Cello (2005) User Reviews

Intelligent and Thought Provoking, But the End Result Will Leave you Wanting More

[totalovrdose · 7/10 · 4 February 2015]

Motivation - this is one notion I kept thinking about after the film's completion: what were the creator's motivations behind the development of this movie, while at the same time, what was motivating Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong), the lead character, the directionality of her decisions been difficult to fathom, although I, at the same time, could postulate my own personal speculations. The film however never openly reveals 'she is doing this because...', leaving much room for an audience to contemplate.

By the end, Cello feels like a movie we have seen before, combining themes and ideas present in films like Wishing Stairs and Sometimes They Come Back, along with an assortment of unique and stereotypical genre tropes. The scares that are present are less of the 'jump' variety, and more of the 'gasp', the film never officially terrifying its audience. At the same time though, Cello is depressingly disturbing, not so much in its ambiance, but in its content, possessing a similarity to a Greek Tragedy.

The films begins with Mi-ju in a bloodied state in hospital. We can assume she has recently experienced a traumatic car crash from the indicative blurb, though, can we be sure? Cello is a lot like a compass. If 'north' led towards the most logical and cognitive plot, then Cello points everywhere else for the majority of the feature, causing the viewer to think deeply about what is happening, the answers that are slowly provided occasionally having the rug pulled out from under them, forcing the audience to again wonder what is happening. In this sense, the narrative progression of the feature cannot entirely be trusted, which acts as an intellectual stimulus.

After experiencing something horrific, which is slowly revealed over the course of the story, Mi-ju now works as a Cello instructor. In her spare time, she connects with her family: her husband Jun-ki (Ho-bin Jeong), her autistic daughter Yoon-jin (Ji-eun Choi), her youngest daughter Yoon-hye (Ji-hye Jin), and her sister in law Kyeong-ran (Bit-na Wang). Not long into the movie, Mi-ju buys Yoon-jin a cello which she fancies while at the shops, and her husband hires Ji-sook, a silent and mysterious housekeeper.

It initially proves difficult to decipher what of the many changes in Mi-ju's life is the catalyst that eventually leads to a malevolent presence invading her life, and that of her family. However, if she doesn't figure out what is happening, and soon, she may not have any family left. A story of love, family, jealousy, betrayal and revenge, Cello is a film that shows behind every smile is a past, as haunting as it is unforgettable, and though we might be able to leave our past behind, sometimes, it doesn't want to leave us.

Cello

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 1 June 2008]

Tragedy strikes a deeply depressed musical teacher's family as they fall prey to a vengeful ghost seeking revenge.

There's a secret Mi-ju(Hyeon-a Seong)is hiding and we can see that whatever is plaguing her in how she carries herself and on her face. The film's most symbolic image may be several claw mark scars down her arm..they hold a special meaning as to why Mi-ju's innocent family is being preyed upon. A student she gave a bad grade to is causing mischief which seems to have no relevance to the proceedings, but we realize that certain phone calls sent to her(I hope you're happy.. You ought to be..)aren't from this rude girl. Haunting her besides these phone calls is the mental illness plaguing her autistic daughter. Mi-ju pops pills and we can see a cold distance in her marriage to businessman husband. Her sister-in-law is slowly driven crazy by the absence of her fiancé, going to school in America, who has quit calling her. Mi-ju's husband has hired a mute(..she swallowed acid) housekeeper, who lost her family and once attempted suicide several times. And her normal, adorably cute daughter is a victim to the unraveling of the family. The husband, often at work or away from the malevolent occurrences damaging his family, soon himself makes discoveries involving his wife's past which yield a dead school friend of hers, a promising cello musician named Tae-yeon(Da-an Park). Soon Tae-yeon's musical score shows up out of thin air as a constant reminder of that certain secret Mi-ju has kept buried which we'll soon see solving all the mysteries as to why her family suffers so.

