Apateu

Even though the theme is same as most other Asian horror movies since "The Ring", this film keeps the adrenaline up! I watched this movie with a bunch of pals during the midnight through early morning and I must say, judging by my reaction and that of my buddies that this one was a one heck of a freaky experience.

Great cinematography & sound effects. The first half was a nail biting experience but then the last twenty minutes or so is sad and horrific/tragic. Though one kind of tends to guess the movie right as it progresses, it still is a very good flick because of the its technical aspects. About the woman in red well I think her character is open for discussion probably the director wanted us to have some food for thought. I personally think her suicide instigates the protagonist to find the reason behind the other suicides(so that she could stop them from dying).

Well perceptions vary and I really liked this movie!

A video related with mystical scenery, with a lot of mysteries and unknowns, which it follows a lonely young career woman, lives in a high-rise apartment building in a Seoul suburb, and sometimes watches her neighbors through binoculars for amusement.

She does notice that the lights across the way flicker mysteriously at exactly 9:56pm every night-often accompanied by an apparent suicide.

These types of films are rare, at the same time very special and original from the content, soundtrack, cameraview and everything is realized in the right way, with a very confusing and mysterious theme and a perfect execution in end. 8/0 11/06/22.

Needless to say that given my fascination with horror movies and Asian cinema, then of course I sat down to watch the 2006 South Korean horror movie "Apeteu" (aka "APT.") as I had the opportunity to watch it in 2021.

Initially then the movie started out alright, but oddly enough then writers Byeong-ki Ahn, Pool Kang and Soyoung Lee quickly let the story spiral out of control and it turned to a somewhat befuddled mess of a storyline. Sure, towards the end, once the cause behind the supernatural events were made clear and brought into the light, then the movie was actually starting to get back on track, but by then it was just a little bit too late.

I wanted to like this movie, but it ultimately never managed to become more than a mediocre horror movie. And not one of the finest or more memorable moments in South Korean horror cinema. There are far better choices of horror movies from the South Korean cinema in comparison to "APT.".

Director Byeong-ki Ahn was settling on a somewhat safe formula to shape the movie by, and it made for only a generic result, that wasn't particularly scary.

Visually then there were some nice enough moments throughout the course of "APT.", though hardly anything noteworthy or memorable. Again, there are far better horror movies in the South Korean cinema.

The best thing about "APT." was the cast, because they definitely had managed to get together a good ensemble of actors and actresses for the movie. Most noteworthy was So-Young Ko (playing Se-Jin).

While I managed to sit through the entire movie, I can't claim to have been more than adequately entertained. As such, then my rating of "APT." lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Se-jin Oh(So-young Ko),a lonely,single career woman who hasn't much of a social life.One day,while walking home from work Se-jin encounters a creepy woman in red who throws herself in front of an oncoming train— while trying to drag Se-jin along with her.She survives,but the ghost of the woman come back to haunt her.It seems that people are dying in the apartment complex across from Se-jin's,all of the deaths coming precisely at 9:56 p.m.Admittedly "9:56" is highly derivative.It borrows heavily from "Ringu","A Tale of Two Sisters" and "Phone" and references Hitchcockian "Rear Window" many times.Fortunately the underlying theme of the film is surprisingly dark as it revolves around the physical and emotional abuse of beautiful crippled girl(Hie-jin Jang).The film is impressive to look at and offers a few genuine scares.Oh,and Korean actresses are jaw-droppingly gorgeous.I'd love to visit South Korea one day.;)

This movie is not the best by any means, nor does it take genre to the next step. Even worse, it uses plot and setting elements we already seen numerous times in other movies.

But.

All leading actors are doing good job. Film is moody, and scary at times. Not as much as you would like, but yet it is. On top of that, it takes some familiar plot elements but twists them in unexpected ways. Keyword "some", and yet it does. Some scenes In this movie are beautiful, and some are touching. Few of them you, probably, will remember for quite some time.

As movie in whole, APT. is a good watch for these who just want to watch another traditional Asian horror. It will not stay with you for long, and will not surprise much, but if you want more "Revenging ghost" experience, this movie will not disappoint - if you know, what to expect. And by now you certainly do = ) I give it subjective 7/10, and unbiased 6/10.