Gipeun bam gabjagi (1981)

Gipeun bam gabjagi: Directed by Young Nam Ko. With Il-bong Yun, Yeong-ae Kim, Ki-seon Lee, Hye-ri Han. A wife starts to suspect her husband’s infidelity after the arrival of their new, young housekeeper, who carries a mysterious wooden doll with herself.

“I came into this movie only aware of recent Korean horror cinema that has branched essentially into two main categories: (1) J-Horror type flicks that try to emulate Japanese early 00s horror, with shocks and disturbing imagery and (2) true Korean horror with vengeance motifs and introspection into the sick underbelly of Korean society, ideals and morals. This movie, shot in the early 80s, before either those waves were established draws inspiration from European (Possession) and American (Images) contemporary quality horror and blends it with cultural stereotypes on the role of the woman and themes drawn from Korean shamanistic tradition. The acting is overall decent (although some scenes tend to be overacted at times) and the ending is genuinely chilly and uniquely horrifying. Definitely worth a look for fans of Korean cinema as a gaze into the early evolution of Korean Horror.”