I’m referring to the Korean horror film here, of course.
I think I get it. Kind of. Here’s what I think happened; I’ll give it some spoiler box treatment just in case someone wanders in here before they see it…
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The mother became suicidal and killed herself in the wardrobe. Soo-yeon finds her and in her struggle to help her mother, she topples the wardrobe on herself and is being smothered. The stepmom/nurse whatever she actually is finds the predicament and doesn’t know how to react, or maybe she’s scared, whatever. The point is, she allows Soo-yeon to die by not getting help for her in time. Soo-mi becomes unhinged at the discovery of her mother and sister dead, and she develops something like multiple personality disorder. After some time in a mental hospital, she returns home with her father. Throughout the movie up until the ‘real’ arrival of the nurse/stepmom, it is only Soo-mi and her father that are in the house (and possibly the ghost of Soo-yeon). Eventually Soo-mi is brought back to the mental hospital after things get WAY out of hand with her delusions. Somewhere along the way, though, there are hints that there really is a ghost in the house, as evidenced by the woman who starts having seizures at dinner and says later that she saw a girl under the sink. Ultimately, the stepmom discovers that there really IS a vengeful ghost of Soo-yeon in the house, and that’s that. Am I close? Am I missing something?
I think you’ve pretty much got it figured out. I’d watch it again if I were you. Multiple viewings are required for that movie, as it essentially becomes a new movie the second time you watch it. People’s reactions to the sisters and the stepmother take on a totally new meaning when you realize what’s really going on. Great movie, by the way. I think I’ll put it back in my netflix queue.
OK, just watched it again (this time with the commentary with the director and the actresses who played the sisters) and while it confirmed a lot of my initial interpretations, I’m still left wondering…
Was Soo-yeon at some point a part of Soo-mi’s MPD, or was she always there as a ghost, and Soo-mi could see her? It kind of makes more sense that Soo-mi’s MPD had her assume the identity of the stepmom but that she was actually seeing and interacting with the ghost of her sister, I think.
Doesn’t the ghost come after the stepmother at the end? I seem to remember there being evidence to support both a real ghost and a figment of Soo-mi’s illness. Perhaps a bit of both? Even if all the interactions between the girls are figments of Soo-mi’s imagination, there is no denying that there is definitely some very bad joo-joo going on inside that house.
Well, I was wondering if maybe Soo-yeon might have been a tulpa created by Soo-mi. However, after listening to the commentary, I got the idea that the filmmakers saw Soo-yeon to be entirely the actual ghost of the girl and not a mental construct. I reserve the right to interpret Soo-yeon as a tulpa, though, because I think it’s a neat idea.
This is one of my all-time favorite films. Hollywood only *wishes * it could make a thought-provoking psychological horror as good as this. Think about it, this film has no cursing, no nudity, no sex, a little blood, yes, but no real gore. In fact, other than the mood/atmoshpere created by the director/cinematographer etc., there is no reason that it couldn’t be rated PG.
And yet is is extremely effective. The first time I watched it, I was biting my knuckles curled up at the end of the couch, I was so tensed up. And the revelations, wow! I watched it again immediatley afterward and then scoured the net for discussions and opinions. I even printed out a discussion thread where people opined about what exactly happened. Unfortunatley, I’m posting this while out of town, so I have to rely on memory (it was a couple of years ago when I watched it).
Also, please, if you have not seen this film, do NOT succomb to the pressure to read the spoiler boxes. See the movie.
Anyway, I think the OP’s spoiler box is basically accurate. Maybe I will have a chance in a couple of days to try to fill in a couple of blanks. As far as
goes, I think you are mistaken. Depending on which scene you are talking about (there are a couple with people sitting at the table), there is a good explanation. Do you remember when Soo-mi is “talking” to her sister at the table and her father comes in later with the pills? He knows that Soo-yeon was not there and that Soo-mi was having more of her illusions.
I hope this thread is still alive in a couple of days with some additional discussion points, because I would love to continue this once I get back to my home computer.