Unfriended - Japanese edition.

Here’s the problem - the rules they introduce make no sense. Their explanation of the curse goes against the whole opening scene in the movie. It was painfully messy, the information was dropped here and there and it was honestly not that easy to put it all together. The basis of it all is easy to understand, but all the details make no sense.

We know close to nothing about the main characters, there is no real diversity in personalities either. They are more or less copies of themselves, so when the bad things started happening, I couldn’t care less, because they did not really seem like real people to me.

At the end of the day, it was just boring. It’s a really simple story that could have been saved by the atmosphere, but they showed too much, everything was happening too quick, and there was no real time to truly dive into what was happening on screen.

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Perfect type of a mess.

The movie fits just right into the “so bad it’s good” category - with elements and plot that could last for at least 3 separate movies, it makes for a perfect late night brainless entertainment.

While the first 25 minutes are rather dull, following typical ghost and cursed storylines we have seen in hundreds of movies, the moment the ghost hunters duo shows up, that's when magic and crack happens.

There is no logic in this film - none. It’s impossible to make sense of the 80% of scenes and dialogues. They drop random supernatural lingo and we as the viewers need to just accept it all makes sense.

The acting was surprisingly not bad - improved with every minute. Honestly, delivering some of the lines in a serious matter seems like a miracle to me.

Production was… C class at best and that’s one of the fun and charming aspects of the movie. It’s made for people who can enjoy cringe and poor effects.

Overall, what an acid trip it was.

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A bit basic, but still fairly entertaining.

There was nothing truly wrong about the movie, but nothing stood out in a positive way either.

What starts as a comedy, ventures into more sad territory closer to the end. We know how Koreans are - nothing is just a comedy. I must say, I actually really like where the plot went and the given conclusion, I just hoped it would be set up better and more hints have been given.

On the comedy side - I did not really laugh once. Maybe smiled a few times, but that’s it. The jokes were just really mediocre and they did not take full advantage of the scenario they created.

The acting was good, especially from Han Seung Yeon who is able to deliver both the comedy (even if limited by the script) and drama.

Overall, it's light, short and fun enough to watch and not feel like you wasted time.

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That was a surprisingly easy and fun watch. With just 125 minutes, they managed to properly set up the plot and the characters, explain the past events, connect them to the current timeline, and keep a good pace. It follows a typical teen horror scenario, but makes it interesting enough for me not to care for the overused format.

It’s nothing groundbreaking or amazing, but it’s for sure an entertaining watch with some unexpected plot developments. The characters seemed like your typical university students which added some realism to a rather unrealistic, but enjoyable story.

I for sure liked the performances and was surprised to see some well known faces in the roles of Professor Choi and Professor Yeo.

It seems like a good watch for people who are not too good with horrors. It has some creepy moments, but there is also enough mystery and plot to get invested and focus on that. It’s also relatively short, so you won’t get exhausted watching it.

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The movie has 2 major issues: it’s too long and there is not enough screen time for the last heist compared to all the set up done.

Don’t get me wrong though, I was still rather entertained. In a little bit over two hours One Line was able to present a rather well built underdog story, adding a redemption arc closer to the end. Min Jae? Not exactly a likable character at first. Or in the middle. Somehow they were able to pull off 180, and make me care for him by the end.

Sadly, movies centering around con artists are as good as the chemistry and bond between the members and the last heist they do, and here the movie failed. Honestly speaking, from the whole team, the only two characters that had a fun and interesting dynamic going on screen were Min Jae and Gi Tae. All the rest just showed up with little built up for the team work, even though most of the was just that - creating a setup for the last case.

I would say, the last 40 minutes of the movie were the best - that’s when the characters started to truly work together and I could sense they were on board with the plan. That said, the ending was slightly anticlimactic. They did not show enough of the preparation for the big scam, so it kind of happened before I was able to comprehend what was going on. Especially since before that, the pacing was rather slow.

Acting was good. I’d say Im Si Wan did what he could with this role, but his baby face slightly did not fit how the character was presenting himself in the 2nd half. Lee Dong Hwi did a great job, I wanted to punch him in the face whenever they showed him on screen.

Overall, if the movie was about 30 minutes shorter it would flow better, and the imbalance between the setup and the last case would be less evident. It’s not like it’s a deep psychological drama - it’s a con artist movie with rather one dimensional characters and predictable plot. It’s supposed to be fun and that’s that.

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I am honestly not sure if they were self-aware or just lucky, but the overall a bit weird, cliche vibe was something I truly enjoyed.

The pacing was all over the place. Finishing last episode, I was truly confused when they even fell in love with each other. I don’t know why, but it worked for me. Even the “over the top” 2nd lead baking his cakes for 80% of his screen time - it was just ridiculous, and it worked. Rather than poor directing skills, it felt more like a style that the director and writer purposely went for. Which might be just my delulu thinking, but the facts stay the same - I enjoyed it, whenever it was intentional or an accident.

