Death Bell

Death Bell (Korean: 고死: 피의 중간고사; RR: Gosa: Piui Junggangosa) is a 2008 South Korean film. The only Korean horror film released over the summer of 2008, it is the first feature by former music video director Chang, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Death Bell stars Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role, and K-pop singer Nam Gyu-ri in her acting debut. Set in a Korean high school, the film's native title refers to gosa, the important midterm exams that all students are required to sit.[2]

Death Bell
Theatrical poster
Hangul고사: 피의중간고사
Revised RomanizationGosa: piui junggangosa
McCune–ReischauerKosa: p‘iŭi chunggangosa
Directed byChang
Produced by
  • Hong Jung-pyo
  • Im Seong-been
Written by
Starring
Music byKim Jun-seong
CinematographyHeo Seong-ryong
Edited byYu Yeong-ju
Production
company
Distributed bySK Telecom
Release date
  • August 6, 2008 (2008-08-06)
Running time
88 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget₩1.3 billion
Box officeUS$9.2 million[1]
Nam Gyu Ri at Death Bell premiere

Plot

A group of 20 high school students partake in an elite class to prepare for a college exam. Among them are the rebellious Kang I-na, her best friend Yoon Myong-heo, and the class clown Kang Hyun, who harbors an affection for I-na. After several strange incidents, the class is interrupted by a TV showing of the top-ranking student, Min Hye-yeong, being trapped in a glass being slowly filled with water. A voice over the PA system announces that questions will be posed to the class; failure to answer them in time will lead to their death. It also warns them and their two teachers, Hwang Chang-wook and Choi So-yeong, against leaving the school. The class fails to solve the first question to save Hye-yeong.

Despite the warning, the class tries to leave, only to find that a teacher and hall monitor, Mr. Lee, was beaten to death, leaving only Mr. Kim to guard them. The students split up and try to answer the questions while also attempting to find a way out. Several students die, then Beom, who earlier tries to strangle I-na and was put in a mental facility, escapes and attempts to kill I-na, but Hyun shields her from the attack and dies. Chang-wook then kills Beom. I-na discovers to her horror that Myong-heo has also been kidnapped by a mysterious woman. They fail to save her and Chang-wook strangles the woman to death.

A memorial is held for the students killed, then I-na is kidnapped unnoticed. One final question is posed: have the person who killed his daughter step forward and confess. The person in question, a now-demented Chang-wook, reveals himself and is killed by the mastermind, who turns out to be Mr. Kim. I-na is then freed by So-yeong.

Flashbacks reveal that Kim's daughter, Kim Ji-won, worked hard to enter the elite class. However, the parents of the killed students bribed Chang-wook for the entrance test answers, giving them an unfair advantage. After being disqualified and finding out about the fact, Ji-won confronted Chang-wook and he kills her to cover up his misconduct. The sole witness to the incident, Beom, slowly became mad as he felt that Ji-won had been haunting him ever since. Mr. Kim and his wife (the woman who hang Myong-heo) decided to kill Chang-wook and all the students whose parents they deem responsible for their daughter's death.

The film closes with I-na seeing that she tops the class ranking, and it is implied that Beom's attacks was due to her being possessed by Ji-won since the beginning.

Cast
  • Lee Beom-soo as Hwang Chang-Wook
  • Yoon Jung-hee as Choi So-Young
  • Nam Gyu-Ri as Kang I-Na
  • Kim Bum as Kang Hyun
  • Son Yeo-eun as Yoon Myung-Hyo
  • Lee El as Guard
  • Da Geon as Yoon Soo-Jin
  • Kong Jung-Hwan as Lee Chi-Young
  • Ham Eun-jung as Kim Ji-Won
  • Yang Ji-Won as Min Hye-Young
  • Kang Won as Song Dong-Hyuk
  • Kwon Hyun-sang as Cha Jae-Wook
  • Son Ho-jun as Jo-Bum
  • Moon Woong-Ki as Kim Hyung-Jin
  • Jung Chun-Suk as Park Woo-Ram
  • Lee Chae-Won as Yum Ji-Hyang
  • Yoo Shin-Ae as Park Jin-Kyung
  • Kim So-Hee as Kim Ji-Won's mother
  • Kim Mi-Ra as Choi Eun-Joo
  • Lee Do-Hyun as Park Chan-Joo
  • Noh Haeng-Ha as Kim Mi-Jin
  • Choi Bae-young as Park Hyun-Kyung

