Possessed (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD Region 3

The film begins with hassled college student Hee Jin (Nam Sang Mi) receiving a mysterious late night call from her younger sister So Jin (child actress Shim Eun Kyung, recently in Hansel and Gretel), only to be told the next day that she has gone missing. After her newly religious mother (Kim Bo Yeon) proves unable or perhaps unwilling to help, she turns to the police for help, in particular to an embittered detective (television actor Ryu Seung Ryong) whose own daughter is dying from cancer. Hee Jin's investigation uncovers the bizarre suggestion that So Jin may have been demonically possessed, something which begins to seem increasingly possible as a number of neighbours connected to the missing girl commit suicide under strange circumstances.

Possessed follows the path of some of the very best horror films by comprising equal parts scares, character drama and grander themes. Director Lee does a great job of neatly side stepping the usual genre cliche throughout, aiming for ambiguity and eeriness rather than cheap frights, and as result the film plays on the mind rather than the nerves. The demonic possession conceit is introduced gradually, and since the viewer largely experiences the film from the perspective of protagonist Hee Jin, it seems all the more believable. Indeed, one of the film's greatest strengths is its grounded feel, with most of its horrors growing not from the supernatural, so much as sadness and emotional torment. Inevitably, there are a number of surprise revelations along the way, and although the ending itself is fairly well signposted from early on, it still works very well in a suitably downbeat and grim fashion.

The main theme being explored is that of the clashes between different religions and cultures, and how their beliefs and faith can be twisted into something dangerous and harmful. Where Lee scores highly is in his even handed portrayal of both imported Christianity and native Shamanistic religion, with neither coming off as better, or indeed less based around manipulation and superstition than the other. Indeed, although the film certainly revolves around a general belief in other worldly forces, its demons are undoubtedly more effective for being non-denominational, or perhaps even imagined. The film asks questions rather than spoon feeding answers, and lingers in the mind after the credits have rolled.

To a large extent, the film's success also lies in its excellent performances, with Nam Sang Mi in particular being convincing and compelling as the increasingly confused and tortured Hee Jin. At once driven and emotionally vulnerable, she provides the film with both its dramatic core and its heart, and its hard not to feel for her as she slowly comes to realise the frightening and depressing truths about her family and neighbours. Lee makes the very most of this, and the film has a tense, almost paranoid air in places as it edges slowly but surely into a world where demonic possession, religious fervour and madness are interchangeable. Certainly, things do get quite disturbing at times, as he injects some bizarre and startling imagery, which benefits from being subtle rather than graphic. Similarly, the film is arguably more unsettling for its general lack of showy special effects, and raises more chills through its plain and stark depictions of paranormal intrusions into everyday life than any recent CGI based nonsense in recent memory.

It's this approach which marks Possessed as not only one of the most interesting, but indeed one of the best Korean horrors for some time. Lee Yong Joo shows an impressively assured hand for a first time director, eschewing most of the tired old shocks and overly familiar foolishness which have come to plague the genre, and as a result delivering something far more chilling, not only on a visceral, but more importantly on a psychological level.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com