Cinema of the Weird: White : The Melody of the Curse (2011)

This is the first film I'm reviewing from South Korea. It's about a fictional band, I was disappointed as after seeing the trailer I thought the band might be real. Band movies are usually interesting, imagine how different Slade in Flame would be if it had been a supernatural slasher. The rival band in this film is a real band called After School, but why not have two real bands? Too close to "reality"? Who knows?

This film is a bit like Ring meets Swing Girls, that's oversimplifying things. Lazy comparisons are overused in film criticism. K-Pop band Pink Dolls, are losing out in the popularity stakes to new girl band, Pure. A videotape labelled White is found in the Pink Dolls recording studio, it contains a pop group performing a song. Pink Dolls cover the song "White" and it becomes a big hit. The lead singers that cover this song has something bad happen to them. They usually end up wrestling a pissed-off spirit in the dressing room with a gory conclusion. The girls decide the tape is cursed. The question is for a new film why wasn't it a cursed DVD or maybe even a video clip on a pen drive, unless it is a nod to Ring?

The film is a bit better than average. It features some glossy cinematography and clearly a bit of money has been spent on it. The gore effects are pretty decent and as is de rigueur for Korean horror films the blood letting is plentiful. The film carries some moral messages about the downfalls of fame, plagiarism and jealousy.  This film is well worth seeking out and with the rival girl band theme and good production values, it is slightly above most disposable Asian horror films.

Pink Dolls perform