| Dead Friend | |
|---|---|
 Dead Friend movie poster | |
| Hangul | 령 |
| Revised Romanization | Ryeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ryŏng |
| Directed by | Kim Tae-gyeong |
| Written by | Kim Tae-gyeong |
| Produced by | Jeong Oh-young |
| Starring | Kim Ha-neul Nam Sang-mi Ryu Jin |
| Cinematography | Mun Yong-sik |
| Edited by | Kim Yong-su |
| Music by | Choi Wan-hee Hyeon Gyu-hwan |
| Distributed by | Showbox |
| Release date |
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| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Dead Friend (Korean: 령; lit. "The Ghost") is a 2004 South Korean horror film. It is one of a number of South Korean horror films set in high school; the trend began with 1998's Whispering Corridors.
Plot
Three high school girls are bored and decide to conduct a séance with a bunshinsaba - a traditional Korean ouija board. As the spirit is called by Eun-jung (Lee Yoon-ji), her sister, Eun-seo (Jeon Hye-bin), scolds the girls. Eun-jung jokingly wishes that the ghost had taken Eun-seo away and that if they do not send the ghost away, it will kill them. Eun-seo is then killed by a ghostly water presence.
The amnesiac Min Ji-won (Kim Ha-neul), who is an expert swimmer, begins to have nightmares of a ghost from her forgotten past, which seems to be connected to water. She is confronted by an estranged friend, Yu-jung, who tells her that because of Ji-won, "Su-in" is coming for them. Yu-jung is soon found dead.
Ji-won slowly remembers that she used to lead an elitist clique back in high school which consisted of herself, Eun-seo, Yu-jung, and Mi-kyung. Before she became part of the clique, Ji-won was friends with Su-in (Nam Sang-mi), but her ego turned her to regard the introverted Su-in as a laughingstock. Ji-won visits her last remaining clique member, Mi-kyung, who is confined to a mental hospital, but the latter lashes out at her. Ji-won learns from Su-in's mother that the event that led to her amnesia was a trip to a forest with the girls, from which Su-in never came back. Mi-kyung is drowned by the ghost.
Heading to a spring in the forest, Ji-won finally remembers the event: Ji-won asks Su-in if she can swim, then pushes her into the spring. Su-in comes up and the girls laugh. The three girls then push Ji-won in as a joke, but upon learning that she can't swim, Su-in dived to save her. While Ji-won was saved, Su-in got stuck in the riverbed and drowned. The other girls just watch as this happens. Ji-won alerts the authorities and informs Su-in's grieving mother.
Ji-won returns to her mother, only to realize the horrifying truth: Ji-won and Su-in had swapped bodies during their struggle to get out of the spring. "Ji-won" did not lose her memories because she was never Ji-won in the first place; she is actually Su-in. Ji-won's spirit has been terrorizing her and the clique to gain her body back, and now she inhabits her mother. Her mother vomits water and collapses. Ji-won crawls out but Su-in cuts her wrist so Ji-won can't take her. Ji-won's boyfriend, Jun-ho, comes to save them and they are rushed to the hospital. Su-in is later seen walking through the fish market where her mother, who believes her daughter has died, works. She leaves after hesitating, while her mother looks ominously at her with Ji-won's tell-tale smirk, implying that Ji-won has possessed Su-in's mother.
Cast
- Kim Ha-neul as Min Ji-won
- Nam Sang-mi as Su-in
- Ryu Jin as Park Jun-ho
- Jeon Hye-bin as Eun-seo
- Shin Yi as Mi-kyung
- Jeon Hee-ju as Yu-jung
- Lee Yoon-ji as Eun-jung
- Choi Ran as Su-in's mother
- Gi Ju-bong as Detective
- Kim Hae-sook as Ji-won's mother
- Greena Park as Yu-jung's friend
- Joo Da-young as young Su-in
References
- Soh, Joon (June 17, 2004). "Ghost Adds Little to High School Horror". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Archived from the original on 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
External links
- Ryeong at IMDb
- The Ghost at Rotten Tomatoes