During the current era of the pandemic, there has been little activity on the big screens and new weekly releases, and moviegoers are really missing the long-awaited visits to theaters. However, if one is not so pressured to watch movies on computers or mobile screens, one can still enjoy a lot of enriched viewing on OTT (Over The Top) platforms that stream a rich variety of movies from world cinema in addition to its much-hyped web series. There is certainly a concern about harmonizing your eardrums with continued use of headphones; but one can be judiciously selective about it. During such a measured and judicious practice of wearing headphones, this writer has come across several movies and web series that really kept his movie-appreciation instincts alive. One of those movies is the lament (2016), a South Korean (officially the Republic of Korea) horror film written and directed by celebrated South Korean director Na Hong-jin, whose previous films such as The pursuer (2008) and the yellow sea (2010) screened at the Cannes Film Festival and won several awards at other festivals. the lament It was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival and garnered numerous nominations and several awards at various film festivals. The main actors in this film are Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee, and Japanese star Jun Kunimura.

the lament It can’t be described as a one-shot ‘horror’ movie, because it has a plot that covers every other genre of mystery, thriller, and of course horror. And the film boldly defies the implicit ‘rules and regulations’ of a typical horror film: glorifying gore; capturing the most unimaginably ugly faces of ghostly ‘monsters’; the use of the loudest possible soundtrack where a simple telephone ring shakes the entire auditorium; jump cuts; and figures moving behind you. Instead, this movie has a very clever mix of mystery, intriguing dialogue, a normal soundtrack, no jump cuts or sudden movements behind the back, no monsters of the typical variety, and a completely different script for a horror movie. So how scary, you will definitely ask! Of course, it still has all the scares of the supernatural, the occult practices, the possessed and the exorcisms, the zombies, a lot of gore and violence without glorifying it, and a lot of dialogue that you can’t stop listening to carefully. .

The film runs at a rather intimidating two-and-a-half hours, a length that normally goes for Indian movies of any genre, but once you get inside there’s not a single moment that bores you or makes you think about putting off your headphones. It puts you in a persistent believe or disbelieve dilemma with the elements of mystery and suspense in full play, and this glorious plot uncertainty continues to the very end. And mind you, you may not find the climax as rewarding as the usual horror movies. The film flows with brilliant cinematography and melodious background music. The performances are powerful and the storytelling is compelling.

The story begins with a police investigation when in a Korean town people begin to be mysteriously murdered. As the investigations progress, we come to know that a peculiar disease seems to infect the villagers: once someone catches the infection, they somehow turn violent and end up murdering all of their family members. All doubts fall on a mysterious Japanese foreigner who lives in a hut in the mountains and the local people tell terrifying stories about him. The police raid his cabin several times, but still can’t link him to the horrific events. Meanwhile, a mysterious lady is also moving around town, apparently giving clues to the police. Town Police Sergeant Jong-goo, the film’s hero played by Kwak Do-won, becomes terribly emotional and desperate to solve the mystery when his young daughter Hyo-Jin contracts the infection and begins to show patterns of strange behavior, little by little. getting violent. The policeman’s mother-in-law invites the local shaman or exorcist, suspecting a case of possession. Well, nothing else can be said about the story to avoid a spoiler.

the lament is a horror movie with a healthy genre difference, and can more than match the all-time Hollywood horror greats like The Exorcist, The Omen, the poltergeist, The spell and so on, and it can beat the loud and typical horror movies on popular display in both Hollywood and Bollywood. This movie is a must for all lovers of mystery, suspense and horror movies. This writer discovered this movie a bit late, but still stands by the opinion expressed. The world of cinema has been a territory little explored by many viewers due to lack of access or regional or language barriers or the like, and if moviegoers keep trying, they will surely find many more surprises such as the lament.