(2005, South Korea)
Reviewed on an all-region PAL Thai DVD (released by Rose)
Voice has the most lavish budget in the Whispering Corridors series, delivering a stylish, bloody ghost story.
This is the most accessible film in this successful series of South Korean ghost stories, and the one most likely to please horror fans. You also don't have to watch the first three films to enjoy it, because they're all linked by themes rather than by ongoing characters. Each film is set in a high school 'with a history', and involves suicide, lesbian relationships, and schoolgirls haunted by their dead friends. Whispering Corridors (1998) got the series off to a reasonable start. Memento Mori (1999) is more like an intense drama with splashes of horror. It's a good film, but not an essential horror. The Wishing Stairs (2003) then fell back on Ring (1998) for horror ideas and failed for me as a drama, due to poorer performances. By then other films, like Bunshinsaba (2004), were already using similar story ideas to greater, scarier effect.
Voice then provided a giant leap forwards for the series, with fresh new ideas on scares, ghosts and twists. There's also enough money for some unique visual FX flourishes, like when the ghost tries to piece together her memories. The cinematography is stylish and beautifully realised, adding rich colour to some scenes, defying the muted colours of the school. The cast is fantastic and very watchable. The depiction of school life isn't as realistic as Memento Mori, but Voice succeeds admirably as a ghost story, with the added slant of having the ghost taking centre stage.
There are some startling death scenes and some extensive FX to depict the various complications of being dead, for instance, the ghost girl being confined to the school. These are ambitiously and imaginatively done, but look more scientific than spiritual, as if the afterlife were a natural phenomenon.
It all helps the story take some startling turns and makes for a very different and eventful modern ghost story. The film falters a little towards the end, as the climax is a little drawn out. But if you're after horror, this is the main film in the series to recommend. But as yet, this impressive film isn't widely accessible.
The Thai DVD release (pictured above) is very reasonably priced, but at the expense of the film's extensive sound design. Music and voices are central to the plot, but unfortunately the original Korean mix is only available in stereo. It would certainly be worth getting a version with the 5.1 Korean mix if you have the right audio equipment. Only the Thai dub is in 5.1 on this release. If that's not a problem, and you're not expecting any extras, this is a well produced DVD, with great picture quality and well-translated and presented English subtitles. Strangely, a couple of scenes, of a schoolgirl smoking, has been digitally blurred out. It's not crucial to the film, but it is annoying.
The Korean region 3 DVD set looks more tempting, boasting DTS sound, English subtitles, and a second DVD full of extras (but not subbed). Singapore, has also released a version with English subtitles, calling it Voice Letter.
Good haunting! I mean, good hunting!
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