The Record (2000)

Movies that make tons of money usually go on to spawn a million copies of said movie. It happens once a week in the US (remember all the space-related films that came out after Star Wars?). So, it's only fair that, in the name of free trade, Koreans should be able to co-opt our popular movies; in this case, the one that help revive our stagnant horror film genre.Movie in a nutshell: A dorky asthmatic kid that everyone hates becomes the butt of a cruel practical joke. Ya see, these kids that hate him have tricked him into starring in their latest home movie. Unfortunately, he is killed in the process. They bury (or try to bury) the body, only to be haunted by a mysterious stranger a year later. Hmmm, where have I seen this movie before...Yes, this IS a Korean retread of I Know What You Did Last Summer, with dashes of Scream thrown in (they even go so far as to have the creepy sister from I Know..., played by a girl who looks exactly like, of course, Sadako). Those movies were not the greatest, and neither is this. If you've seen those, you've seen this. Even hardcore splatter fans will be put off by the fact that the Cat.III rating yields nearly no blood (what is this, the MPAA?). Probably shouldn't be watched, even though I did somewhat enjoy it.

Stay FAR AWAY from this film. The fact that you're reading reviews tells me you may have already been tainted by the awfulness it carrys. This is a truely horrid movie... so let's get down to the problems. Writing and Direction: It wouldnt surprise me if these were handled by a group of overactive gradeschoolers that watched 'scream' and 'I know what you did last summer' a few too many times. GIANT GAPING plot holes abound; while I can't congratulate them for this movie, its nice knowing they're finally potty trained. Actors(or lack thereof): Only the finest for this film... the finest extras ever to grace a screen, now starring in their speaking role debut! As a disclaimer, I have to note that I am capable of watching and enjoying just about anything. I recognize a good movie when I see it, but I can still giggle and smirk during Bubble Boy (yes folks, its true); so when I say to avoid something, you KNOW I'm not kidding.

These days, Asian horror films are among the best in the world, noted for their atmosphere and reflection of contemporary society. This is not one of those films! Instead, "The Record" is a mediocre slasher movie highly derivative of American movies like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream". The plot is familiar - 5 teenagers accidently commit a terrible crime, but cover it up swearing to secrecy. One year later, they're being stalked by a knife-wielding maniac (with the decidely unscary disguise of a hospital sterile mask and an orange jumpsuit). It doesn't help that the teenagers are a generally unlikable group (this is one of those movies where the killer's motives seem pretty reasonable) and there are numerous stupid plot setups to keep the story going. The direction of the movie is unsubtle, more influenced by MTV than by current Asian horror films (like "The Ring"). The last third of the movie isn't too bad though, delivering some decent suspense scenes, though there is probably one "twist" too many in the end. 4/10

This is a rip-off of already crappy hollywood movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The story is classic, some high-school students tries a prank on the class' asthmatic misfit but something goes wrong. Terribly wrong. When you watch the movie you know what'll happen before it happens all the time, not good if a movie tries to be scary. The actors are quite ok and the girls are cute (after all, they're asian) so i'll give it two out of five on the mojave'o'meter.