Death Bell was the only Korean horror film to be released the summer of 2008. The film stars Lee Beom-Soo in his first horror film role and Nam Gyu-ri, former leader of SeeYa, made her acting debut. The film is 86 minutes long.
The plot follows a group of 20 high-schoolers who are placed into an elite class in preparation for E-ton school arriving. The rebel, Kang I-na, is placed in the class with her friend Yoon Myung-hyo and the class clown with a crush on I-na, Kang Hyun. Strange things keep happening before the TV suddenly shows the students Min Hye-yeong, number one rank, in a tank that is slowly being filled with water. A voice on the PA says that they will keep killing students until all their questions are answered.
The students and teachers are lead on a wild goose chase as people keep disappearing. Time is running out for the students but I-na figures out that they are being killed in order of rank. She realizes that her friend will be next and then she will be taken. I-na, along with her love interest Kang Hyun and the teachers Ms. Choi and Mr. Kim, are in a desperate race to prevent anymore students from being killed.
The question they are trying to answer: Who killed Kim Ji-won?
I really enjoyed watching this movie. I do not have a good tolerance for horror things at all but I’m really glad I watched Death Bell. It was the proper mix of anxiety-inducing, thrilling, and frustration. There are a few things that don’t quite jive well: the intro is a bit of a stretch and the camera angles and cut scenes can be a bit weird sometimes. However, this movie is over 10 years old so a slight disconnect is expected. The twist at the end threw me for a loop and really wrapped up the movie well. My only real complaint is that I feel the movie moved a tad too fast.
My word of advice to anyone who hasn’t seen this yet: don’t get too attached. Lots of characters die and about the time you think yours is safe…….they’re dead.
~ Jordan
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