The movie dates back to 1592 when Japan invaded Korea, and under the threat of the Japanese chief, Nongae is forced to kill her loved one. In modern Korea, a botanist couple meets a man named Jae-jin, who insists that he knows them on the way to find legendary China pink butterfly. With the Asian horror genre having been so thoroughly explored in recent years, finding an original concept to hook people is half the battle. That battle is fought but not exactly won in the two-part Korean horror film The Resurrection of the Butterfly. The film gets bonus points for attempting an ambitious film that spans two different periods, while using an independent film's budget (it was also shot on digital video). However, the filmmakers are unable to do much to get beyond the initial concept.
The first section by director Kim Min-Sook takes place in late 16th century during the Japanese occupation, and is presented as the alternate version of a Korean folk legend. The legend supposedly tells the story of Nongae, a geisha who committed suicide by falling off a cliff, while dragging a Japanese general cliff along with her out of patriotism. However, the alternate version supposes what would happen if she had failed in her attempt and is killed in the process by Japanese soldiers. Instead of Nongae, the film centers on Kimura, the Japanese general that she tried to kill. Kim's story doesn't truly explore the consequences of Nongae's failure and simply reverts to traditional horror elements as Nongae's spirit returns to haunt the general. In turn, the general is slowly tormented to the point of madness by various illusions and creepy going-ons.
Clued by the lack of a backstory, as Kim never explains that his film is the alternate version of anything, the audience slowly realizes that Kim left his ambitions at the starting point. We repeatedly see scenes of Nongae appearing in different places and people reacting in fear, which would happen in any other horror film with scorned spirits. Thankfully, Kim never resorts to cheap sound scares to shock his audience, instead relying on atmosphere to incite fear. A young up-and-comer, Kim does have the talent to make an effective horror film, but he needs to set his eyes on a smaller story.
Reporting the video problem?
NOTICE: Videos are not uploaded nor hosted on dramastyle.com
Resurrection of the Butterfly Casts
