SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Derek Childs (totalovrdose) High school love stories are fraught with difficulty, especially when depicted on camera, and even more so when the couple in question are involved in a same sex relationship, as shown in this suspenseful thriller, that, despite a couple of brilliantly unpredicted scares, works best as a character drama, much like its prequel, Whispering Corridors, though the two are completely unrelated.Min-ah (Gyu-ri Kim), a cheerful high school student, discovers a diary which illustrates the relationship between two of her fellow students, Shi-eun (Yeong-jin Lee) and Hyo-shin (Yeh-jin Park), which transitions from a contemporary friendship, to a complicated romance. Much like a car crash, Min-ah is unable to keep her eyes from the two young ladies, the diary being far from beautiful, proving to be as sad as it is sometimes disturbing, which reflects the tone of the feature.After one of the lovers commits suicide, the entire school is affected by not only the emotional turmoil of such an incident, but the ramifications that come after, as bizarre, haunting occurrences begin to dominate the school. To articulate any further about the plot would be telling, Memento Mori been one of those films where every scene is pivotal to the understanding of the feature, potentially requiring more than one view to comprehend segments of the plot, though unanswered questions will continue to prevail.Unlike the original, the second film in the Whispering Corridors franchise is not in chronological order, rather, past and present are simultaneously conveyed, the beginning portions of the film on initial viewing appearing to blur together, before viewers inevitably become accustomed to the story's unique portrayal. However, in using this style, the filmmakers are able to intelligently lead the audience in one direction, before surprising them with an unexpected twist, occasionally showing a moment of beauty, but once its perspective is fully realized later, the tenderness of the moment is reduced to sadness.The characters are brilliantly portrayed by the talent, the chemistry, both good and bad been exceptionally achieved, and on more than one occasion I felt as though I could be friends with some of them had they been real, a rare feeling that was quite enjoyable. This is heightened by the genuine high school environment, which captures not only the hardships of school life, but its fun atmosphere as well, although occasionally, the focus on the three central characters leaves little room for the development of Min-ah's closest friends.Questions persist after the conclusion of the film, regarding not only the directionality of the characters, but the reasons behind some of the decisions they made over the film, a query which especially relates to Shi-eun's character, whose hypocritical behavior potentially requires further in-depth perspectives. Despite characters been well articulated, additional back-story's could have proved helpful. Though the movie feels complete, viewing the special features provides the audience with the knowledge that several scenes were cut, and had they been included, the film's impact would have remained unchanged, but the many complexity's might have been more thoroughly understood.Like Whispering Corridors, viewers are able to provide their own answers to the many questions that remain, the filmmakers laying the foundations for a story that continues long after the credits have rolled. Half an hour after watching the feature I became quite sad after continuing to contemplate much of the film and character decisions, which impact the audience for a long while afterwards.Intelligent, beautiful and poignant, Memento Mori is every bit as unique and fascinating as Whispering Corridors. Although on most occasions the movie is not in your face terrifying, the story feels like a rite of passage that anyone of any age should view, in order to understand the complexities of an adolescent mind, the teenage girls of the feature inevitably forging paths that will lead them into adulthood.

Polaris_DiB In the 1990s, a strain of cinema came out internationally that played fast and loose with structure and time. Most of the names connected with that movement, Tarantino and Nolan among them, are American, but it could also be seen in the international realm, as indicated by this South Korean film. Memento Mori is actually a pretty basic ghost story built on guilt and grief, but transcends the genre through digital video techniques and a lot of creepy ambiance.It's set in a girls school where hormones run rampant and can barely be contained within the walls. Two girls, Hyo-shin and Shi-eun, spark a friendship and then a relationship, writing it all down in a shared diary that is later found by Min-ah. After Hyo-shin kills herself, though, things go quickly awry, and figuring out what is going on is put secondary to the emotional trials the girls have to go through, both individually and as a school.Now not everything in this movie works, but the whole is definitely better than the sum of its separate parts. The watery imagery of the beginning sets a tone but doesn't actually come to mean anything to what happens later in the movie. The two girls, apparently, have ESP, but it's not really indicated for what purpose other than that it helps them communicate without others listening. There's this strange shot of the dead girl staring from the roof down on the panicking school that's not nearly as effective as the flash of judgment in her eyes right as her body is found outside. Some moments are legitimately creepy beyond typical horror tropes, such as the hands going over Min-ah's body, whereas others are clichéd flashCUT! shocks that have less resonance than the cut piano wire. In terms of building suspense, this movie is all over the place, and yet overall it is a chilly and atmospheric shocker that will more than keep your attention.Fans of the Tartan Asian Extreme label will definitely enjoy it, fans of Korean cinema should definitely check it out, but I'm not too sure everybody would like this one. I wish more focus was put on the internal world of Shi-eun, who is losing her hearing and feels the most alienated from the day-to-day life of the school. Her story was a lot more interesting than Min-ah's, and her guilt much more emotionally compelling than the thrill-ride it causes.--PolarisDiB

bensonmum2 Although the Korean name for Memento Mori would lead you to believe it is a sequel to Whispering Corridors, other than the setting, the two films have very little in common. Having seen the first film is not a requirement to see and enjoy this film. The story in Memento Mori involves a love affair between two students at an all-girl's school. One of the girl's, for various reasons, can't take it when the other girl "outs" their relationship and decides to break things off with tragic consequences. A third girl finds the diary the two girls wrote together and, through its pages, begins a horrifying journey to understand what happened to her classmates and how one of them could end up dead.Regardless of how Memento Mori has been marketed to American audiences, it's not a horror movie. Instead, it's a poignant look at young love and the consequences taken to the extreme of a relationship that doesn't work out. Sure, there are moments of terror to be found in the movie, but even in what should be the final chilling moments of the movie, the horror is never as front and center as the drama. It's not a movie for those who demand a new adrenaline rush every five minutes. Memento Mori moves slow and allows you to get to know the characters, their fears, their problems, and to really develop a sense of caring for them.I haven't rated the movie any higher because this type of film and this subject matter don't appeal to me on an entertainment level regardless of how well made the film is. As with the majority of the other Asian films I've seen recently, Memento Mori is technically very sound. The direction and cinematography are solid. The movie presents numerous uniquely filmed scenes that really standout. Although the special effects are used sparingly, they are very realistic when employed. The music is fitting for a movie like this. And the acting is rock solid.One question that has bothered me after having recently watched both Whispering Corridors and Memento Mori is: Do teachers in Korea really treat their students in the manner presented here, with physical and emotional abuse? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, it's just now what I'm accustomed to seeing in teacher/student relationships.

poe426 Haunting the Foreign Film section of the local Hollywood Video (the only local video outlet that boasts a substantial selection) has proved greatly rewarding on numerous occasions. Among my favorite foreign films are the Asian fright films- not the gory stuff like ICHI THE KILLER or the over-the-top fare like BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL (which borders on being the kind of movie that Troma Films cranks out with alarming irregularity), but the understated (and underrated), satisfyingly spooky stuff like WHISPERING CORRIDORS, DARK WATER, PREMONITION, PHONE, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS and MOMENTO MORI (to name but a few). The latter, in particular, warrants a look. Though it's referred to as a sequel to the aforementioned WHISPERING CORRIDORS, it's very much its own entity (chuckle). If you're tired (as I am) of American "murder movies," I suggest a subtle (and most satisfying) change of pace: MOMENTO MORI.