What I truly appreciated were the interaction of the main characters with supporting ones - it added slight realism to this unrealistic scenario. The teacher-student dynamics were especially fun to watch.

I truly enjoyed the acting. Shin Yong Seok as a naive, innocent and nice Seol Won made me laugh with his antics and persistent behavior. Im Sung Kyun’s more serious scenes impressed me the most. Acting silly on screen is one thing, but the few lines that had more of a sincere feel to them were delivered just the right way.

Editing and overall production quality was on par with other K-BLs - be slightly higher.

Overall, it was strange? But the type of strange that I enjoy. I was not sure what I was watching, but I was on board. Im Sung Kyun being quite an eye candy with some nice acting skills helped a lot.

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Is it worth paying for VIP on IQIYI to watch it? Yes - if you were truly invested in the program and love the trainees, and even then, you won’t enjoy all episodes equally.

Here’s the thing - some episodes were amazingly funny, with entertaining games. Some - not so much. A lot depended on the cast of trainees for specific episodes, the good chemistry was the key for viewers enjoyment. You need a few social butterflies and extroverts with more media experience to keep it interesting.

The themes for the episodes also played a big role in how much I enjoyed my watch. Haunted house with a mystery plot line is far more interesting than looking for snacks and eating them. Adding a spy or a team that was supposed to ruin the games also adds to the value.

One thing that I appreciated was the editing team. The perfectly used and placed memes were gold, and made already funny jokes, even more hilarious.

Overall: fun watch for big fans of YWY S3, probably mediocre for anyone else.

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They should rename this movie "Missed Opportunity".

Not gonna lie, I am quite disappointed, especially after reading the synopsis. I was ready for some complex story that pushes the viewer into a state of constant questioning of what is real and what's just a part of the broken imagination of the female lead... Well, I did not get that. If they just kept it a bit more vague and made sure Mi Ju is actually present during all the "supernatural" occurrences, it would be so much better. But since a lot of crazy things happened even without her being near, the answer is given to the viewer. When trying to create a story that can be left to the interpretation of the viewers, you need to be careful as you craft it. They were not.

One of the biggest flaws of "Cello" was the acting. I don't know how much of it I can blame on the actual acting skills (or lack of them) and how much blame can be put on the "acting style" that might have been more popular in 2000'. Either way, it was not good. The line delivery felt awkward in a lot of scenes and it took me out of any suspense they tried to create.

The plot was just a clusterf***. For such a short movie, they introduced too many characters we were supposed to care about. Why add the husband's sister? Or the "blackmailing" student? None of the plot lines were necessary and only took the precious minutes from the main character and the development of whatever supernaturally or mentally was happening to her.

Overall, I would probably not recommend it. There was nothing exciting, innovative or interesting in this movie. If anything, it left me frustrated, because the concept was good, but the execution of it just failed.

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You know these movies that are so bad they're actually good? This is one of them. I can only guess they tried to go for this eerie, strange vibe. Sadly, it didn't work out. It was edgy in the most comedic way.

The plot is fairly simple, though the non linear way of telling it may confuse some. We jump through plot lines for different characters, but they are not set in chronological order. Why was that stylistic choice made? Will never know.

What were the highlights of the movie? Voldemort in the belly of a young girl, the worst "possession" acting on the planet, weirdly timed jump scares that made me chuckle more than once.

Funny, how I just finished this movie, but I can barely remember any scene... I guess that sums it up.

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First thought after seeing a few seconds of the movie: I'm too dumb for this artistic stuff. Since it’s a short movie I still decided to watch it, and I'm happy I did.

The story is nothing special, but it's like peeping through the keyhole into the life of a questionable couple. The casual, or even comedic tone kept through most of the movie made the ending that much more intense. It was a nice twist to a rather obvious story.

I'd say the use of the spider in the end was quite telling and a nice symbolism of the current situation of the female character.

Overall, it's nothing special, but it was nice. I never have any high expectations for short horror movies, and this was just entertaining and nicely done. I could not ask for more.

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Well, that was a cheap movie.

The idea was quite interesting. Married couple, driven by their greed and the need to be accepted by the family of the husband, kills an innocent child in a ritual that will make the woman bear her own kid, followed by all the consequences of such a horrible act. There were so many amazing ways this story could have been presented and shot, and yet the writer and director decided to go with the worst of them all. I gave the story 4 only because of the huge potential I had seen and all the countless ways this movie could have gone in my head after I finished it.

The movie is filled with bad editing, random, seizure inducing sequences of "scary pictures", side characters and plot lines that are not explored enough or at all. The acting itself is also questionable. Except for a few supporting characters, it was not a natural and convincing one.