Asian ghost revenge tale where the lead protagonist is hiding something that will soon come back to haunt her. It's the whole "sins of the mother" where you can perhaps hide a truth from others, but you yourself know what really happened. Mi-ju is a failure in life, not only as a cello player, but as a mother, whose guilt and joyless existence are on display. As I mentioned above, the claw mark scars are perhaps the image one should remember for this reminds Mi-ju of her past for which she can never escape, no matter if her shirt sleeves cover them or not. Not only do the claw marks work as an interesting symbolic image for the story regarding a character's past sins, it remains in our minds for we know there is something to them as it pertains to the mystery of the film. The twist at the end is an oft-used Twilight Zone type of gimmick where a character can truly never escape from the consequences of her own actions. Some of the special effects are decently staged(..what happens to the sister-in-law, for example, or the image of Tae-yeon often popping up out of nowhere), but the film is more of a mystery unraveling with the ghost making occasional appearances as a reminder of who is causing the supernatural terror to Mi-ju's family. The violence is limited to the end as Mi-ju loses her family members one by one to "the ghost". The use of the cello instrument is a key image throughout the film, obviously, and the autistic daughter has a significant role(..and is the cause of an unfortunate major family tragedy)in the story..perhaps she's a representative of bad karma or something regarding her mother's sins? I was so into the story, I paid little attention to the technical side of things, but it's quite professionally made with beautiful camera-work. This is very story-driven psychological thriller with the ghost more or a less an image of Mi-ju's undoing.The creepiest image for me personally was the ghost's ghastly white hand, with those long, black finger nails crawling up the throat of Mi-ju.

The past comes back to haunt us all.

[lewiskendell · 7/10 · 11 September 2011]

Cello is an atmospheric, emotionally-driven psychological horror/drama from South Korea. It's basically about a woman with traumatic events in her past that come back to haunt her and her family. 

I call it a horror/drama because it has its frightening moments, but a large part of the movie is devoted to the relationships between the main character, Mi-ju and her autistic daughter, and the past relationship of Mi-ju and her very close friend, Tae-Yeon. I found myself caring a lot more about the characters (and any potential danger to them) in Cello more than I usually do in horror movies, because so much time was devoted to developing them as people and not just kill-fodder. There are so truly horrifying moments in this movie, which gives it a heft and impact that goes beyond just visceral thrills. Cello is a very sad film, and that wouldn't have worked at all without characters that you actually care about.

It's not hard to figure out what's going on with the story, as Mi-ju seeming falls prey to either a malevolent ghostly presence or her own crumbling mind, but fortunately the plot throws enough curves to keep even veterans of the genre from being able to predict everything that's going to happen. 

Put plainly, I liked Cello. It was somewhat different from the recent horror movies I've seen, and undeniably well-made. I recommend it.

Nothing Wrong, just Nothing New

[masercot · 7/10 · 10 September 2013]

If I'd never seen an Asian horror flick, I'd be pretty impressed by Cello. But, it seems to take from several other movies more than would be appropriate. Including Bill Murray's Groundhog Day.

Not very scary and not particularly good. I really didn't feel anything for the main characters. Some of the characters in the movie seemed inexplicable. Like the housekeeper. Was the ad, "Wanted: Mute housekeeper. Must be creepy". Why did they let her in the house? Is there a shortage of housekeepers in South Korea?

The issue with the angry student seems kind of tacked on, maybe a red herring.

In essence, the woman was jumpy when the movie started and didn't really change by the end. Maybe she was being subtle.

I was expecting more.

Instrument Of Death...

[azathothpwiggins · 25 September 2020]

A professor must contend with a vengeful student, a mysterious housekeeper, and the total annihilation of all he loves.

CELLO is a wickedly clever ghost story with more twists than a tangled slinky! The plot loops, and bends back on itself, creating a very disturbing / disorienting experience. Bloody and vicious, this is one creepy movie! Filled with "WTF?" moments, this film goes where -most- others fear to tread. Yep, there are kids in this one, and they're neither sacred nor safe! A superb South Korean shocker...

Scary...

[chubbylove · 7/10 · 6 April 2007]

Scary scary… I love me some Asian horror… American horror films always just have jumpy scary parts that give you an adrenaline rush for about a split second. Asian horror really doesn't have jumpy… They pay more attention to scaring you in a way that lingers and builds up the more you think about it…

This one is a pretty simple story of a Mom/Musician with a lingering guilty conscience. For some reason, things start to go all wrong for her. She can't seem to get the job she wants. One of her students tells her that she's not a good instructor. Plus, she starts having some issues at home when her husband hires a house keeper.

The way the story was told was very creepy… And some of the events that happen are just down right disturbing. But, that's not to uncommon in Asian horror… If you like horror films DON'T miss this one! It's great.

