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Bluebeard
Movie:![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Video:![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Extras:![Half Star :halfstar: :halfstar:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/half_star.png)
Final Score:
Movie:
![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Video:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:
![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Extras:
![Half Star :halfstar: :halfstar:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/half_star.png)
Final Score:
![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
It used to be that in the world of Asian cinema Hong Kong had the handle on all movies Asian. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bennie the Jet, John Woo, the list goes on. If it came out of the east and was good, it almost always originated from Hong Kong. Nowadays Hong Kong cinema has really petered off and the majority of film stars have shifted to mainland Chinese produced films, which usually just end up being a propaganda for the Chinese government. The bulk of the new and exciting stuff is coming from South Korea or Thailand. In fact a lot of the Korean stuff has been making waves among the horror and thriller crowd with film like The Man from Nowhere, Mother, A Dirty Carnival and countless others. So naturally I was intrigued when I saw Bluebeard’s trailer about a serial killer with a twist.
When most people think about a twist their mind usually goes to M. Knight Shamalamadingdong and his overuse of that cliched way of telling a story, but Bluebeard uses an interesting dreamlike state along with a set of double twists that is both compelling and very frustrating at the same time. The movie is inventive and cliched. Intriguing and predictable, and even a bit naughty as well. The story revolves around the premise of a serial killer loose inside of the city of Gangnam (now I can’t get “Gangnam Style” out of my head) with women being chopped up into pieces and those pieces being recovered in the river, under a bridge etc. Private practitioner, Dr. Seung-Hoon (Jin woong Jo) thinks he’s stumbled upon the killer when the father of his landlord (never named, but played by Goo Shin) mumbles out under anesthesia who to dismember and hide body parts. Terrified of the prospect of living over a murderer, Dr. Seung-Hoon starts looking closer at his landlords. The little family owns a butcher shop, so they have the perfect tools and cover to hide the body and blood, but the good Dr. can’t seem to find EXACTLY the proof he needs.
Things get a bit dicey when the son of the old man, Sung-geun (Dae-Myung Kim), tries to befriend Dr. Seung-Hoon, and the poor man can’t figure out if he’s next or not. When strange things start happening with his ex-wife appearing and then disappearing, the Dr. starts going a bit nuts. He SWEARS he’s found the head of a victim in the butcher shop’s deep freeze, but he’s so terrified at what he might find that he refuses to tear it open. Even though he’s having nightmares of seeing faces within the bag. As his nightmare closes in on him, the audience is s till wondering if the Dr. is really privy to a murdering family of serial killers, or whether this is all an illusion inside of his own head that we’re just seeing through his eyes.
All around I have to give props to the actors. Jin-woong is fantastic as the Dr. with a secret, and Dae-Myung is so deliciously creepy AND likable at the same time that you’re left wondering the whole movie whether he’s the killer or not. The movie itself has a few extra actors filling out minor rolls, but this is really a two man show with the Dr. and Sung-geun facing off as the crazed medical practitioner unraveling as he goes further and further down the rabbit hole.
Rating:
Not Rated By the MPAA
Video:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:
![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Extras:
![Half Star :halfstar: :halfstar:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/half_star.png)
Final Score:
![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
Bluebeard has its moments, but I have to say that I saw the first twist coming about a mile away. It’s not SUPER obvious, but much like when I watched The Sixth Sense, I had this nagging suspicion that I knew how the twist would take form from early in the film. The movie tends to go off on odd tangents, with the Dr. having a strange relationship with his medical assistant, as well as the introduction of his wife half way through the film send the movie off on a few wild tangents that distract from the main theory of him living over a family of serial killers. That fracturing keeps the story from being as cohesive and satisfying as it could, especially with the double twists that were seen from way too far away. Well Go USA gives us a very satisfactory video encode and a phenomenal DTS:X track to enjoy in the technical specifications, but there’s really no extras at all (besides the obligatory trailer) to have fun with. It’s a solid enough thriller in the rental category, and definitely worth watching if you enjoy Asian thrillers. It’s not something I’m going to go out and buy day one, but there’s enough fun for a solid watch.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Jin-woong Jo, Goo Shin, Dae-Myung Kim
Directed by: Soo-youn Lee
Written by: Soo-youn Lee
Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1 AVC
Audio: Korean: DTS:X, Korean DD 2.0
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 15th, 2017
Recommendation: Entertaining Rental
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