20131020: Horror Review--Missing

Missing (Sil Jong)

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. Korean live action feature length film, 2009, NR, 98 minutes, horror.
2. IMDB: 6.3/10.0 from 263 users.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet,' and 0% from 11 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.0/5.0 from 52,358 user ratings.
5. Directed by: Sung-Hong Kim
6. Starring: Ja-Hyaeon Chu, Min-he Ha, Gi-ho Heo.


2. Setup and Plot
1. The lead in the film is on a weekend trip with her married boss.  The place they are to stay is next to the property of an old farmer.  The farmer kills her boss, then imprisons her.


2. The farmer is a want-to-be songwriter, and he regales her with a song that he wrote using a karyoke machine while feeding her cake and coca cola.  He uses frosting as a lubricant.


3. After ten days, the protagonist's sister follows the small number of leads she has to the correct area.  The police tell the sister to get lost; there was not enough evidence for them to devote police resources to mount a search.


4. The protagonist's health starts its slide, but the kidnapper insists on oral sex.  That does not go well.  The sister finds the farmer, but does not find the confined protagonist.


5. After more digging, the sister gets more of an investigation, but the farmer was prepared for it.  The police dismiss the sister's interest.  Later the sister runs the farmer down by accident; he lures her to his place, and imprisons her.


6. One of the locals finally figures it out, and tries to extort some of the farmer's land from him.  The farmer is a bit careless in disposing of the sister's van; this gets the cops involved again.  So, that turns out to be enough to turn the tide of fortune against the farmer.


7. What are the final consequences of the actions of the principals?


3. Conclusions
1. Not for those with a weak stomach.  If you could stand Blood Simple this movie might be OK for you.
2. One line summary: Korean kidnap/rape/murder tale; not for the faint of stomach.
3. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 7/10 A bit jerky with frame jumping at times, but often sharp and well-done.  In most streaming delivery I watch, I see none of this.


2. Sound: 8/10 Fine.  Few problems.


3. Acting: 5/10 What was the character of the farmer's mother for?  She could have been just mentioned, or actually have something substantial to say. The size of her presence was just awkward.  The lady of negotiable virtue who served as supplier of just the right piece of information could have been done by an actor with a bit more experience.  The performance by the actor who played the farmer was the biggest negative.  I did not believe any of that performance.


4. Screenplay: 6/10 The story was not too improbable, but it could have been better executed.