U.S. DVD Release
Remember way back when, about 4 years ago, when Asian horror was “in” and we were getting all sorts of creepy freakin’ horror flicks? Granted, Asian horror has always been available to the classy region free soldiers out there like me but Asian horror really only came into its own in the last few years. Thanks to American remakes and region one releases for their Asian counterparts, Asian horror was on its way to being the only to get your scare on. Films like Ringu, Ringu 0, Ju-On: The Grudge, Acacia, A Tale of Two Sisters, One Missed Call and several others became shining examples of how Asian cinema spanked American horror.
Unfortunately, the saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” must have recently received an Asian translation because Asian horror has been getting worse and worse as filmmakers continue to cannibalize everything in their path. Original Asian horror was slowly drying up as clones and cheap knock-offs began crowding the market and souring horror fans.
While I wouldn’t necessarily label Cello a cheap knock-off, it most certainly takes far too many cues from better films. This leaves the viewer with that “Didn’t I see this somewhere before?” feel that I absolutely hate.
Mi-ju (Sung Hyun-Ah) is a gifted cello instructor that teaches at a local music college as well as a loving mother of two children, one with special needs. Despite doing the best she can to maintain a good attitude, after being involved in a tragic car accident that took the life of her best friend, trouble has found her anyhow. A student Mi-ju was forced to fail blames her for the poor grades and insists it was Mi-ju’s fault she wasn’t taught correctly.
At home, Mi-ju’s husband decides to hire on a creepy new housekeeper to handle things around the house. Apparently, she’s mute after having drunk acid in a suicide attempt after losing her family. Naturally, her husband feels sorry for the woman and decides to give her a job and room.
Meanwhile, Mi-ju begins teaching her autistic daughter how to play the cello. She begins coming along quite well until one day Mi-ju discovers her daughter playing along with a cello concert on tape. Visibly upset, Mi-ju demolishes the tape and arouses her husband’s suspicion. Who was that on the tape? Why did it upset Mi-ju so badly?
When Mi-ju begins receiving threatening text messages on her cellphone and discovers a decaying bird in her school belongings she decides to involve the police in the situation with her student. The police are happy to help dissolve the situation but in private a detective points out to Mi-ju that her phone records indicate she received no text messages at all!
Matters at home worsen as well when the family dog Sonny is found dead and Kyung-Ran (Yu-mi Jeong), Mi-ju’s sister-in-law commits suicide after a torturous break-up with her fiancé. Mi-ju also begins seeing things and hearing her husband’s voice.
There’s a supernatural force involved in Mi-ju and her family’s life but what does it want? Why would it be seeking revenge on Mi-ju?
Cello wasn’t as clever or original as I had originally hoped. The film’s cinematography established an occasionally tense and moody atmosphere but the scares themselves felt cribbed from far better films and were therefore rendered ineffective. One scene in this film was almost entirely lifted from Ju-on: The Grudge!
Don’t take all of this to mean it was incompetent film or a poor release from Tartan Video because that’s certainly not the case. The film & DVD’s technical aspects were all admirable but we’ve just seen this “supernatural revenge” concept so much it borders parody. Yes, there’s a long-haired ghost girl, yes there’s some menacing black smoke and yes…unfortunately…there’s more twists in this film than a bag of pretzels. If you’re okay with that…you should be just fine with Cello.
If, on the other hand, you prefer more original and challenging films like Acacia or A Tale of Two Sisters, you’ll probably want to steer clear.
