Omona's Pick - Dramas/Movies to Watch this Halloween Season

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

With Halloween right around the corner, you might be looking for a spooky or suspenseful show to watch. I've compiled a list of dramas and movies ranging from suspenseful horror movies to silly ghost shows.

Movies

Train to Busan

Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu Mi, Ma Dong Seok, Kim Soo Ahn, Choi Woo Shik, Ahn So Hee

Plot: Seok-Woo is a fund manager in Seoul. He is separated from his wife and lives with his daughter Soo-An. Seok-Woo doesn't spend much time with his daughter or show affection to her. On the night before Soo-An's birthday, Soo-An insists on seeing her mother for her birthday. Seok-Woo has no other choice, but to take her to Busan. Early the next morning, they board the KTX train for Busan at Seoul Station.

Before the KTX train leaves Seoul Station, a zombie like girl jumps onto the train. The girl is infected with a horrific virus that is spreading like wildfire. Seok-Woo, Soo-An and the other passengers on the KTX train must now fight for their lives.

I Saw The Devil

Cast: Lee Byung Hun, Choi Min Sik, Jeon Kuk Hwan, Oh San Ha, Kim Yoon Seo, Cheon Ho Jin

Plot: Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time, but were unable to catch him.

One day, Joo-yeon, daughter of a retired police chief becomes his prey and is found dead in a horrific state. Her fiance Soo-Hyun, a top secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take bloody vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself to get this monstrous and inhumane killer.

The Silenced

Cast: Park Bo Young, Uhm Ji Won, Park So Dam, Kong Ye Ji

Plot: Back in 1938, when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, Joo-Ran is transferred to an all-girl's boarding school in Keijyo (old name of Seoul). The principal there exhibits exemplary behavior to all of the students, but she ends up showing her darker side to Joo-Ran, who gets close to knowing the school's biggest secret. The girl learns of another student with the same name and she tries to figure out the hidden stories that happened at the girl students' dormitory.







Spellbound

Cast: Son Ye Jin, Lee Min Ki, Park Chul Min, Kim Hyun Sook, Lee Mi Do

Plot: Ever since she was young, Yoo Ri, has had the unnatural ability to see ghosts, and when they do appear, unexpected things occur to the people around her. Yoo Ri chooses to isolate herself from the outside world but is approached by a street magician named Jo Goo, who offers her a job in his show. One year passes, and Yoo Ri ends up playing a part in the magician’s horror-themed act,in which she plays a ghost in a closet. When eventually Yoo Ri opens up to Jo Goo about her tragic and lonely life, things start to change for the both of them.





The Wailing

Cast: Kwak Do Won, Hwang Jung Min, Jun Kunimura, Chun Woo Hee, Kim Hwan Hee

Plot: Within a seemingly peaceful village, a plague of mysterious & violent deaths suddenly take place. The police conclude poisonous wild mushrooms are the cause of the deaths. Police Officer Jong-Goo hears a rumor from a coworker about a mysterious Japanese man  living nearby. The rumor fingers the Japanese man as the man causing these mysterious & violent deaths. Jong-Goo, while on duty, meets Moo-Myeong. She tells Jong-Goo that she saw the Japanese man where the last deaths took place. Jong-Goo's doubts about the man begin to waver.

Jong-Goo's daughter Hyo-Jin then comes down with the crazed symptoms similar to what the other villagers had before their deaths. Jong-Goo becomes desperate. He heads out into the mountains to find the old Japanese man's home. Meanwhile, his mother-in-law calls in a shaman, Il-Gwang, to perform an exorcism on Hyo-Jin. Death lingers in the air.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Cast: Im Soo Jung, Moon Geun Young, Yum Jung Ah, Kim Kap Soo

Plot: Soo-Mi and Su-Yeon return home after an extended illness and hospital stay. Things have not been the same since their mother passed away. Their return is welcomed by their stepmother Eun-Joo. It’s evident that Soo-Mi, the older and stronger of the two, isn’t afraid to speak her mind when it comes to their family troubles. Su-Yeon is more timid and wary of their stepmother and looks to Soo-Mi for help. Continually picked on and harassed by their stepmother, the two have no choice but to endure the relationship for their father’s sake. Soo-Mi promises Su-Yeon that she will never let their stepmother beat them again. Unexplainable things start to occur at the house. Something has changed, no one knows what it is, but the sisters can feel it.



