Product Details

• Actors: Jang Jin-yeong, Kim Myung-min, Ki Ju-bong, Jo Ahn, Kim Ki-hyeon
• Directors: Yoon Jong-chan
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Korean
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Tartan Video
• DVD Release Date: July 26, 2005
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FZEQW8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,725 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting little flick., May 26, 2007

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorum (DVD)

Sorum (Jong-Chan Yoon, 2001)

The first thing to know about Sorum is that, despite Tartan (who released it in their excellent Asia Extreme line on DVD) calling it such, it is not a horror film. There are a few mentions of a ghost, and some things unexplained within the bounds of the story, but all of them are easy to find alternate explanations for; this is a drama about a guy who starts off disturbed, and gets more so as the movie goes on. So as long as you know what to expect, there's a lot to be liked here.

Yong-hyun (Into the Mirror's Myong-min Kim in his debut role) is a disaffected taxi driver who moves into a crumbling tenement building. He soon finds out that the previous owner died during a mysterious fire. Down the hall from him lives Sun-yeong (The Scent of Chrysanthemums' Jin-young Jang, who won the 2001 Best Actress award at Fantasporto for her role here), a withdrawn convenience store employee with an abusive compulsive gambler for a husband. Yong-hyun and Sun-yeong become reluctant friends, but their relationship is suddenly catapulted into much deeper realms when Sun-yeong kills her husband in self-defense.

While Sorum is for the most part a slow film, it is intense and compelling as the relationship between the two veers all over the map. Is Yong-hyun falling in love with Sun-yeong? Is she falling in love with him? And what of the supposed ghost of the woman who died in a similar fire in Yong-hyun's apartment thirty years before? Does her ghost really wander the halls of the building, endlessly calling to her lost child? And does the obsessed novelist in the next apartment over know more than he's telling? What about Eun-soo, the former girlfriend of Room 504's previous tenant?

If Sorum (the name, loosely translated, means "goosebumps", though you'll not find that out in the movie itself) were an Italian film, I'd not hesitate to label it a giallo. Yoon (Blue Swallow) has all the ingredients for a good giallo in the mix-- protagonist who's not entirely stable, house (okay, apartment building) with a dark past, a surprising crime, a mix of the weirdest neighbors you'd ever not want in a living situation, a situation ready to explode into violence at the drop of a hat. (To add to the comparison, I swear I saw more than one nod to Profondo Rosso.) And it's a pretty good giallo for all its pretensions to the horror genre. The movie lacks a Big Reveal(TM) at the end, but that's certainly not a bad thing. Sorum is a good one if you like to spend hours afterwards at your favorite watering hole discussing particulars with your pals. *** ½

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The cover is deceiving!, August 1, 2005

By 

Becky Hersh "miso_happy" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorum (DVD)

I was so excited to get this film because I thought it was going to be scary, especially since the cover illudes a creepy essence. Wrong, wrong! This is a "real" review and I am not going to give away the ending or other significant attributes to the movie... what fun would that be?!

This is a beautiful story about this taxi cab driver who moves into this rundown, nasty apartment with a bunch of strange neighbors, one of which he befriends in time. She is this woman who has been beated by her husband and has little love to give. To me it is somewhat of a Sid and Nancy story without all of the cursing and violence; one wants so much to love, the other finding it hard to give.

A mysterious death in apartment 504 links everyone in the apartments together since they knew the victim. Each one has their own story and knowledge to aid in putting the tiny puzzle pieces together so you know what to expect. I found that the ending was quite predeicable if you pay enough attention to the clues in the movie... even those that may not seem so significant.

This movie is definitely not a horror movie, nor a thriller, but I would call it a good drama with maybe one or two chances to jump out of your seats. These are easily recognized!

My advice is to rent before you buy. This would help alleviate any questions and thoughts you may have before making that commitment!! (no pun intended to the movie!) As with all movies, or a life's lesson in general, "you can't judge a book by its cover!" As with me, I should have taken my own advice!

As for other movies to suggest, I will name a few horror movies to check out: Infection, A Tale of Two Sisters, Audition, Acacia, Premonition, and Whispering Corridors. I hope this information is helpful! Happy watching! :)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AMBIGUOUS BUT SOMETHING WORTHY, August 20, 2006

By 

Anton Ilinski (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorum (DVD)

"Sorum" may seem a bit confusing, odd and incomprehensible. Well, I must confess I was confused too because this film is not what usual thrillers and movies a la "Sixth Sense" tend to offer. It's quite different and I think fathomless to an unprepared viewer even to those who've seen a lot of Asian and to be precise - Korean mystical films.

A young taxi driver settles in a big crumbling tenement house with dark history. Relations between neighbors are rather strange, some time ago there was a big fire here with dramatic consequences, some people died in the house and presumably something ghostly dwells there. What is the truth behind the above-mentioned fire? What ties certain tenants of the building? Are there any ghosts there? Are all the strange things happening because of those ghosts or by evil intentions of the occupants? I wish I've received the answers to all of my questions in the end of the film, but I can't definately say so. "Sorum" is one of those movies you are left wondering after: what was all that? And then you start writing to some movie-forums naming your topic "THE ENDING???"

Even if "Sorum" gives you the answers they are not clear and distinct. Pretty much is left for your imagination and your ability to interpret what you just saw. It's not that kind of a movie when you think "What a twist!" in the end. It's of another kind when you want to watch it for the second time to clear everything out. Or throw the DVD away with annoyance. Personally I think it's always better to watch again but I'm not sure when I'm going to because "Sorum" is moody and maybe a bit dull so you need to wait for the right humour.

Maybe I'm too harsh saying the movie's boring - it's rather thoughtful and lingering, its slow-paced manner leaves a lot of space for silent long frames and pensive dialogs. It has a lot of mataphors you have to dig out and hidden meanings. I'm not sure maybe a viewer has to be born in Korea to understand them all. Anyway don't try to watch "Sorum" if you're looking for some lightweight flick to kill an evening with. Or even if you want to watch some intense, tough thriller. You'll obviously have to organize yourself for this one and be prepared that probably you'll need to watch it again.

"Sorum" more likely deserves four stars. I gave it three only because it's not quite my cup of tea. It doesn't mean a thing, it's not that "Sorum" is not worth your attention. It's mine three, but if to judge objectively it's rather four. The only thing I'd advise is to rent it first.