User reviews

Geomi sup (international title: "Spider Forest") excels in introducing the viewer to a world, in which everything is uncertain and up for discussion. Structurally and thematically the movie creates a rich atmosphere, with its creative and witty use of storytelling, and with its unreliable narrator. It falters somewhat in easing viewers into this otherworldly experience - making several plot twists rather predictable. Ultimately, it succeeds in transferring a dreamlike, surreal psychological fugue to a series of episodes, that must be rearranged, interpreted, and completed by the viewer.

Overall 7/10 Full review on movie-discourse.blogspot.de

Well...what can I say about this film. I guess my initial thought was to mention a few movies that share a similar story or plot, but upon doing so I'd ruin the film. I just think that the concept although no tired yet, is getting a bit more common. I can count three to four titles I've seen in the last two years that use this concept to a certain degree within the storyline. This film is nothing new or original at all, and that in itself was a bit disappointing.

Let's put it this was. Within the first 15 minutes both my friend and I pretty much figured out was what going to happen. Why? There is a French horror film that came out (produced by a Korean studio also) that is close to identical to this film, except the main character is a woman. If you're interested message me and I'll pass the title along.

That being said, the story itself was still above average, but the execution was a bit poor in my opinion. I think the movie was just a bit too long for what it was trying to do (I think it was only 2 hours, but it felt like 3-4). The movie could have had the same impact if they cut off about 30 minutes. I keep thinking I missed something, or there was something more to this film...however there aren't any questions for me to ask...so I can't see how I could have missed something.

I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival, and I can't say that I was upset I saw it. I think it's worth a rental, but I wouldn't suggest anyone go out of their way to find this. It really had some potential, but again it just didn't execute in the areas it should have. Upon leaving the theatre all I was thinking was "I've seen this before...and I liked the other films a little more"

Not bad...but nothing to write home over.

The director of this film was present at the screening I attended and provided the quote; reproduced from distant memory; which I have used as my summary, as a suggestion for understanding the film. While he seemed generally intelligent and charming I must agree with the comments of user Splatti but also feel compelled to add that this film features an alarming sexual dichotomy, in that the characters who are 'bad' have noisy and 'weird' sex and the characters who are 'good' manage to have perfectly clean and wonderfully fulfilling sex. While this is perhaps common in mainstream films, there is something, perhaps the explicit nature (although not high) of the portrayal, that makes it stand out. This overshadows all other elements of the film.

This is a very good film about a man trying to find and understand himself after the devastating loss of his wife in a plane crash. The answers to all his questions and secrets lie within the Spider Forest. So no, don't go into this movie thinking that it is a horror film with spiders running around killing people. There are a couple of "tense" moments" but, unlike American films, these are not done gratuitously, and are there to serve as points of development for the characters and do not deter the tempo of this film from being a deep character study of one man's self discovery. Great acting by all aboard is only strengthened by a solid script and talented director. This film reminded me a lot of a Japanese film called the Uninvited. So if you liked that one, you can't miss Spider Forest.

I saw Spider Forest at the Toronto International Film Festival last night. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure of what to expect from it - was it a horror film? Or was it a detective story, a thriller, or something altogether different? The answer, I think, is that it is all of those things.

The film begins with a series of mysterious and shocking events in a cabin in the forest, and much like a spider's web, returns to this place quite often in an attempt to unravel its secrets.

Spider Forest manages to avoid most of the modern horror/suspense/thriller conventions, including scary pale children and does not rely on special effects to set the mood. Instead, the psychological predicament of the main character creates an atmosphere of blurred confusion and distrust of one's own memory.

The story is entirely unique and never quite goes in the direction the audience is expecting.

I give a confident recommendation to see this film.

I also scoped this movie out at the Toronto Festival (Sept 14th). They showed it at the ROM theatre which has the unfortunately acoustic property of being directly over a subway.

I liked this movie a lot, more for its style than anything else. The tunnel scene has some of the coolest lighting I've seen in a while. The plot was a bit hard to follow and I did leave the theatre scratching my head a bit. I didn't know what to expect at all, so it took me a while to get with the flow. I'd like to see this film again to get a better handle on the story.

I definitely recommend this film for fans of visual, stylistic film making.

This film loses itself in its' own artistic complexity. While I was awed by the lavish photography and impressed with the strong acting performances, I found the plot hard to follow and full of holes. It seemed to me that the film makers wanted to "blow our mind," when, in fact, all they succeeded in doing was confusing and bewildering us. I was left with more questions than answers at the end, which would be fine if it were an art film, but a psychological thriller shouldn't drag you through two hours of "what the hell" just to leave you there. I hope I see more from this director, but possibly with a better team of writers.

"Spider Forest" is a South Korean movie which would be better classified as a psychological thriller, in my opinion. Some would say it's a drama. Others would argue that it's really a horror movie, depending on your interpretation.

And that's what this movie is about: Interpretation. Much like David Lynch's puzzle movies, this one is all about what's real or not, and it's up to you to decide what's happening.

Two things I can say about it - it's that the movie has a cyclical nature, and that there's no real closure on screen. The ending can be interpreted as hopeful or depressingly frustrating, or anything else entirely. It's up to the viewer to decide.