The characters were extremely frustrating too. Seo Ni is shown as this mother figure for Bin and good parenting role, but she also neglects her own younger sister numerous times. Cheol Woong's role is pointless. The whole detective role means nothing to the plot, he is not part of Bin's story and almost never shares the screen with the main cast.
Yoo Rin at the beginning was introduced as this rebellious teen that lies to her sister to go clubbing, but that part was never explored too. If they made Seo Ni find out about it at some point, it could be the perfect reason for the lack of trust she had when Yoo Rin mentioned Bin is weird.
Seo Ni's husband is even more of a mess. Why they introduced the sub-plot line of him having hots for Yoo Rin was beyond me, since it NEVER led to anything. The more I think about it, the more of a mess this movie is.

There was also one thing that bothered me extremely. They cast T-ara’s member and then have a whole scene of Hyomin and other members dancing in the club to roly poly. It right away took me out of the movie. Normally it's hard enough to forget the idol image of the actor/actress that is also a singer, but when you promote it in a movie too, it kills the character they are playing. For me, from that moment, she was not Yoo Rin but simply Hyomin.

Overall, don't waste your time.

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I was amazingly confused while watching and not because the plot itself was hard to understand, but rather the direction this series of movies took looking back at Horror Stories (2012). The first Horror Stories was not exactly an amazing movie, but in a nice way it mixed horrors or reality. Second went more abstract, but the stories still took place in a realm we know. This was just too edgy to comprehend.

[ Fox Valley ]
I liked the idea and the introduction to the story. The scenes made me feel uncomfortable and anxious, but with the alien sex scene, it lost all the charm and became a joke of itself. I love dark humor and horror comedy, if done right. This was not.

[ Road Rage ]
Probably my favorite out of all the stories and the reason is quite simple: it was realistic. The things that truly may happen in real life are far scarier than anything abstract and supernatural. The plot by the end made a full circle and it was enjoyable to watch. The switch of characteristics between the characters was a good plot point, which was nicely executed.

[ Machine Ghost ]
This part was also well done, but made the leading story that much more confusing with the styling of the robots. That said, I always welcome a story that dwells on the themes of consciousness, free will and what makes a human human. When does the robot stop being a commodity to be used by people and should be treated as its own being deserving rights that will protect him? Since the story is short, it is not a deep dive into such a broad topic, but it highlights some interesting aspects.

Overall, I would say it was worse than the 1st movie, but better than the 2nd. The leading story was quite ridiculous and I truly disliked the costume and set design. It looked like a low-budget sci-fi movie.

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One big, missed opportunity.

I was quite excited to watch it. Waited till late night to get the right atmosphere and get the best possible experience. 15 minutes in I started to become extremely sleepy, and it was not because I was tired. Kim Kang Woo is stunning, but his beautiful face is not enough to keep me engaged, when all I see on screen is him walking around the building with a flashlight.

I am truly impressed how such a short movie that also has so many different tropes, time lines, and plot elements, can be this boring. The plot twists were predictable, the story told in a messy way, the protagonist was a massive idiot that truly did only one thing right.

They tried to be creative, giving a twist to the typical “black haired girl ghost” story, but it was so ridiculous, it did not work out - especially with this execution.

The design for the ghosts and scares was mediocre at best, simple copy paste of what we saw in other movies. Basically a snapchat ghost filter.

They did not use the place for their advantage - could have presented the place as a claustrophobic loop, but I never felt that.

Kim Kang Woo did a good job acting wise, but the rest of the cast was just comical. The screams that are so important in horror movies, mostly sounded like free stock audio.

To sum it up, it felt like they had an interesting idea, but no clue how to present it.

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Supernatural teen scream

The movie has good moments and bad moments. Some scenes were well built on atmosphere, making the jump scares more effective. Some jump scares were punching you in the face with over the top effects. And yet, the movie was quite entertaining.

What truly adds to the typical teens at the haunted location flick is the introduction of different timelines. We follow different plot lines that together create a rather cohesive picture. There were a few small twists that I didn't see coming, thanks to which, the ending was truly satisfying.

Hard to comment on the acting, when the acting was 80% just screaming. There was not much depth to the character, and their purpose was to… well, die. About dying, the ghost had a strange interest in toilets. Somehow, quite a lot happened in that area.

First half of the movie had a better atmosphere. The director showed us enough of the supernatural lurking in the dark, that I was interested in what’s to come and what exactly is after the kids. Sadly, the more of the actual footage of the demonic ghost I’ve got, the funnier it became.

Overall, a rather fun ride. I am a bit weak for the teen horrors, and seeing these kids run around trying to survive is always entertaining. So, as long as you don’t expect a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece, and just want to have a little bit of chill fun, you might like it.

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