H

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Cruelly killing for the sake of life's nobility, 2007-06-03
Two young women are found brutally murdered, one in a landfill, the other on a bus. Both were pregnant, with one infant still wriggling inside his dead mother's stomach. br / br /The homicide department's cops are called in, led by Detective Kim Mi Yun, who has a new partner, Kang Tae Hyun. Kang's a bit of a hothead, he's always late to the scene of the crime, and he seems a bit cocky at times. So he's a bit difficult to like. And he's especially impatient, wanting action now as opposed to waiting. br / br /In contrast, Kim is an icy, unsmiling person, but at the same time, more logical. When Kang is frustrated that they are getting nowhere, she merely tells them she is going around, looking at the case from a different angle. When he tells her she is mean, she retorts that yes, she is mean, but at least not as emotional as he is. br / br /There is a reason for Kim's harshness. The killings fit the same pattern as that of Shin Hyun, a psychopath who murdered six women in ten months before turning himself in. Shin Hyun's crimes was so traumatic to Kim's partner Han Jung-woo, he ended up killing himself. The agony was double due to the fact that Han and Kim were engaged. br / br /So the question is, is this a copycat killing, or has Shin Hyun hired someone to duplicate his crimes? A meeting with Shin Hyun's psychologist, Dr. Chu Kyung-Sook is a dead end. She's more level-headed but aloof, refusing to cooperate due to patient confidentiality. It's a matter of professional conduct, but she flatly tells Kim and Kang, "My patient is more important to me than a victim I don't know." And when the pair later tail her, she merely gives them a superior smile, definitely not one to let them get her goat. br / br /The cover's description of "Se7en meets Silence of the Lambs" holds true up to a point. Shin Hyun's quite anti-social, his quiet words laced with a kind of weird babble about the echoing abyss, dirty blood, and the restless sound of spirits, so thus a far cry from the terrifying but intelligent words of Hannibal Lecter. But the methodology involving his killings is very thematic to what made him the way he is. A woman who had an abortion was not only killed, she had her left ring finger cut off because according to him, she was unworthy of marriage. And an abortion doctor was killed in a very horrible way. "Cruelly killing for the sake of life's nobility," remarks the chief of police. br / br /H is a pretty bloody serial killer drama, with throats slit, people butchered in horrible ways--with one particular scene of a corpse suddenly crashing on top of a police car with a thud. And there are a few red herrings thrown in for good measure. But what's thematic is the abortion issue as a whole, the choice of having the baby or not. As Detective Park says, "Use a condom or have the expletive baby!" br / br /If Yeom Jeong-a (Kim) is familiar, it's because she appeared in A Tale of Two Sisters as the stepmother, Eun-joo. She's a far cry from that manic character, as Kim barely cracks a smile in this film. And the actor playing the police chief, Park Young-Su, also came out in the horror film Whispering Corridors as the teacher, "Mad Dog" Oh, as well as another police higher-up in Another Public Enemy. Not bad as police/serial killer dramas go.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