So, While "Spider Forest" has many elements borrowed from other movies ("Mullholland Dr", "The I Inside", and to a lesser extent "Memento" and even "Lost" in the forest scenes), they are done well here, and help make a quality movie that poses a lot of questions, answers them all only to have you wondering what really happened in the end.

If you like this kind of movie (I know I do), get inside the Spider Forest...

8/10

Before seeing Spider Forest last night at the Toronto International Film Festival (agree with comments by cbranje, the ROM theatre is not the best at masking outside sounds, though the occasional rumble of the subway did add an extra shot of tension to some of the more suspenseful scenes), I'd heard it described as a film for those who liked 'Mulholland Drive' but found it too linear. While I don't think it's a very accurate statement, the film does invite comparisons to David Lynch. The creepy tone, gruesome murder scene, elliptical narrative structure, and ambiguous plot resolution are all Lynchian trademarks but I think Spider Forest is a little more straightforward or at least it lends itself more readily to a range of interpretations.

The set up: a man wakes in the forest, discovers the mutilated corpses of coworkers in a house in a forest, and pursues a man he believes to be the killer. Though most of the ensuing story is told in what may be hazy, and possibly wholly fictitious, recollections of the past, each memory recreates a moment of truth that one could easily see as happening to this man. We see him mourn the loss of his wife then hear other stories about death and loss and wonder, are these manifestation's of one event or separate incidents that actually occurred.

The film poses epistemological questions like: How do we know that we know? What differentiates consciousness from sleep? Is what we consider reality merely our continual reconstruction of our past experiences? For me, figuring out what's happened to the main character in 'Spider Forest' is akin to piecing together the fragments of a bizarre dream, but with the pleasure of seeing these fragments unfold in a series of beautifully shot frames.

Definitely recommend.

Spider Forest is one of those films that not everyone is going to like, but I for one thought it was excellent. Unfortunately it is difficult to describe the plot more than it already has been in other comments as knowing too much about this film will spoil it's magic.

This is a dark, intricate, intelligent, atmospheric and somewhat spiritual movie in my opinion. Certainly worth seeing for anyone who likes to walk out of a cinema with questions floating around their heads.

Great performances, characters, cinematography, direction, and one of the most interesting scripts I have seen in a while. This has probably been billed as some kind of horror or thriller genre film, but to me it is more human drama or art-house film. Korea is becoming the best place to find films that weave intricate human stories into other genres of film to elevate the stories above the competition.

Spider Forest is definitely a great piece of cinema that will make you think and will stay with you well after the credits roll.

As Kurosawa adapted Shakespeare into Japanese Samurai films, Song did European folklore, or maybe Kafka, into modern Korea. For me, European folklore is a story that boys and girls are lost in labyrinthine woods - Hanzel and Gretel or Red Riding Hood. A TV producer, Kang Min, lost his way in woods and his time, his memory, his unconsciousness messed up and mixed. In this chaotic situation, Kang Min meets a mysterious woman (Suh Jeong) who tells the legend of Spider Forrest.

Director Song emphasizes the tone, mood, and atmosphere rather than coherent storytelling. Especially the lighting of tunnel scene reminds me Krzystof Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronica and Decalogue.

Very unique film.

Yeah... really! I liked this one. Maybe cause it was shot not in that usual Asian style with many 'kung fu' scenes and usual for temporary korean cinema brutality... I've bought this movie on DVD in Korea as "horror" but I wasn't disappointed by the delusion of a salesman. Mysteries of human memory are much more entertaining, than various histories about vampires or phantoms (english name "Spider Forest" leads us on similar allusions, doesn't it?) Despite on some lacks in the screenplay and some affectation of several characters (unfortunately Ilgon Song could not overcome a temptation to include a brutal policeman in his action), this movie is a real success of this talented director.

I'm still trying to get my head around this neo-noir psychological Korean thriller. Throughout its intricate web of suspense, it keeps you on the edge and leaves you fervently searching for the answers at the end. It would be a disappointment for those who are not fond of this genre.

Its plot is a labyrinth of past, present, and future as the protagonist encountered a ghastly crime in the opening scene and lead us to an entangled ride of unshrounding the mystery while confronting with his lost memories, phantasmagorical dreams, obscurity, and bogeys of past. He remains elusive of reality for the most part of the movie. The story is a telling tale of one's struggle with his past grief and inability to overcome it.

Korean movies are humdinger of mind-twisted plot that challenges one's sagacity and forces viewers to concentrate. Spider Forest is no different. Though the ingenuity of its non-linear plot can not be doubted, it has some missing links which should have not been left unfixed. Much is left to the imagination of viewers. One has to re-watch it again to join the missing link left by an abstruse narrative.

SPIDER FOREST is a fantastic, multi-faceted ghost story. In fact, there's so much going on that multiple viewings are -cheerfully!- recommended. The twists come in rapid-fire succession, building a layered story of loss, betrayal, deception, murder, and the beyond. If you're longing for an intelligent supernatural tale with heavy doses of mystery and suspense, then this movie will fill your need! There's even a non-linear, dreamlike quality! More horror bliss from South Korea!...