Production

Shot on HD video with a budget of ₩1.3 billion,[3][4] Death Bell is the feature film directorial debut of Chang, a former music video director,[5] who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kim Eun-kyeong. The film also marks the acting debut of Nam Gyu-ri,[5] a former singer with K-pop trio SeeYa, and stars veteran comic actor Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role.[6]

Release

The only Korean horror film to be released in the summer of 2008,[6] Death Bell made its premiere in July 2008 at the 12th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.[3] Post-production on the film had been rushed in order to have it ready for the festival,[7] and director Chang had to apologise for the poor state in which it was shown.[8]

Death Bell was released on DVD on 8 November 2008.[9] Asian film specialist, Terracotta Distribution, released the film in the UK on DVD in October 2011.[10]

Reception

Critical response

Derek Elley of Variety found Death Bell to have a "neat concept" with "enough shocks and gore to keep genre addicts contented", and commented, "After a fairly conventional half-hour setup, the pic keeps the tension high with tight cutting and a no-flab script that ups the student body count in some especially inventive ways. Solution to the whodunit is less convincing than the lead-up, with a finale that doesn't deliver on expectations. But the journey there is fine, with Lee, better known for comedy, interestingly cast as the students' tough prof."[7] Kyu Hyun Kim of Koreanfilm.org was more critical of the film, saying, "Death Bell annoyingly combines prettified, slick visual filmmaking (but with no real depth) and gag-inducing torture porn excesses: it's simultaneously tepid and lackluster on the one hand and gross and offensive on the other"; he also regarded the screenplay as a "fetid mess" with an unconvincing central premise, but gave credit to the performance of Lee Beom-soo.[11] A review for Twitch also labelled the film's premise as "ridiculous", going on to say, "Lee Beom-Soo certainly tries, and the tempo keeps building decently until the end, but there’s really no vibe to it. It’s just a succession of tortures and murders, with no sense of surprise, no interest... [and] no thematic consciousness whatsoever".[4]

Box office

Released on 6 August 2008 in 366 theatres nationwide, the film grossed $2,370,785 and received 575,231 admissions on its opening weekend, placing it third at the local box office.[12][13] By its third week, Death Bell had climbed to second at the box office,[14] and as of 14 September 2008 had grossed a total of $9,274,859.[15]

Death Bell had looked set to become the second most popular Korean horror film after A Tale of Two Sisters, which attracted more than 3 million viewers in 2003; however, admissions of 1,636,149 (as of 14 September 2008) were less than those recorded by R-Point and Wishing Stairs.[5][13][16] Nevertheless, the film attracted more than twice the number of viewers required to break even at the box office.[17]

See also

References
  1. http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20081058
  2. "Korean Slasher GOSA (DEATH BELL) Coming To DVD! Archived 2009-07-21 at the Wayback Machine". Twitch, 3 November 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  3. D'sa, Nigel. "Korean Films at the 12th PiFan". Korean Film Council, 18 July 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  4. "[K-FILM REVIEWS] 고死 (Death Bell) Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine". Twitch, 4 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  5. Yi Ch’ang-ho. "Gosa is unafraid of big-budget competitors". Korean Film Council, 22 August 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  6. "He's one of the most recognized comical actors in Korea - Lee Beom-soo!". Arirang. Retrieved on 5 November 2005.
  7. Elley, Derek. ""Death Bell"". Variety, 2 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  8. Kim, Kyu Hyun. "2008 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  9. "Korean horror DEATH BELL aka Gosa on DVD Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine". 24framespersecond. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  10. "". Terracotta Distribution. Retrieved on 20 November 2019.
  11. Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Death Bell". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  12. "South Korea Box Office August 8–10, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  13. South Korean Box Office for Death Bell. "Death Bell (2008) - 고死: 피의 중간고사". HanCinema. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  14. "South Korea Box Office August 22–24, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  15. "South Korea Box Office September 12–14, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  16. R-Point received 1,689,000 admissions in 2004. "Ranked Box-Office Results" (2004). Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  17. Jang Jiyun. "Low Budget Films Gaining Popularity With Good Storylines". Arirang, 24 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
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