Whispering Corridors

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"Lovers of the 1999 hit Memento Mori take note, its prequel, Whispering Corridors, will definitely entertain."

- Equinox21


Whispering Corridors (1998)

AKA: Whispering Corridor

Director: Park Gi-Hyeong

Producer: Lee Chun-Yeon

Cast: Park Jin-Hee, Lee Mi-Yeon, Kim Gyu-Ri, Choi Gang-Hee, Yun Ji-Hye, Park Yong-Su, Lee Yong-Nyeo, KIm Yu-Seok, Yu Yeon-Su

Running Time: 107 min.

Plot: See reviews below.

Reviews

MIGHTY PEKING MAN'S REVIEW: Lovers of the 1999 hit "Memento Mori" take note, its prequel, "Whispering Corridors", is definitely inferior. The stories both take place in an all-girl's school, with some supernatural goings on. "Memento Mori" was one of the first Korean films I saw, and until this day I'm extremely impressed, however, I found "Whispering Corridors" almost intolerable, less engaging and most of all, cheesy.

Before I go on with the review, I have to ask: What was Equinox21 thinking?

Obviously, the two films will naturally have different qualities since they were directed by different people with contrasting styles; but saying they're on the same field is doing "Whispering Corridors" a big fat favor. "Memento Mori" is a beautiful, art-house-like, supernatural thriller that carries great acting, a thought-provoking storyline with a mysterious twist; not to mention it's grand soundtrack. "Whispering Corridors" is a ghost story cliche to the max. It feels rushed, pointed and shot, with no sense of style or originality. It's success was probably based on the fact that it relied more on visuals of countless Korean babes in school girl outfits. At least with "Memento Mori", we get the best of it all.

Unlike "Memento Mori", "Whispering Corridors" is too in-your-face that nothing is left for the mind. With "Memento Mori", the terror is more effective because it only hinted and teased, which leaves more for the wandering imagination. "Whispering Corridors" shoved it in me, giving an unsatisfying notion which made me roll my eyes and shake my head as if I were watching a bad straight-to-video B-movie. "Look! A girl hanging on the balcony!"... Big fucking deal.

If anything, the two unrelated chapters of Korea's "Girls' High School Horror Series" shows the power of cinematic direction. It separates the great filmmakers from the ones that got into the film industry by luck. I just hope the third chapter of the series ("Wishing Stairs") will be as good, or possibly surpass the excellence of "Memento Mori". As for "Whispering Corridors"? Skip it.

Sorry for this lame review which probably feels more like a comparison chart for the two films; but in all seriousness, I was so displeased with "Whispering Corridors" that it doesn't deserve to be mapped out. Read Equinox21's review below for more about the film. He actually liked it. But then again, he's just some silly sci fi whiteboy that's slowly losing his taste for film.

MIGHTY PEKING MAN'S REVIEW: 3/10


EQUINOX21'S REVIEW: Lovers of the 1999 hit Memento Mori take note, its prequel, Whispering Corridors, will definitely entertain. The stories both take place in an all-girl's school, with some supernatural goings on. Memento Mori was the first Korean film I ever saw, and at the time wasn't extremely impressed, however, I found Whispering Corridors a bit more interesting, a bit more engaging and even a bit more predictable.

The story centers on a student, Lim Ji-oh, and her new friend, Jae-ji, who are in their senior year at a haunted school. After the teacher of classroom 3 is lynched by a ghost, everyone sees her body hanging outside the school and assume that she committed suicide. The perverted, abusive principal of the school, known un-affectionately as Mad Dog, takes over the class while the new teacher, Miss Hur, gets ready to start teaching. Miss Hur is a former student at the school, whose best friend, Jin-ju, killed herself in the school 9-years earlier. Can Ji-oh and Miss Hur discover the source of the school haunting before it's too late and comes for them? Tune in to find out!

There are definite similarities between Whispering Corridors and Memento Mori, even though they aren't direct sequels (merely sharing similar themes and settings). The music in Whispering Corridors was adequately eerie, and the colors were dark and moody. I can't say the movie, which is supposed to be a horror movie, scared me at all, but it was enjoyable. I definitely think fans of horror movies like Memento Mori, The Ring and The Eye will like this one, but I'm not really a big horror movie fan and probably didn't get as much out of it as others might.

If you're at all a fan of Memento Mori, or just like horror movies with pretty Korean girls in school-girl outfits, definitely check out Whispering Corridors.

EQUINOX21'S RATING: 7.5/10