Another Asian Horror Dull-Fest...

[EVOL666 · 3/10 · 30 December 2006]

I've said it before, I'll say it again - I don't really dig the newer-wave of Asian horror that is so big these days. There are a few exceptions, but this whole concept of super-slow build-up for virtually no pay-off has gotten real old to me. I don't watch these types of films often, and only bother every now and then to see if any of them will prove me wrong - so far...not really.

This one concerns a cellist whose family is the target of vicious hauntings following an accident. Slowly (and I mean VERY slowly...), the plot unfolds as we find out the true circumstances behind the accident and the hauntings - and then of course there is the obligatory "double-twist" ending that you should expect from pretty much every one of these films...

I give CELLO a few points for some decent camera-work and a few of the common "creepy" moments so common to these films, but seriously - this one is just like all the rest. If you get a boner for all of these proto-typical Asian bore-fests, you'll probably love this one too. If not, then you probably have some taste and should skip this one too...3/10

And they say the cello plays only beautiful music...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 29 March 2013]

Despite the lukewarm reviews on Amazon and IMDb, I still decided to give "Cello" a chance. Why? Well, because it is a Korean horror movie, and I do enjoy Asian movies quite a lot. And I am glad enough that I did pick up this movie from Amazon.

The story in "Cello" is fairly straight forward for a horror movie, but it was refreshing not to have the stereotypical Asian ghosts lurk at every dark corner here in this movie - there is nothing particularly scary about an Asian girl in a white dress with long, black hair covering the face.

But back to the story at hand, Mi-Ju has survived a car crash, but she is haunted by her past. And things around her are starting to become strange and threatening as her past is catching up with her. With her secret hidden from her family, she has no one to turn to, and slowly, an encroaching darkness is creeping up on her family.

For an Asian horror movie, then "Cello" was rather unusual. That being said, I am not saying it is bad. It was a nice change of pace in the Asian horror genre to have a movie take this approach. But for a horror movie, then "Cello" was surprisingly devoid of scares and spooky moments. The movie isn't boring, but it trots along at a fairly level pace - a pace that some might find slow and dull. But it serves the story well, as it builds up suspense and it does reveal the storyline, one slice at a time.

The acting in the movie was quite good, not amongst the best I have seen in Asian horror movies, but it was good and served the movie well. People did good jobs with their given characters.

"Cello" is a good addition to any DVD collection that contains Asian horror movies. And if you are looking for an Asian horror movie that is not centered around the stereotypical Asian ghost, then "Cello" is a good choice.

Yada Yada Boo Hoo

[ianmutimer · 5/10 · 18 March 2007]

I am getting slightly tired of these depressing weepy dark movies about someone dying and their ghost wanting revenge. Change the story. It's almost getting as regular as Steven Seagal movies.

Well there were some scary moments and also made me jump a couple of times. But the characters annoyed me because they're always so damn miserable and make no attempt to get themselves out the situation. This is the storyline - a woman is jealous of her friend as she plays the cello better than her (get over it already), then after they have a car crash she is in a position to save her or to let her drop, she let's her drop because of the whole cello thing I'm guessing. So then she has hallucinations and the ghost of her friend basically causes her family members to die, one by one. Then at the end, it goes back in time to just after the crash and they show the start of the movie again. Then the ghost hand goes in her hair and it ends. STUPID.

Don't watch it, there are far better Asian horror flicks to watch.

Perhaps I've seen too many horror films and this one feels repetitive?

[thomvic · 4/10 · 24 April 2011]

I was quite disappointed with this film and I think it has to do with the fact that it gets a bit confusing at some parts, and the story relies on the same usual formula most horror films go for - that whole psychological twist thing at the end. There were a few scares here and then but it didn't last long, and this film didn't leave me with that scare factor I get when seeing horror films.

Cello is about a professor who teaches the cello and has a family at home, where one of her daughters is learning to play the cello. But after her daughter seems to not communicate, a new housekeeper who can't speak is hired and seems to mysteriously appear every time something weird happens, a student who is harassing the professor due to a failed exam - what is happening? I think they added too many things into this film to lead you astray and make you think about what is going on. What was disappointing was the the villain in this film - or ghost wasn't really frightening at all which was bad. She looked like she just had too much bad makeup on that could have been washed away with a splash of water.

