On DVD: Cinderella

Directed By Man-dae Bong

Starring Gyu-ryun

So we have yet another entry in the Tartan Asia Extreme label and again I was excited to crack this one open for a look.  Often the "extreme" moniker brings to mind more gore or disturbing situations than actually occur in the newest Asian films.  That doesn't mean this is a bad film, just not exactly what you might expect.

The Movie

Hyoon-su is a popular girl in her high school because her mother is a plastic surgeon.  If her friends need a little adjustment here or there Hyoon-su's mother will do it on the sly for them at a discount.  Things change when Hyoon-su's mother's patients begin dying, either at the hands of her mother or at the hands of an angry ghost, a young girl with long black hair hanging in her face.

So, on its surface Cinderella is a fairly cookie cutter supernatural horror film with the spooky girl ghost with long black hair and even creepy cell phone situations, both items common in way too many Asian horror films.  If I were to stop here this movie would get a subpar rating but there's more to this film than its supernatural main story.  There's a social commentary prevalent and mostly well managed throughout the film that observes the pressures put on high school girls, and women in general, to succeed based on physical beauty.  Also interesting is how the pressures have increased so much on young girls.  Ten years ago you wouldn't think about teens get plastic surgery but now it's actually happening more and more commonly.

The film is also features an above average visual style and solid acting to brace up the commentary which as I said is more interesting than the actual horror elements of the film.  There's also a back-story told for Hyoon-su and her mother which adds some commentary about family values and parenting in particular.

I was disappointed that the scary aspects of the film were all so overdone but the well done commentary that has universal appeal is surprising and with only a few hiccups handled more subtly and expertly than is common for Asian horror film.  I only wish the horror elements were as well done as the character and commentary elements are.

7/10

The Video

The widescreen video is pretty typical of Asian imports, there's a bit of grain and things get a bit murky in darker scenes.  Colors however look lifelike and detail is fairly solid.  There are also a few instances of shimmering along straight lines.  Overall it a decent transfer but nothing memorable.

6/10

The Audio

There is a Dolby Digital Surround track and a DTS track both in the original Korean language.  Dialogue, effects, and score are all well balanced and clean.  As far as immersive-ness the presentation feels a bit basic but things do kick in for a few scares and just a bit of ambient sound.

7/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

The packaging sticks to the theme set by previous Asia Extreme releases.  The single disc comes in a standard amaray case with a glossy slipcover.  The cover art is sparse and mostly black with the Asia Extreme logo running across the top of the box.  Unfortunately the art does make the film feel more "extreme" than it actually is but at the same time it is very satisfying to see that row of Tartan Asia Extreme logos lining up together on the video shelf.

Disappointingly there's only one extra on this disc, a standard featurette with interviews with the director and cast mixed with behind the scenes footage.  The interviews don't really go all that deep but there are some comments from the director on the title of the film and the ideas he had while making it.

That's it, no commentary, nothing else, well other than trailers for other films which we don't count as bonus features here at CineGeek. 

3/10

I love Asian horror so everything that Tartan releases always hits me in the soft spot but at the same time the market is getting saturated so you have to be a more discerning fan.  That said this to me isn't "extreme" in any way but it does feature an interesting social commentary and the technical execution is really great.

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

The Movie 7/10

The Video 6/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 3/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

-Stephen Lackey