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Review by: Devon Bertsch
Date: 3/1/06

Director: In Soo Kim

Starring: Hyun-Jung Kim, Dong-kun Yang, Seung-chae Lee, Jeong-jin Lee

Screenplay: Seung-jae Baek, Jin-soo Noh

Music: Jun-Seok Bang, Young-ook Cho

Country: South Korea

Year: 2000

AKA: Haebyeoneuro Gada


Bloody Beach
I got a bit obsessed with Korean films after having a particularly good streak with them, seeing great flicks like Attack the Gas Station, Volcano High, and Nightmare in a row. Then I hit The Record, and decided I didn't need to see everything coming out of South Korea. A step up from The Record, but still not great, and further affirming my choice to not buy everything from Korea, is Bloody Beach.

The film opens with a bit of flair as we see a girl from a computer monitor's point of view. While the movie retains a strong visual presence, Bloody Beach never really becomes anything interesting.

A chat group focused around beaches has decided to get together for a lil' vacation. Just like in real life, all the chatters are young, good-looking people. They all seem surprised when one of them starts killing the others, because evidently, unlike real life, not all online geeks are psychotic. Could the murderer be the maladjusted guy they kicked out of the group? No, it couldn't be, because he committed suicide. Or did he? Or didn't he? Or did he? Or who gives a fuck? Unfortunately, Bloody Beach just goes on to repeat about 8,241 other teen slasher flicks.

The film looks good and is sharply done, and features an attractive cast, but the characters and story are less engaging than counting the specks in the film print. Nothing more than a bit of Korean fluff, it is. There is some splashy gore like a nice knife though the neck effect, an interesting 'bloody beach' murder, and a squirty leg stabbing. Actually, that's most of the gore, but it is Category III. Not a HEAVY Category III like, say, Untold Story, but a Category III nonetheless.

Watch for the girl who just hides and lets a guy get chopped up like she was in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remake. Actually, don't watch for that 'cause then you'd be watching a silly movie.

Video
Bloody Beach is a newer film, so the print and transfer are sharp, but there are a few specks. The movie is presented virtually full frame (1.40:1). It's a shame that the Chinese releases of so many Korean films were pan and scan, as they were often the only way to see a particular film with English subs.
Audio
The film is in Korean with simplified or traditional Chinese or English subs. The subs are pretty good, but have a few mistakes, and lack a space after punctuation, which makes some lines read funny. The mix is decent, but didn't utilize my stereo too well.
Extra Features
None.
The Verdict
A visually interesting film, where I guess the intent was style over substance. The style isn't strong enough to pull that off, which leaves Bloody Beach very forgettable. If you're interested in the movie, at least try and track down a widescreen copy, as there's bound to be more options available now.
The Rating

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Regional Coding All
Format NTSC
Aspect Ratio 1.40:1
16x9 Enhanced? No
Audio Options Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles English
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Country Hong Kong
Distributor Deltamac
Running Time 88 minutes