The ending also was a tad confusing in my opinion so instead of being freaked out, I was more contemplating what had happened and that is not good if you want to scare someone. Storywise also, I think a lot of Asian horror films have this symbolism of an object that is overused a lot - The Red Shoes, Dark Water with that school bad etc. Not to say that it doesn't work but it gets a bit repetitive and I felt that this one has reached it's overuse date.

It's a pity because I was looking forward to this one but this has to be one of the letdowns in Asian Horror.

A fun watch!

[Muviegirl · 8/10 · 18 May 2006]

I liked this movie. I'm not sure why they called it Cello, because it's the characters in the movie that really make it scary and not the instrument. But, it is directed by Lee Woo-Chul, a music director, and he really does use the music effectively to create this creepy ominous vibe. He also makes the movie look good too (there's a lot of cool imagery) and it comes off almost looking somewhat like a longer version of a scary music video. Maybe that's what they decided to name it after an instrument. Anyway, it's about this woman, who is a really great cellist, and she just wants a peaceful life after surviving a car crash that killed her best friend. So she decides to give up a professional career in music in favor of teaching college students and her daughter how to play. Well, once her life appears to regain a sense of normalcy, of course you know that that's just the quiet before the storm. Suddenly, one of her students attacks her, her sister in-law develops a wacky obsession with her fiancée, and the new housekeeper – lets' just say the woman will scare the crap out of you! Plus, her daughter develops some serious issues, including a nasty biting habit. There are plenty of scary women in this movie and they had me jumping several times. That's why I reiterate it's the characters that you have to watch out for. Before I saw it I thought it was about this haunted instrument or something. The acting is good, and the music really does add to the jump factor. Basically, it's a really fun movie to watch late at night…with the sound up loud. I recommend it!

NOT WORTH IT....just read below

[tobydied · 2/10 · 23 July 2007]

There really is no way to warn potential viewers against this movie without spoilers. What I can say is that this movie is just a big waste of time. While I can't say why it is a waste of time, since that would ruin the "twists" (yeah right) in storyline, I can say for a fact that it is hardly scary. There is one scene that made me jump, the other scary moments are copied from other films and look like they were cut out and pasted into the film. So, no scares here.

What I did enjoy about this movie is the relationship between the main character's sister who is planning on getting engaged, and the main character's daughter (I felt they gave the best performance in the film). while they only had one real scene together, it was cute and funny and made me feel that the whole project should have been scrapped for a lighthearted comedy starring the two actresses. That would have been way more enjoyable than this film.

The most derivative horror movie ever made?

[Meven_Stoffat · 1/10 · 2 May 2009]

Actually, checking the "spoiler" box was a tad bit of an oxymoron. There's nothing to spoil really. And actually, right now I'm sitting at my desktop with a dumb, moronic facial expression, wondering what I should type...

Instead I'll just go over what this movie has:

Mysterious bedtime ghost visitations (The Grudge)? Check. Mysterious Marie-Antoinette-esquire Decor (Strange Circus)? Check. Mysterious haunted recording devices? (The Ring)? Check. Mysterious Long Haired Female Ghosts? Check, though I'm surprised there aren't two of them, which means DOUBLE the aggravation... oh wait... Mysteruious scary noises made by female long haired female ghosts (The Grudge)? Check. Myaterious distorted pictures (the Ring)? Check. Mysterious hands (The Grudge)? Check. Mysterious False endings (The Ring)? Double check.

In short, just watch the above movies instead and keep far away from this fragmented craporama.

Try and try again

[dongillette1 · 5/10 · 5 December 2006]

I wanted to like this film just because of the DVD cover but alas, great cover art does not a good movie make. The photography is good enough, but the plot is hackneyed and to be honest, I had a very difficult time trying to keep up with who was who because of two reasons: Korean names are difficult to most Americans and the character introductions weren't long enough to let you put a face with a name. What this has to do with is caring about the characters. I've said this a million times: if you don't care about the characters, you can't care about the film or the book or the story. And if you're not introduced to the characters in detail, you can't possibly care about them. I think the movie has something going for it, though--and that's why I'll try to watch it again until I can figure out who's who and maybe develop a "relationship" with a few of the players. Anything that's this well put together has got to have some merit and I intend to find it if I have to watch it a dozen times.

