Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Wol-ha: Very Bad Moon Rising (PDXFF 2017) - Movie Review



The Movie: Wol-ha: Very Bad Moon Rising

The Director: Oh In-chun

The Story: Commissioned by a mysterious international collector with a large sum of money, a party makes an expedition to find “the tomb of Kisaeng Wolhyang”.


The Review:
This is a South Korean found footage horror comedy that builds off of the premise of a South Korean horror movie from 1967 called A Public Cemetery of Wol-ha. You don't have to know anything about that previous movie as the film makers do everything they can to bring you up to speed hrough exposition. The idea of taking a fictional work and pulling it into the "reality" of another story is actually pretty cool and works effectively in creating a goal for the characters to achieve. Most of the movie is long, drawn out build up with tons of talking and explaining things which pretty typical of the found footage genre.

The comedic elements primarily come from a mysterious guide who likes to drink poisonous water, wear wigs, and sing old songs as he leads the primary cast towards their goal. Of course, things go horribly wrong and, as night falls, crazy things start to happen. There isn't nearly as much gore as I thought there might be and it doesn't ever go totally bat shit crazy like Blair Witch or They're Watching but it's still pretty entertaining for what it is.


The Verdict:
Wol-ha: Very Bad Moon Rising is a solid entry into the found footage genre although it is a bit lacking when it comes to the intensity, scares, and gore that I was expecting. I'm kind of hoping this movie is a set up for future installments in what could be a very entertaining franchise.





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