Geoul sokeuro (2003)

Also known as "Into the Mirror (International: English title)"
Overall Score: 7 out of 10

In the deep night, if you live alone, don't look in the mirror!

Starring: Yu Ji-tae, Kim Myung-min, Kim Hye-na, Gi Ju-bong, Kim Myung-su, Lee Young-jin, Jung Eun-pyo

Director: Kim Sung-ho

Running Time: 113 minutes

US MPAA rating: N/A
UK BBFC rating: 15
Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Woo Yung-min (Yu Ji-tae) used to be a decorated sharpshooter for the Seoul police, but after a single error of judgement which led to the death of his partner in a mirrored nightclub, guilt and self-loathing have made him half the man he was, no longer able to look himself in the mirror. Quitting the force, he is given a job as head of security by his uncle Jung Il-sung (Gi Ju-bong), who is the executive chairman of a vast department store that is about to reopen three years after it was damaged in a fire. Amidst rumours of a ghost that haunts the store's mirrored halls at night, two members of staff are killed in mysterious circumstances, and Yung-min finds himself competing with his former police colleague Hu Hyun-su (Kim Myung-min) to solve a series of bizarre murders which all take place in front of mirrors. Are the deaths connected with the previous fire? Is Yung-min just seeing double every time he fleetingly spots a woman (Kim Hye-na) around the crime scenes? And why does so much of the evidence point to Yung-min himself?

Recently there has been a tendency for Asian horror films to transform everyday objects into uncanny forms of terror - be they televisions (

It's Got: An alcoholic ex-cop with a bad past and an even bleaker future; petty crime and large-scale corruption; murder and revenge; twins, smoke and mirrors.

It Needs: Second sight.

Alternatives: The Eye, The Sixth Sense, Orphée, Phone

Summary: This tale of two sisters, corruption, murder and symmetrical revenge will haunt you with all its smoke and mirrors. Overall Score: 7 out of 10

Review Date: 23rd October 2004