Directed by: Yoon Jong-chan (유종찬) Starring: Kim Myung-min (김명민), Jang Jin-young (장진영), Ki Joo-bong (기주봉), Jo An (조안) Release Date: August 3rd, 2001
While most horror films of the late 90’s and early 2000’s were riding the successful teen-slasher-revival-wave in America, or finding new ways for the virgin ghost or other long black haired women in a white dresses to sneak up on you in Asia, writer-director Yoon Jong-chan was cooking up a different kind of horror in Korea with his feature film debut, Sorum (2001). While spiritual and other haunting aspects can be found within, the horror in Sorum takes a very human form as it examines the brutal suffering and other tragic misfortunates surrounding the inhabitants of a run-down apartment building. Today, Sorum remains one of the most bound-in-reality and tragic tales of man-made horror out there.
When cab driver Yong-hyun (Kim Myung-min) moves in to a run down apartment building to be save on money and be closer to his dispatch center, he soon learns that the room he’s begun to rent has a tragic history. Not only did the previous tenant of room 504 die in a mysterious fire, but thirty years prior a woman was murdered in that very room and another fire also broke out then. Yong-hyun learns all this from his neighbor in room 505, a novelist named Mr. Lee (Ki Joo-bong) who is basing his latest mystery novel about the events.
One day, Yong-hyun notices that the unhappy convenience store clerk from around the corner, Sun-young (Jang Jin-young), lives down the hall from him in room 510. After giving her a ride home from work one night, he hears her getting beaten up by her gambling-addicted husband. Later, a bloodied and battered Sun-young approaches Yong-hyun with the news that her husband is dead, and he offers to help bury him in the woods. The two grow close, but the weight of their pasts as well as an ominous presence in the apartment building begins to shed new light on the thirty year old mystery that begins to tear their worlds apart forever.
The first thing that stands out about Sorum is how technically brilliant it is. From the opening shots of the film, even the most causal of filmgoers will recognize the exquisite camera framing and heavy contrast lighting as it introduces the lead character Yong-hyun arriving at his new home. The superb cinematography makes the dilapidated apartment building almost look pretty, and everything from the oddly weighted luggage he carries to the lighting fixtures in his room are a point of curiosity as the camera lingers ever so slightly over objects that raise hints of future importance. It’s the perfect establishment of setting to get immersed in storywise, and Sorum makes great use of these settings with impressive single take scenes of intense dialogue and other physical action that can last upwards of five minutes. In this way, Sorum feels very intimate at times like being in the front row of a great stage play.
But with all its technical achievements, Sorum wouldn’t be the movie it is without its powerhouse performances lead by Kim Myung-min (Monstrum) and the late Jang Jin-young (Singles). Kim Myung-min has some of the best facial expressions and conveys emotions that speak louder than words. Even after the mystery surrounding the backstory of his character falls into place, he always feels so unpredictable like he could snap at any second. So whether he’s mimicking Bruce Lee in the quiet of his room, examining mysterious wounds in a mirror, or looking into the abyssal darkness of his powerless apartment corridors, Kim Myung-min delivers a frightening performance.
Jang Jin-young was my first real Korean actress crush since seeing her in The Foul King (2000), so it’s always difficult revisiting her work after losing her to cancer in 2009. But Sorum stands out as her most memorable film role for me, partly due to the tragic nature of her character Sun-young but it’s also such a brave role for an up-and-coming actress to take on. Seeming to be stuck in a repeating cycle of horrors, the character Sun-young clearly has it rough. Everything from the hairstyle to the constant chain-smoking (which was admittedly more common then) builds upon this apathetic mindset and hardened exterior she’s developed after years of abuse. On paper, Sun-young reads like a role only a firmly established actress would challenge herself with, but Jang Jin-young handles the role beautifully and took home several best actress awards that subsequently launched her acting career to new heights.
I found the most interesting aspect of Sorum to be how presents the horror as a kind of negative feedback loop system. The characters are all dysfunctional, poor, or otherwise down on their luck for various reasons, but they remain inextricably linked in one form or another. They seem to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of horrors that moves through generations. Characters begin to ponder love, fate, and their reasons for living (if any) considering the misfortune they’ve experienced in life. In this way, the horror feels like an unescapable aspect of their reality, and had me questioning the nature of how we’re told to view this bottom rung of society in terms of their ability to break out of a bad cycle.
Overall, despite featuring many elements of classic horror such as its impeccably designed nightmarish settings, eerie music score, and the murderous story with an occasional jump scare, Sorum in many cases looks and feels more like a mystery drama film than a horror. Being slower and more acutely focused on character and atmosphere, this will undoubtedly bore those looking for a thrilling spook-fest. But there is so much interpersonal horror within the drama of Sorum that make the film even more frightening because of how real it all feels. Sorum is a slow burn type of movie that lures you from one unsettling point to the next. So those patient enough will surely be rewarded as the pieces of its tragic story begin to fall.
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