and various dilemmas for the unfortunate home owners.The film is superb. The casting spot on. The cinematography is awesome. A lot of different shots and slow camera movement to mimic the pace of the film. Then the unfortunate sequences occur the camera shots become more rapid and quick snappy close ups. I'm a big fan of this director and this film has to be his benchmark with the diverse range on offer.All in all a great film worth tracking down. Comedy; film noir, suspense, horror, isolation and deprivation. Superb acting and direction to match. I recommend it fully. 8 out of 10.

This film manages to strike a very tricky balance between humor and suspense. It's funny and tense all at the same time, from start to finish.It's visually appealing, with interesting characters, and high production values. The acting is uniformly superb, and the plot manages to incorporate good, old fashioned suspense traditions and tropes while remaining fresh and interesting.If you get a chance to see this, do.