APT

Cast: Go So Young, Kang Sung Jin, Jang Hee Jin, Park Ha Sun

Plot: A young woman, who lives in an old apartment suburban of Seoul, finds herself amused observing opposite side apartments. One day, she finds out that the lights of some houses on the opposite apartments kept being turned off at the very same time. She concluded that this weird happening is somehow related to those mysterious serial deaths. She begins to act to figure out the mystery and becomes deeply involved.

Dramas

White Christmas

Cast: Baek Sung Hyun, Kim Young Kwang, Lee Soo Hyuk, Kwak Jung Wook, Hong Jong Hyun, Esom, Kim Woo Bin, Sung Joon, Jung Suk Won, Kim Sang Kyung, Lee El

Plot: Susin High School, nicknamed "Prison High," is an elite boarding school attended by the top 1% of students in the country. Their stellar marks are the result of constant pressure and a strict punishment system, to the point where students avoid from any activities outside of studying and even study on weekends. Furthermore, their only vacation days are the 8 days from Christmas Eve to the first day of the New Year. During this time, the students and faculty leave the school and the school becomes empty.

However, seven students decided to remain at school on winter break after receiving an anonymous letters stating that someone will die. To accompany them, a teacher is forced to remain at school with them. But on their first night, a psychologist joins them after being involved in a car accident nearby. In addition, because of the snowstorm , the roads are closed and he is forced to spend the winter holiday with them. However, at a time when everyone else is celebrating Christmas Eve, the students realize that the anonymous letters they each received was not the result of a harmless prank; and there is a murderer in their midst.

Master's Sun

Cast: So Ji Sub, Gong Hyo Jin, Seo In Guk, Kim Yoo Ri, Choi Jung Woo, Kim Mi Kyung, L

Plot: Joo Joong-won is the cold and distant CEO of Kingdom, a conglomerate that includes a major department store and hotel. He meets the gloomy Tae Gong-shil, who started seeing ghosts after an accident. Their lives take a new turn as they discover whenever Gong-shil touches Joong-won the ghosts that surround her disappear; after much pleading from Gong-shil to allow her to stay by Joong-won's side in return she must help him recover a fortune that was stolen from him during a kidnapping attempt.






Arang and the Magistrate

Cast: Lee Jun Ki, Shin Min Ah, Yeon Woo Jin, Yoo Seung Ho, Park Jun Gyu, Kwon Oh Jung

Plot: Arang and the Magistrate tells the story of a cynical and not so friendly government official named Eun Oh who wanders the whole nation to look for his mother who disappeared because of his mistake. Eun Oh has the ability of seeing ghosts, so he's used to be bothered by many kind of ghosts. As a result he isn’t afraid of ghosts anymore.

Then Eun On meets a virgin ghost named Arang.Before she became a ghost, Arang was a beautiful girl who was murdered. Arang asks Eun Oh to seek vengeance for her death and Eun Oh tries to appease her request.




Vampire Prosecutor

Cast: Yeon Jeong Hun, Lee Young Ah, Lee Won Jong, Jang Hyun Sung

Plot: Prosecutor Min Tae-Yeon is bitten by somebody he doesn't know and becomes a vampire. Tae-Yeon rejects the life of a vampire and he survives by drinking the blood of dead people and still lives as a righteous prosecutor .

Tae-Yeon also uses his new found abilities as a vampire to prosecute powerful persons normally thought above the law. A mysterious case then occurs and the evidence points to a vampire as the perpetrator. Tae-Yeon now knows that he is not the only vampire. He also ponders why he became a vampire and what truths may lie behind their motives.



Oh My Ghostess

Cast: Park Bo Young, Jo Jung Suk, Kim Seul Gi, Im Joo Hwan, Park Jung Ah

Plot: Na Bong-Sun works as an assistant chef. Because of her timid personality and low self-esteem, she doesn't have any friends. Since she was a child, she has been able to ghosts because of her shaman grandmother. One day, she becomes possessed by seductress ghost Shin Soon-Ae.

Kang Sun-Woo is a star chef. Na Bong-Sun has a secret crush on him. He is good looking and confident as a chef. Even though he is popular with women, he has yet to get over his ex-girlfriend. He begins to notice Na Bong-Sun after her sudden change.

