Stylish Horror Films Are Not So Messy

# Why are so many horror movies?

The domestic film industry began to turn its eye to horror films last summer after the success of `the Phone.` `The Phone` was a low-budget movie that cost 1.7 billion won, but lured 2.2 million movie-goers nationwide.

Then, horror movie scenarios began to appear in large numbers. Production companies, which had heavily focused on comedy, also showed interest in horror as they faced limits in the comic genre.

˝The horror movie market had remained weak until `the Phone,` which proved the marketability of scary movies,˝ said Ha Hye-ryong, planning manager at Kyeplus Pictures, a maker of `Into the Mirror.` ˝Investors are increasingly turning their eyes to horror films that can create high added-values with relatively small budget.˝

The horror genre had been given the cold shoulder in the domestic market for years. When such movies as `I Know What You Did Last Summer` and `Scream` hit Hollywood in 1997, domestic moviemakers also rushed to produce the so-called slasher movies, in which a vicious killer indiscriminately mows down people. Korean slasher movies like `the Scissors,` `Harpie` and `Die If Get Caught` all failed big, however.

# Less Cruel But Eerier

The titles of horror movies this summer are not scary any more. `The Acacia` reminds people of a romantic melodrama and `The Table for Four` of a family movie. The third sequel of `Strange Stories from Girls High` changes its title to `Stairs of Foxes.`

These titles do not sound as frightening as those of old horror movies such as `The Noose,` `Nails` and `Killed if Get Caught.`

`Janghwa and Hongryon` injected 800 million of the total 2.8 billion won budget into creating sophisticated high-class images inside the house. The production team borrowed and bought some antique furniture and supplies. Production company `Spring` said, “The neatly-arranged images of the house will increase the feelings of sacredness to the utmost.”

These movies are in fact different from slasher ones. They put focus on eerie atmosphere rather than blood-covered bodies. `The Table for Four,` a story about a woman suffering from her ability to see people`s past and ghosts, has few blood-littered scenes. Although the `Scream` series sold well in Korea, the audience often finds slasher movies distasteful.

˝Slasher movies are basically about the confrontation between good and evil, which carries some Christian messages,˝ said Cho Min-soo, professor of filmmaking at Sangmyumg University. ˝Koreans have this `Han,` or spirit of sorrow, and scary stories about soothing dead souls who have `Han` are more appealing to Korean audience, therefore.˝

# Family Stories

These movies mostly deal with a tragedy of a family. `Janghwa and Hongryon` is a story about a stepmother and two young sisters, `The Table for Four` about a tragic family story from the past and `The Acacia` about adoption of a little girl.

In `Into the Mirror,` the heroin finds out that the serial killing is related to the death of her sister. `Stairs of Foxes` centers on a group of high school girls who are as close as family members.

Family members are so dear among themselves, so they tend to inflict a fatal wound on each other. A seemingly happy family could have a tragic story inside.

˝A family plays a role of protecting its members when they are young, but as grown-ups, they try to break away from the bond, which sometimes leads to tragedy,˝ said Hwang Sang-min, professor of psychology at Yonsei University.

Since the unit of family is what the audience goes through every day, it can increase the sense of reality.

˝When the audience thinks that it could happen to me, the sacredness is enhanced,˝ said Prof. Cho. ˝The audience feel a lot more scared by imagining that one of my family could kill a person rather than imagining that a serial killer murder hundreds.˝

Soo-Kyung Kim skkim@donga.com