Whispering Corridors is a totally scary, and entertaining horror flick from Korea. It's easy to see why this was the first of an explosion of Asian Horror films like the Ring and the Grudge, because the director, Park Ki-Hyung is definitely well versed in American horror and uses his understanding of the genre to make the movie really appealing to any American horror fan. Whispering Corridors is the first in a trilogy of films. The first death in the movie and all of the rest are really reminiscent of the slashers like Friday the 13th and other late 70's early 80's American horror which are the staples of the genre. If you like horror films and have seen the best ones, you'll immediately see why this one fits right in to that group. What's really cool about it, is that there's no CG (computer generated effects). All of the blood and deaths etc. are all done with real actors, and it's almost more believable than the over-the-top current American horror genre. There's something so tangible about the blood in the film. It's bright red, and creeps the viewer out in a way that CG children running around (like in the Grudge) could never fully achieve.
The whole film takes place around an all girls school-- and with girls in uniforms and mysterious murders, you've got the makings of a great horror narrative. The first 20 minutes really suck you into the story as Ki-Hyung moves the camera much like 70's DePalma or Hitchcock--It's seductive. The school building becomes horrifying in and of itself. The way Ki-Hyung presents the school makes it like an evil edifice similar to the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's The Shining.
The tone is similar to Rosemary's Baby in that the girls are consistently trying to figure out what the problem is-they want to get to the bottom of it, but the forces out of their control, i.e. the school teachers, get in their way, and they get in trouble. The grainy look of the film and the way the sound design/score are used is totally an homage to the classic horror films of the 70's. In the movie, the Korean school system is depicted as an evil force that represses the girls, abuses them, and ultimately is the motivating force that makes the one girl commit suicide and become the ghost who murders her enemies throughout the film. The performances by the girls are great. And the colors of the film are so dreary, that you can't help but feel like you're there. The end of the movie has a really amazing image of the two main girls alone in the classroom with blood pouring out of the walls and the ceiling. Overall, this film is really entertaining, and psychologically interesting, and will scare the crap out of you. The Tartan DVD release is pretty awesome. It has trailers for a lot of Asia Extreme films, 5.1 surround sound, photos, and English/Spanish subtitles.