Music theory teacher's nightmare

[LCShackley · 3/10 · 31 March 2009]

I used to teach music theory. I flunked a student one time and his mother went ballistic, sending slanderous letters about me to the dean, the president, and eventually even the board of the school. Well, let me just say that her treatment of me was mild in comparison to what happens to the teacher in THIS trashy horror flick.

Well, at least that's what we're led to believe at the beginning. The offended student is getting revenge on her snooty teacher. But then other weird things start happening. We see the same scenes repeated, but with different characters and outcomes. We have odd supernatural sounds and horrific nightmares. We have a bizarre mute housekeeper who creeps everyone out, but who stays because the husband feels sorry for her. (Would you keep a housekeeper who had "swallowed acid" if you had two young girls in the house?) There are deaths (including two animals and a small child), suicides, and an autistic child who loves the cello.

This film can't seem to decide what it's really about. Mental illness? Revenge? Self- punishment? Competition in the world of music? It's just a bunch of random plot elements hung together on a cello string. It's one thing to have surprises in a movie; it's another thing to be misled by an idiotic script. And it's got an ending that's a weird combination of GROUNDHOG DAY and CARRIE.

My most profound memory from this movie is: "Wow, Korea has the CLEANEST parking garage floors in the universe." I'm already forgetting the rest.

The best horror/cello flick I've seen since, um...

[killerreviewscom · 8/10 · 8 August 2006]

First things first. The box for "Cello" has some of the most bad-ass cover art I've ever seen. It's sexy, bloody and instantly makes my wonder how the hell a horror flick can revolve around a cello. Quite honestly, I'm burning myself out when it comes to foreign horror. They're quickly becoming my favorite sub-genre, but man, do I miss the days when I didn't have to read or think so much. I'm actually becoming smarter watching horror movies and that's scarier then the films themselves. Moving on… "Cello" is about (what else?) a young cellist by the name of Mi-ju (Sung Hyun-Ah), who holds herself responsible for killing her best friend in a car accident. Fast-forward a few years later and Mi-Ju's life is finally back-on-track, or at least close to it. She has two beautiful children, a loving husband, a big house, a decent teaching career and a small waistline. She's got it all - too good to be true right? You bet your ass it is. Before you can fart out last night's dinner, Mi-ju's world begins to fall apart. Her students are constantly screwing with her, her sister's going crazy, terrible nightmares plague her sleep and her oldest daughter is becoming a human vegetable. Hey! - at least her waistline is stable. So is all this a coincidence? Probably not. Is a bitter spirit from the past coming back to seek revenge? Probably. What did she expect? Even in purgatory, the chick is still removing pieces of windshield from her face. Hopefully her tits didn't get hacked up too bad.

The opening of "Cello" embodies everything I love about Asian cinema. We have a beautiful girl sitting in her bedroom playing the cello, sliding the bow across the strings producing a beautiful melody. The camera slowly moves around the room, changing the focus between the foreground and background. Sounds peaceful right? Well, almost immediately we cut to a woman in an emergency room covered in blood. We see that she has been in some sort of accident and the doctors are struggling to save her from her already-decided fate. These shots are realistic and downright disturbing. It's funny; I can watch Jason Voorhees hack through a bloody plethora of terror-filled teenagers, but when the people are in a realistic situation, like a car accident, it's far worse to watch. Oddly enough, it's also very beautiful in a morbid sort of way. Asian films always seem to accomplish this and I'm very drawn to that.

Because of the dark, eerie cover art I just assumed that "Cello" was going to be a ninety-minute spook fest, very much in the tradition of Ju-On and Ringu. Man, was I was wrong! Director Woo-cheol Lee chose to focus more on story and character then the scares. (Uh-oh… there goes half the audience.) At first this was disappointing to me but of course – like with most Asian cinema - when all is said and done, the story development pays off in the end.

I was also surprised how non-atmospheric and bright "Cello" was. Most Asian flicks require a heavy-duty flashlight for viewing but not "Cello." A good portion of the film takes place during the day and if it's after-dark, then the characters are inside in well-lit rooms. They seem to be much 'brighter' than normal, too. We see them dressed in bright colors, joke around, dance and laugh. Basically act like regular people. This was such a refreshing change from the usual dark, gloomy characters that populate most Asian films.

