Directed by: Bang Eun-ji (방은지) Starring: Uhm Jung-hwa (엄정화), Moon Sung-keun (문성근), Kwon Oh-joong (권오중) Release Date: October 27th, 2005
With the opening music and credits eerily reminiscent of 2004’s Oldboy, and story similar to 2002’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Princess Aurora was clearly designed in the pattern of unique revenge thrillers Korean cinema had carved out a niche for. Anchored by a strong yet disturbing performance from lead actress Uhm Jung-hwa (OK! MADAM, Dancing Queen), the film uses traditional thriller and procedural elements to explore the psychological unraveling of its female serial-killer protagonist. While it doesn’t define the genre nearly as well as the two aforementioned masterpieces by Park Chan-wook, Princess Aurora remains a unique revenge-thriller genre contender.
A series of disconnected murder cases become linked when detectives discover the sticker of a cartoon princess named Aurora that’s been purposefully left at each crime scene. Working the case, detective Jeong (Kwon Oh-joong) and his senior partner Sung-ho (Moon Sung-keun), who is now studying to become an ordained minister, work day and night to uncover the connection between the victims. The culprit at large is the beautiful and highly charismatic luxury car saleswoman Sun-jeong, whose motive for committing the brutal murders remains unclear. As she continues to kill, her trail of destruction leads detectives down a dark and perilous road of devastating revelation.
Unlike other procedural movies about serial killers, the killer’s identity in Princess Aurora is not a mystery nor does she elude authorities until the final act. Rather, we witness the killer act out each heinous crime in full gory detail beginning with the very first scene in the film. Viewers will be left questioning her murderous intentions throughout each uniquely staged killing. And with her coming across as a somewhat traditional high-functioning sociopath, her disintegrating mental state and its cause become the true mystery in Princess Aurora.
Moreover, as the detectives begin to piece together the connection between the murders, Sun-jeong isn’t necessarily caught by the traditional means of slipping up or by the detectives getting one step ahead of her next crime. Instead, she masterminds a clear end game that sets up a final showdown between the killer and authorities that becomes the cherry on top of this particularly unique entry into the thriller/revenge genre.
But Princess Aurora to begins to feel repetitive after each murder encounter fails to reward viewers patient enough to sit through them with new valuable pieces to unlock the mystery behind this woman’s actions. The weird finale also attempts to try and create sympathy for Sun-jeong as it explains and even justifies her actions to a degree but it doesn’t pack quite the punch as something like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance does. Thankfully, the acting from Uhm Jung-hwa (OK! MADAM) and Moon Sung-geun (Sea Fog) particularly are so strong that Princess Aurora manages to remain engaging.
The killer’s calling card in Princess Aurora is a cute pinkish purple sticker with the face of a princess named Aurora on it. While this was a unique touch, the sticker looks almost too comical at times to be taken seriously. However, as the film progresses and Sun-jeong’s mental state reveals its true colors, it begins to make a lot of sense. The irrational childlike behavior begins as a twisted feature to Sun-jeong’s personality and end up as disturbing revelations that actually hit pretty hard in the finale.
Princess Aurora will undoubtedly impress those interested in thriller movies, especially those about serial-killers. It breaks a lot of typical genre rules that feel like a breath of fresh air even to this day in a now over-saturated market. And despite a few uneven music choices, Princess Aurora is technically very impressive and gorgeous to look at (as long as you can stomach the brutality).
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