Blood Rain

On an isolated island, a horrific fire and a mysterious murder break the usual way of life. The victim died in the same way as the son of an executed Catholic, so the locals are scared to death that the ghost of the dead start taking its evil toll...

What could have been a start for yet another awful Japanese horror movie or an overtly-long, boring and unrealistic Chinese epic actually happens in the first 10 minutes of a great Korean picture. Despite the fact that the movie is set in 19th century Korea, the movie itself could have easily been shot about France or the USA (with appropriate time adjustment) - and, frankly, would the Americans want to shoot a remake they would need to change surprisingly little as the film is very European in its style. Surprisingly, the authors find a lot of room not only for suspense, but for a very deep study of the fear, the guilt and the responsibility in a very clear, articulate way.

To put it short: if you watch Asian movies for more than fake kung-fu and surreal jumping action, you should definitely see this one. It's much better than most of the things that went out this year in the USA.