The only qualm I had was with the pacing. Like I said, when the end credits started rolling I felt satisfied, but it was a slow ride at times. I was going to rate this flick a little lower because of this, but as I sat down to write the review I just kept thinking of several key sequences that really impressed me, the final shot of the film being one of them. I think with a higher scare factor "Cello" could have been one of my favorites. I really enjoyed this one.

Overall, I think most people will like "Cello." It's the classic Asian approach. You have a lot of story development, which can be slow at times and of course, an ending that will no doubt spark conversation. If you enjoy these types of films then you'll most definitely like this one. If you don't, then you probably won't. If you're new to Asian cinema, then I highly recommend you check out "Cello." It's a great introduction to the genre.

nothing new

[opalfiction · 4/10 · 7 November 2020]

If you're into Asian horror from the 90s onward, you've probably already seen at least half a dozen movies with very similar visuals, camera work, plot points, "twists" and cheap scares. You really don't need to see this one.

It's an alright Korean horror movie.

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 5/10 · 1 July 2023]

This is an interesting type of movie that I have watched. The story is most just strange things happening to this cello player and her family. It's built up pretty well throughout with the supernatural that happened in it. The movie itself is repetitive, with the main character having hallucinations, and each of the family members gets killed off one by one. The movie does a theme of guilt that comes back to haunted you, which is executed pretty well in this movie, and even the backstory is quite interesting. It's a mixed bag with the creepiness factor with a current scene and a pretty good atmosphere to it and is effective, but sometimes it uses cheap jump scares and the movie isn't that creepy at all. The ending itself is really odd.

Little simple...

[kakoilija · 3/10 · 24 January 2008]

Boring characters in the beginning.

Production value is good... but lack of true disturbing horror.

Oh but some nice looking girls... I'd almost pay to get into their pants.

I wonder if she was on mescaline? I bet I would have enjoyed this one more if had taken some LSD.

If you are a true horror fan skip this one. Although she did have a cute dog.

Maeby for this movie could work for teenagers... but I have watched the sickest stuff there is...

CONCLUSION: Seen worse, but you won't be missing anything. Nothing new... maybe if you are wimp, or metro-sexual you might find this interesting showing.

A standard supernatural revenge story.

[imdb-19548 · 2/10 · 9 July 2013]

There is nothing new or interesting here, the plot is a mix of clichés with the twists being predictable and no suspense built up.

There is the question of who is causing the problems but all the main candidates are dismissed so quickly they might as well not have been there.

The acting is mixed, Hyeon-a Seong is good as the lead but Da-an Park is poor as the friend in the flashback sequences.

Far from improving things the final twist seems desperate and pathetic, the last cliché of a writer with no ideas.

Barely watchable, instantly forgettable.

So creepy!!!!

[Satine_25 · 8/10 · 13 October 2006]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this movie was scary, but it was sure as heck bizarre!!!

So basically this movie is about a woman (a former cellist) with a mysterious past, involving a car accident, and all of a sudden strange and terrifying things begin to happen to her much beloved family. She has a husband who seems to love her very much, a sister-in-law that lives with them until she is married to her fiancé, a mentally impaired older daughter, and another younger daughter. She also teaches as a part time instructor and one day is threatened by a young student who received a poor grade in her class. No spoilers, so to find out more you have to watch the movie.

This movie had TONS of twists and turns, just when you think you've figured it out something new pops up and it throws you entirely off guard. Especially about the main character's past... you have been warned.

One thing I love about these types of movies is the beautiful cinematography, it's just absolutely gorgeous even in such a twisted and creepy movie such as this one. Everything just seems to flow so elegantly, something rarely achieved in American movies. I definitely recommend this movie for someone who enjoys a good creep fest, but don't recommend it to someone who is really squeamish towards blood.

Korean slice of supernatural horror misses the mark

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 12 October 2012]

In which a haunted cello wreaks havoc amongst a young family, or does it? I was looking forward to watching a film about a haunted musical instrument, but it turns out that the titular cello plays little part in the movie itself, and neither does music. Instead, CELLO strives to be an eerie supernatural horror film in the tradition of THE GRUDGE and others like it, depicting a family at the mercy of a ghost. However, it's a film which lacks the courage of its convictions. The storyline alternates between slow, drawn-out scenes and muddled moments in which key plot points are either bypassed or skipped through. And its cardinal sin is to throw up an excruciating plot twist at the finale which turns everything on its head in a bad way; one of those twists you invariably feel cheated by rather than in awe of.

