Suddenly at Midnight (Korean: 깊은밤 갑자기; RR: Gipeun bam, gapjagi; also known as Suddenly in the Dark or Suddenly in Dark Night) is a 1981 South Korean erotic horror thriller film directed by Ko Young-nam.[1]
| Suddenly at Midnight | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Hangul | 깊은밤 갑자기 |
| Revised Romanization | Gipeunbam gapjagi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kip'ŭnpam kapchagi |
| Directed by | Ko Young-nam |
| Screenplay by | Yoon Sam-yook |
| Story by | Park Tae-chang |
| Produced by | Seo Hyeon |
| Starring | Kim Young-ae Yoon Il-bong Lee Ki-seon |
| Cinematography | Jeong Pil-si |
| Edited by | Hyeon Dong-chun |
| Music by | Choi Jong-hyuk |
Production companies | Nam-a Pictures Co., Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Plot
editKang Yu-jin, a wealthy biology professor doing a butterfly field study, takes in a new housemaid; the young woman, Mi-ok, is the daughter of a shaman priestess who recently died in a house fire. At first, Yu-jin and his wife, Seon-hee, welcome Mi-ok into their home, but Seon-hee begins to have misgivings when she sees a strange wooden doll that the maid has brought with her. Having suffered from nightmares about exactly the same doll, Seon-hee becomes increasingly suspicious and paranoid that Mi-ok is trying to kill her and usurp her household. In a sudden fit of madness, Seon-hee causes Mi-ok to fall to her death. From then on, Seon-hee is tormented horribly by visions of the doll attacking her and it starts to take a great toll on her sanity. Is it actually happening or just all in the girl's mind?
Cast
edit- Kim Young-ae ... Seon-hee
- Yoon Il-bong ... Kang Yu-jin
- Lee Ki-seon ... Mi-ok
- Hyun Hye-ri
- Kim Geun-hie
- Kim Min-gyu
- Kim Gi-jong
- Lee Yae-sung
- Gwak Geon
- Yoo Myeong-sun
Release
editSuddenly at Midnight was released in South Korea on 17 July 1981, and received a total of 28,178 admissions.[2] It was then subsequently released on Blu-ray for the first time ever worldwide in early 2017 by Mondo Macabro.
Critical response
editThe movie and Ko Young-nam are referred to as a classic work and director of Korean horror film.[3][4] In a review for Koreanfilm.org, Darcy Paquet cited Suddenly at Midnight as a rare example of 1970s-80s Korean horror that was genuinely frightening, describing it as "a mysterious psychological study... that beguiles the viewer right up to its bizarre closing image." He praised the film's direction, saying, "Ko has a good feel for how to create tension from precise editing and the patient accumulation of evocative details", and also credited actress Kim Young-ae for a "convincing performance as the panicked wife".[2]
References
edit- ^ "Mondo Macabro to Bring Three More Rare Gems to Blu-ray This Fall/Winter". 19 August 2016.
- ^ a b Paquet, Darcy. "Suddenly At Midnight (1981)". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 19 April 2009.
- ^ Kim Ga-hui (김가희) (2006-11-26). 고전영화 히트작 다시 보자 (in Korean). Sports Hankook / Yonhap.
공포영화의 고전인 고영남 감독의 '깊은 밤 갑자기'(1981년)
- ^ 대구일보. idaegu.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-18.
- 깊은 밤 갑자기 Suddenly in Dark Night (1982) (in Korean). Cine Seoul.
- Jeong Gyeong-hwa (정경화) (2008-05-17). 윤여정부터 임수정까지, 역대 '호러퀸'은 누구? (공포영화 기획②). 1981년 '깊은 밤 갑자기' - 김영애 (in Korean). MyDaily.
External links
edit- Suddenly at Midnight at IMDb
- Suddenly at Midnight at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)