Joseon X-Files

Cast: Kim Ji Hoon, Lim Jung Eun, Jo Hee Bong, Kim Kap Soo

Plot: In this Joseon-era alternate history strange, possibly alien phenomena are secretly recorded by people within the government. Inspector Kim Hyung-Do finds himself working with this group as he hopes to uncover the truth that led to his mentor's death. While he eschews superstition and seeks logical, realistic explanations fellow investigator Heo Yoon-Yi approaches each case with an open mind and secrets of her own.

Sources: AsianWiki 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MyDramaList 1 2 3 4 5 Wikipedia 1

I personally hate horror movies and have only seen one of the listed movies, so thank you giriboy and sunsetsbaby for some suggestions. Omona, what are your favorite scary or supernatural movies or dramas? Drop any recommendations in the comments below!

Comments

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

Yiiiiiiiiis Train to Busan. I can never recommend this movie enough.

[ty.livejournal.com]

Is it gory? I mean like lots of killing and blood?

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

Not full on but there are intense scenes that would make you squeamish. D:

[ddeadmeat.livejournal.com]

probably not strictly horror but "helpless" starring kim min hee really made a lasting impression with me. save me was also very creepy.

[myungung.livejournal.com]

Train to Busan was so heartbreaking! but then again, anything with parental love hits me in the feels

And of course what's a horror list without A Tale of Two Sisters. It's been years since I last watched it, and I'm kinda tempted to rewatch it again.

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

I want to rewatch it but it makes me so sad!

[rally-pchan.livejournal.com]

yay white christmas made the list! lol

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

Train to Busan was so good and Gong Yoo stays the king of my heart. The Silenced was such a visually pleasing movie omg. It was really pretty. Especially the use of red. It also surprised me with the whole plot tbh lol I’m going to rewatch it. The Wailing I need to finish because I got to too scared and had to stop. Master’s Sun was one of the first dramas i watched and I love it.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Do finish The Wailing since it is amazing. Its not that scary in my opinion (but the scene in the cave with the priest & the Japanese guy is pretty scary) but I'm more blown away with the story as a whole. It is one of intelligent horror movies that do more than just scare you.

And if you dont understand the movie, here are the explanation of the whole thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/69vp0j/the_wailing_2016_comprehensive_analysis_and/

[ms-minniemaus.livejournal.com]

Yes, Train to Busan and A Tale of Two Sisters, watched the latter a few years ago and it was really creepy. Not sure if it matches the theme since it's more on the thriller/crime side, but I would recommend Memories of Murder.

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

[opd-sith.livejournal.com]

I know I've seen Apt, but it's kind of odd because I only knew about the movie due to my favorite Japanese band producing a song for the movie's soundtrack, so I didn't realize the movie was Korean (I saw it a long time ago).

[n3uromanc3r.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, the same situation with APT, although I was aware it was a Korean movie! :D

[genesisgrey.livejournal.com]

A Tale of Two Sisters is screwed up. It's a bit slow, but some of the visuals still give me nightmares.

[greasetastic-x.livejournal.com]

The first time I watched Train to Busan in the summer i recommended it to all of my friends but no one listened to me because subtitles blah blah blah. Finally managed to get my friend to watch it last week and she's watched it 3 times in the like 7 days.

Surprisingly I've only not seen 2 of the recommended movies.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Arang and the Magistrate is actually a really cute drama, I watched it a while ago.

[sunlight-kisses.livejournal.com]

i refuse to see anything with lee byung hun's trash ass

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I've seen the ones that aren't actually that scary cause I'm a chicken

Train to Busan - this was entertaining
Spellbound - typical romantic comedy
White Christmas - really creepy and atmospheric, plus hot guys, only 8 episodes so easy to binge
Master's Sun - fun/cute romantic comedy
Arang and the magistrate - fun/cute
Vampire prosecutor - worth watching
Oh my ghostess - was good until the end like many K-dramas
Joseon x-files - was ok

[by-venoms-sting.livejournal.com]

Great post! :)

Of these I've seen Train to Busan, The Silenced, The Wailing (I legit just watched it last week and it was amazing), White Christmas, and I'm currently watching Arang and the Magistrate (I took a break from it and now that I'm trying to get back to it Viki is being a pain in the ass and has loading issues that it didn't have before fml).