pretty good korean mystery, 2006-09-14
This movie certainly had me wondering all of the way. br / br /It starts off with some gruesome murders and we are talking some truly sickening stuff here. We find out the murders look to be done by a copycat. The murderer who is being copied is in jail so the cops go and speak with him. These were by far my favorite parts of the movie. This kid who plays the serial killer is very good. br / br /I have to say that the movie was very well acted and they did a good job telling the story, it was just a little boring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Hypnotic Korean Psychological Thriller, 2006-08-25
I have never been one of those viewers who are into serial killer films. I find most of them sickening and quite a few have a bit more gore than I like in my films--and not enough suspense. There are the few exceptions: And one of these is the South Korean thriller "H". However, this film does have a high level of gruesome scenes depicted. Therefore, as a word of caution, be warned that this is an extremely violent film. Moreover, the plot is not what you would find in your usual American style of thriller. But it does have an interesting and suspenseful twist that I happened to think worked extremely well in this film. Having written this; I would recommend that viewers rent the film first, as it may not appeal to the majority of viewers out there. br / br /The films narrative begins with a recently discovered body of a murder victim in a landfill, while another body has been found on a bus. Moreover, these murders resemble the killings of a sociopath who is awaiting the death penalty for similar killings. Is he the killer? Is the true killer still out there? Or is it a copycat killer? Shin Hyun (Seung-woo Cho) gives a great performance [as usual] as the killer awaiting his death sentence. Shin turned himself into the police ten months ago after murdering six women, and was sentenced to death after being found guilty. However, with these latest killings resembling Shin Hyun's, two detectives are called in to investigate if Shin Hyun is the real killer. He confessed to the killings, and everyone believes he is guilty. Is he? Or is there more to the killings than we are led to believe? These latest detectives brought in are to get to the bottom of things. Kim Mi Yun (Jung-ah Yum) is somewhat aloof and disconnected with those around her. Her latest partner Kang Tae Hyun (Jin-hee Ji) is more hot headed and is ALWAYS late to the crime scenes. br / br /With the cool detachment of Detective Kim, and the brash and impatient attitude of Detective Kang, they both set out to find clues and answers to the latest killings: And where it leads them is strange indeed. Since both of the killings are identical to the imprisoned Shin, the detectives try and figure out if Shin has a hand in these latest killings. Maybe he knows who the killer is? The detectives reinterview Shin Hyun to find these answers. In trying to retrace the latest killers motives, which are too much of a coincidence due to the identical nature of the murders, they both believe Shin knows who is responsible for the latest killings. Yet, something in the nature of Shin is not right. Yes, he knows something. But what is it? Not all is what it seems in this Korean thriller. Enter a psychologist by the name of Dr. Chu Kyung-sook (Sun-kyung Kim) who has a major connection to the case. She treated Shin Hyun, yet refuses to allow the police access to the taped interviews with the now condemned Shin Hyun. Why? br / br /Eventually, the case becomes even more frustrating as the detectives try to find the killer or killers who are still out on the streets of Seoul killing. Moreover, they believe there is a connection between this latest string of killings and Shin Hyun. But is there? And what is Dr. Chun Kyung-sook's connection to all of this? While "H" does have some intriguing and suspenseful twists in the film that I thought were very good, it also boasts some very bloody and extremely violent scenes. If you do not like gore in your films, then stay away from this film. As I wrote in the beginning, I am not into gory films, or excessively violent films. However, it is necessary in this particular film in order to advance the plot. I thought the film was a very good suspense thriller, with plenty of plot twists, and a most unusual killer. The film also boasts outstanding cinematography that one is now becoming accustomed to with many South Korean films. But once again, this is not a film that will resonate with many viewers, therefore, rent it first. [Stars: 4.5]

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

What's not to like., 2006-07-26
Do not listen to the bad review because they are wrong. This is just like the cover ad says "It's Se7en meets Silence of the Lambs." I think the graphic violence in this films reaches the level of seven so if you did not like seven because of its graphic nature then skip this film. But if you have the stomach to see it then this is the thriller of the year and you should see it.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Imitative and exploitative, 2006-05-21
A pair of emotionally damaged police detectives (Jung-ah Yum and Jin-hee Ji) investigate a series of gruesome killings that emulate the murders of a serial killer (Seung-woo Cho) who was imprisoned ten months earlier. They suspect that he has an accomplice on the outside. In a sense, they are correct. The truth provides a nice twist that would have had more impact if it had not been imbedded in a plot that has so many lapses in logic. Unprofessional behavior makes it difficult to take these cops seriously. They seem to make some pretty big intuitive leaps and there are plot elements that don't connect very well to the main story, although both of these could be the fault of poor subtitling. The final moments of the film are intended to shock, but they require one character to behave in a way that contradicts what we have seen of her before, so it comes off as cheap exploitation.