I found the plotting in this film to be slow and predictable. There's a fatal car crash which plays out in the most typical way imaginable, and lots of would-be attempts at spookiness with taciturn young girls and CGI spirits jumping out of corners. None of them provoke the slightest shudder. The main actress, Hyeon-a Seong, fails to convince in her role as a wife and mother who's either haunted by a vengeful spirit or going out of her mind; I didn't buy her predicament for a second, and her attempts at conveying fear are rather pitiful.

The scare scenes are rather silly with one death in particular ending up laugh-out-loud rather than frightening. And the director's lack of experience shows: Woo-cheol Lee only ever made this one film, and he doesn't have a clue about building suspense or finding the right pace. The resultant film is boring and way too familiar for anyone with the slightest experience of Asian horror cinema.

Not one of the better Asian Horror films.

[nitzanhavoc · 4/10 · 20 November 2012]

Like most Horror fans, I truly am fascinated by Horror films coming from Asia. The Japanese ones, the Thai one and the Korean ones all have a tendency of having the same sort of gloomy dark charm that Hollywood will forever try to adapt and remake, but never completely succeed.

Cello, as the name implies, revolves around a story to do with music, and as such has a beautiful soundtrack (cellos always have had a dark sound, and this film used that sound very well). The ghost was really scary, but that came as no surprise as the Asian always did have the scariest ghosts in the genre. Also, the little girl actress who played the protagonist's younger daughter is absolutely adorable.

Cello featured an unbalanced collaboration between the ghost-story sub genre (i.e. The Grudge, The Ring, The Uninvited and such) and the torture sub-genre (not the kind like France's "Martyrs" or "The Inside" where the gruesome physical torturing of the characters also tortures the audience, but rather like France's "Frontiers" where the audience is simply tortured by the unfortunate horrible mishaps and tragedies befalling the protagonist). I'd it's roughly 70% torture and 30% ghost.

The story is rather confusing (or should I say confused), and the plot twists and ending are unoriginal and in my opinion unsuccessful. It may have been the object, but watching this was a rather masochistic experience.

Not the finest choice of Asian Horror, I wouldn't really recommend this one.

Mi-ju faces the music.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 11 May 2012]

Cellist Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong) survives the terrible car crash that claims the life of her best friend Tae-yeon (Da-an Park) but finds herself being haunted by the dead girl's ghost.

Why waste your time watching all of the Asian ghost films out there, when you can watch Cello, which sums up the entire genre in one easy hit. Vengeful ghosts, freaky imagery, a dark secret, creepy kids, scary phone calls, supernatural deaths—all the staple ingredients are there, along with an embarrassingly uninspired finale whereby events start all over again, trapping Mi-ju in a never ending cycle of horror (yawn!).

Technically the film is hard to fault, the whole package boasting stylish direction, solid performances, lovely cinematography, and excellent music, but thematically it is way too similar to countless other previous Asian ghost movies to be a truly effective and worthwhile addition to the genre. And, of course, there's that sucky ending...

Disappointing ghost flick

[p-stepien · 2/10 · 27 August 2012]

Cello instructor and would-be music professor Hong Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong) entrapped within unresolved past issues becomes haunted by an unnamed ghost, which has clear bad intentions and will stop at nothing to enact revenge for an unnamed wrong. Pretty standard Asian ghost theme? You betcha.

"Cello" is so deeply in tune with the Asian ghost film phenomenon that it starts eating its own toes within the first few scenes. However repetitive the story a proper execution would at least keep up interest in the unfolding story, even if surprises are few and far between. Hyeon-a Seong gives off a terrible performance painstakingly imitating emotions with the utmost failure being that of fear. Supporting cast further dilute the story with some laughable reactions, which make 1980s slasher movies look almost Oscar worthy. Scare factor is severely diluted not only down to performances, but also thanks to the unwaning deja vu attacks. Held together by a slow meandering plot which lacks both compassion or tension with frights signalized by overtly noisy and predictable music / sounds reaching the finale is an arduous task.

Once there the story does offer some respite to those, who traversed the journey with a nicely tied in twist conclusion, notwithstanding the irksome humdrum leading to the point.