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I just got to ask you that did you get the whole brilliance of The Wailing when you finished the movie? I have to shamelessly admit that this is the only movie in the world that I dont get/understand when i finished it. Only when I watch the explanation video that I got the whole thing. The director was brilliant to shot the movie that way -- with the confusing plots and hints here and there scattered all over the movie -- no wonder is it a hit in Korea last year.

[by-venoms-sting.livejournal.com]

I had no idea there was an official~ explanation of things but I figured there was more than I was picking up on so that makes sense.

Idk how to put it but I just loved how the film kept me on my toes and made me second guess everything I was taking in through out the film. There was never a time that I felt certain of anything nor did I fully trust any character.

I feel like my words are kind of failing me now in this attempt at describing my experience watching but I was left feeling like the people in the film brought these villagers kind of helped create the terror themselves? Like the evil was invited in and when the strange woman was trying to get the dad cop to not go in the house... It was him being so set on being the savior his family needed that he couldn’t see that barging in wouldn’t change anything and that it was better to accept the help/advice that was giving even if the source wasn’t super trustworthy. I mean I’m probably totally wrong about all this but I was actually talking at the screen telling him to wait lol. The woman wasn’t reliable but it was only a whole five minute wait at the most and watching him be an ass through out the film (I mean I totally felt for him in regards to wanting his daughters suffering to end but he turn into a terrible person) I wanted to change course cause what he was doing wasn’t working. I was just really pissed at him lol.

Any ways I’m probably going to look up an explanation now. I really wanna know how the zombie stuff fit into everything lol and to see what religious references I didn’t get (that one biblical quote stayed with me through out the movie so there’s got to be more of that sort of inspiration going on)

[by-venoms-sting.livejournal.com]

Okie I just realized I could have summed up by thoughts of the central theme of the film in one gif.

[by-venoms-sting.livejournal.com]

Okie I read that reddit link you posted in another comment and I was both right and wrong about stuff.

Okie so I managed to pick up on the Japanese man being scared, him possibly trying to help, etc. but was still wary and with the end just concluded that I was right to not have fully trusted him.

Possession was on my mind through out the film and even considered that the Japanese man was some possessed undead being but when I was thinking of this I was in the mindset of him having been possessed since he arrived in the town. So him dying was just confirmation of him being undead not him having been alive and then possessed after death.

Another thing is me not trusting the strange woman had to do with her having witnessed murders and having done nothing to intervene (having the dead woman’s sweater and looking corpse-y at the end also had me like 👀) I thought she was involved in causing the deaths. I seem to have forgotten her saying that the Japanese man had been responsible for the deaths 🤦🏽♀️. This whole time I thought cop dad was a dumbass for not viewing her as a suspect.

Speaking of dad cop: I still hate him lol. He’s an idiot for putting so much stock in rumors (Japanese man must be the killer because he called one woman a skank?). The guy was so willing to believe in supernatural forces but can’t research into possession or how shamans work to figure that the Japanese man was trying to help? I stand by my previous statement that he brought this on himself in a way and that this was all about choices.

Also I must not have been paying attention cause I missed the entirety of the naked possessed woman scene cause when it came up later I was so lost and now it turns out that that was a crucial part of the movie lol.

I came away thinking everyone was evil which was the wrong take away clearly 🤦🏽♀️ . Me not having the right pieces of info lead to a not so clear picture as to what happened but I still managed to enjoy it which is kind of impressive? The film has enough compelling elements that things still managed to work~ for me to find it impressive without knowing the full story~ so to speak.

Now I know that it only the woman in white who was evil though I’m also going to try to convince anyone that the cop dad was also a villain. Omg I just realized he is just as annoying to me as the dad in The Witch.


I’m sorry for the long ass replies with on edit each meaning you’ve received six messages in total 😔

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Its okay. I love long replies!

I really think this movie is a masterpiece since it is so confusing, misleading, carefully written and at the same time can be interpreted into so many things. Actually the most popular interpretation is that the lady in white is the good guy while the 2 shamans are the evil guys. Thats what I thought when I finished the movie -- as confusing as it is, at the end, we see the Japanese guy turned into a devil and the shaman has all the dead people pictures in his possession.

