Now, I do love a bit of Asian horror and THE CLOSET (2020, original title Keullojet) is something special. It's essentially the Korean version of POLTERGEIST and INSIDIOUS, telling the story of a bereaved husband and his young daughter who move into a remote countryside house. The daughter finds an old doll in her bedroom and soon hears voices from the closet, and one day she vanishes. At this point things really get interesting as the media takes an interest in the case.
What's really good about this film is that it shines a light on Korean folklore and religious beliefs in a similar way to THE WAILING. The exorcism scenes are really well staged and although this has some of the same fantasy landscape scenes as INSIDIOUS or STRANGER THINGS, it feels much more grounded and believable. The ghosts are pretty spooky too. Ha Jung-woo has long been my favourite Korean star (since THE YELLOW SEA) and he's great here, although Kim Nam-gil steals his thunder a little. THE CLOSET isn't an extraordinary film, but it ably does what it sets out to do with this premise.
What's really good about this film is that it shines a light on Korean folklore and religious beliefs in a similar way to THE WAILING. The exorcism scenes are really well staged and although this has some of the same fantasy landscape scenes as INSIDIOUS or STRANGER THINGS, it feels much more grounded and believable. The ghosts are pretty spooky too. Ha Jung-woo has long been my favourite Korean star (since THE YELLOW SEA) and he's great here, although Kim Nam-gil steals his thunder a little. THE CLOSET isn't an extraordinary film, but it ably does what it sets out to do with this premise.