ManiakJiggy
This is How Movies Should Be Made
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Brenda
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
danielfgagnon
Wishing Stair is the 3rd movie of the "Whispering Corridor" series which has 5 movies (Whispering Corridor, Memento Mori, Wishing Stair, Voice and A Blood Pledge). I have now seen the 5 movies and I must say this one is my favourite. The worst being "A Blood Pledge" and by far.Plot : Wishing Stair is the story of three young women confronted by the twisted power of the fox stair. Fox spirits are well known in Asian cultures for being either way good or evil in their actions. Those 3 women will cross the easy path of wishing stair, realizing finnally that whatever your wish, it won't go as you expected.Soo-Hee is a kind, intelligent and skilled person who seems have success in whatever she does. But behind her shiny appearance, she's unsecure and rely almost obssesivly on her friend Jin-Sung. Beside her love for ballet, the thing she loves the most is her friend Jin-Sung. She wants to be forever with her.Jin-Sung is the contrary, she must work hard in anything she does. She loves ballet, but she's jealous of her friend Soo-Hee that is too kind with her. Jin-Sung is jealous because her friend is close to her parents, has a lot of money and is a shame that Soo-Hee is always on the giving side. Her own words "Kim Soo-Hee, I really hate you. You make me feel miserable.". Ji-SUng love her friend, but she wants to win at least once.Hae-Ju is an outcast, being constantly bullied for being fat. The only person who seems to be nice with her is Soo-Hee. For that reason she idolize her. The only thing she wants is to have a friend. All those secret desire will turn into a nightmare for each of them.My commentary : This movie has really a great script that is base of the life of Asian students where people are pushed to confrontation by the society. You must be the best in anything, always. Soo-Hee is pushed by her parents to succeed in anything. She must take Ballet class because of her mother. She likes it, but it wasn't really her choice. Did you notice two huge posters with Soo-Hee's pictures? That meant she was the #1 student in school for at least 2 semester. Soo-Hee was somewhat popular at school, but only on the shallow side. Her only true friend was Jin-Sung and it was her own choice. Her love for Jin-Sung was too strong, too obsessive. Being with her friend forever makes me think that she felt more then just friendship. She was a little bossy with Jin-Sung, making her do things she don't necessary wants to do. But she showered her with gifts expecting nothing more then to be with her.I totally understand how Jin-Sung felt. Jin-Sung really saw Soo-Hee as her best friend. But Soo-Hee was too kind with her and that bothered her. She hates to be always the one to received and the rivalry as a ballerina didn't help. She didn't meant to hurt Soo-Hee, but I see it as the work from the fox spirit. It makes do thing you didn't wanted. The only way for Jin-Sung to go legitly to the competition was to remove Soo-Hee from the competition, But her wish was granted later when she *spoiler* pushed Soo-Hee down the stair. I'm not really sure what happens to Soo-Hee. Did she commit suicide believe she had lost the only thing she cared about ? Was she killed by the fox spirit so he could grant her wish ? Anyway, I'm sure that Jin-Sung met Soo-Hee's ghost after her death in her room because of the strong emotions.Then the poor Hae-Ju wished that Soo-Hee came back to her. But Soo-Hee's ghost is not thinking rationally as humans do. Led by the strong feelings to Jin-Sung, she takes possession of Hae-Ju's body. But Jin-Sung do not believe her. And that leaded her to her death. I don't know if Soo-Hee's plan has always been to kill Jin-Sung to be forever with her.I liked the acting the three main actresses where great. Just unlucky that the movie was the same year as "A tale of two sisters" with the awesome acting from Lim Soo-Jung. Pak Han-Byeol was believable in her character. Song Ji-Hyo too. And Jo An did a nice performance as mimicking Han-Byeol's Soo-Hee. Excep the part where she really seems crazy. But that remind me of the scene in The Shining where Jack Nickleson break the door with an axe. It was that kind of crazyness that Jo An showed in her eyes. It might be exaggerated, but it's one of my favorite scene in the movie. Oh and Pak Han-Byeol is really, really pretty :)
jstakutis
my friend was in Seoul, Korea when he saw this and he said that this movie was so scary that he thought he was going to die. well i wouldn't go that far but it had its scenes. he had introduced me to foreign films, most of which i liked, namely "my sassy girl" which is by far the best romantic comedy...ever. i actually saw that movie with my two friends while eating ice cream in the dark. wishing stairs had a nice long buildup to a climax, good character development, and some good twists at the end. although it wasn't a blood bath horror movie like most of the American movies that are around, it was good enough to entertain an open mind. if you don't like foreign movies than you will be out of luck. if you want a bloodbath comedy go watch toxic avenger, if you want to get a little freaked out, watch the wishing stairs and get some fried squid and pop corns.
fuyu893
I was hanging out in Seoul when this movie was in the theaters there. Not speaking a word of Korean I randomly picked a movie to watch, which was this one. So I go in with my number one combo of popcorn, coke and fried squid and sit down to watch the movie. OMG for not knowing what was really going on at all I was scared out of my gourd. Mind you I was 24 at the time 6'1 200 lbs and was sitting there saying to myself 'oh god that sound means the ghost is coming, I think I have to fix my hair in front of my face as my hand coincidentally covers my eyes...' Trying to be discreet as possible about diverting my attention as the ghosts unrelentlessly appear in the scenes. The movie was cinematographically done awesome, the sound in perfect harmony with a horror movie and if you can watch it on the big screen with surround sound flooding you, you'll probably be sleeping with the lights on at night. Unfortunately I talked to a couple of friends of mine who saw the subtitled version in the privacy of their own home and said it was hardly scary and actually reminiscent of Nickalodians "Are You Afraid of the Dark". But when I saw it I was saying 'Oh sweet lord I'm going to die of a freakin heart attack if this movie doesn't end soon.'
Jo
Okay, so some of those horrors out there are really, really HORRible. Sure, they scare you pantless but then take off in some unknown direction to further frighten the viewer. Personally, from the Ring, I still pray that Sadako won't find me under the covers at night, but the story was nothing too spectacular.In this movie, however, there are definitely a few good lessons and themes intertwined with the horror. Assuming you are familiar with the premise: a set of stairs with a mysterious, wish-granting 29th step, I'll continue. Surprisingly, most of the true horror is not caused by monsters or ghosts, but by the actual PEOPLE who are victimized. They, themselves inflict the pain upon themselves.A girl wishes to be skinny, she becomes bulimic. A ballerina wishes to be better than her friend, she eliminates the competition. An artist wishes her art was more lifelike, she becomes her art. These are snips of irony that are just so mingled with the overall story that you can't just help but say to yourself, "that's what you get for wishing." I'm not native Korean, so it was difficult for me to appreciate this movie as a whole, but I would have to say the acting pretty okay. The effects were a little bit unoriginal, if not plagiarized, but the over all feeling they left was definite. This movie was fairly original, and I enjoyed it, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Eastern Horror of any type.But remember, be careful what you wish for...