But while reading the reddit explanation, I was wrong all the way through. :P It was the total opposite and all the hints and explanations explained all the inconsistencies that I find in the movie. It is weird that the Japanese guy has the shocked expression when he sees the dead body is missing or look totally scared when the cop dad and his friends are chasing him. It is because he is a normal human since if he is the devil, all this factor wont cost him anything as he is a spirit and human cant harm him. It also explained a lot of things esp at the end when he turned into a devil (esp after being dead). It also explained why he has all those dead people's photos and when his ritual failed, the zombie man come into life.

Its like the movie has double twist -- first you thought this person is evil and all the happenings in the movie supported your claim but later, you realized that you has it all wrong since it was the other way around. Like the reddit OP said;

'It is not surprising that a lot of people fell for the wrong interpretation. The movie ingeniously tries to sway the audience and lead them to false conclusions just as the evil spirit deceives and misdirects the people of the village. In oriental superstition evil spirits are notorious for their deceptive ability. They always choose deception to coax their victims rather than using a straightforward approach.'

It is the perfect statement to explain the movie as a whole. I'm really impressed! And lol at your annoyance at the cop dad. He is a ball of laughter in real life so I cant hate him. 8D

[by-venoms-sting.livejournal.com]

I’m glad my replies weren’t annoying :)

I should just focus on the things I actually managed to pick up on/got semi-right isn’t of kicking myself for missing details.

Lol it’s nice to hear that the cop dad is less annoying irl.

[sanctuairee.livejournal.com]

i'm interested in some of these but i'm a coward so i will be reading their summaries on wiki lol

[stepteen.livejournal.com]

Watched The Wailing with my bro n sis n they hated the movie. I personally love it n put it in my 1 of the best movie i ever seen, it was soo good.

Still tho, my sis n bro never watched korean movie before so i kinda expected that.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Why your brother and sister hated it? And do you mind telling me why you said it is one of the best movie you have ever seen? Do you really get the correlation between the shaman scene and the Japanese guy scene? Because I dont and I only understood it when I see the explanation video lol. :P

[stepteen.livejournal.com]

Haha. Korean movies have that typical ending that you have to use the brain more. They actually think it's an ghost story but no ghost actually appeared n tbh they got a bit dizzy cos the movie wasn't direct.

Tbh i didn't understand anything. Hahaha. I was like "why?? Ehh??? How could that happened??" I like the way the movie intrigued me like that n when it ends, i was like "wow, how could they even think of making this kind of story".

Same with you, i checked the explaination abt all the scenes after i watched it. I'm a Muslim,so i didn't understand any reference that involves the bible n buddha, so i was clueless abt the so-called 'signs' of who's evil n who's not. So that part was so fascinating.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Actually, I tried to convince my sister to watch it with me but she refused so I watched it on my own and like you, it was confusing as hell and I dont get the movie. This is a first time for me since I always understand complicated plots so I was pretty pissed lol.

I think the one that you read is the popular explanation that the girl in white is good while the other 2 shamans are the evil ones. But that theory has inconsistencies esp when we see the hints in the movie since the fact is actually the opposite.

This reddit explanation will blow your mind and further cemented why this movie is a masterpeice and clever despite being in the horror genre:

https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/69vp0j/the_wailing_2016_comprehensive_analysis_and/

[sodapab.livejournal.com]

This post reminds me to start watching Master's Sun, I've been meaning to do it for ages.
I want to watch Train to Busan even though I really don't like zombies ;~;

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I dont actually find many of the listed movies or dramas as creepy or scary -- probably because none of it as scary or chilling like The Exorcist. But I find many of listed movies as very entertaining.

A Tale of 2 Sisters are amazing and brilliant. I watched it gazillion of years ago and since I'm not really used to twist in horror movies yet at the time, the revelation scene really blows my mind at that time. 8D

I havent watch APT yet but is it really scary and worth to be watched?

[mentality34.livejournal.com]

Absolutely loved Train to Busan and The Wailing.

Surprised 혼 (Soul) wasn't listed under the drama list.

[dio-elaclaire.livejournal.com]

oh i've been planning to watch the silenced for a while now and i guess october is the perfect time for it~