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16 comments in total

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A Short, but Positive Review, 20 February 2007

Author: (delfette)

The brilliance of this film does not lie in its basic thriller plot nor its characters (The characters are not terribly interesting, but the film does not dwell long on their personal lives; The serial-killer plot, while over-used, is paced enough to keep interest.)

Truly, the one reason to watch this film is for the fact that everything--- every action, every line spoken--- leads up to the conclusion. This movie is so perfectly woven that there is not a hair, so to speak, out of place! How few movies are like this one!

Basically, if you want a good story, read a book. If you want a well done film, watch "H".

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
H is a psychological masterpiece from Asia., 19 April 2005

Author: racecaraddict2400 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

H by Jong-hyuk Lee is an amazing thriller with a plot twist at the end that will make you cringe. The film is definitely riffing off the American psychological cop drama, namely Seven and the Silence of the Lambs. That's what makes this film great. It takes those films, and takes it a step further. First, the film is shot beautifully. Second, the story follows three detectives who are tracking the crimes of a murderer who kills pregnant women and slashes their stomachs. Some of the murder scenes are totally gory. The three detectives are rather atypical personalities but it works well for the story….

The woman is short haired and is quiet, calm, and always smoking cigarettes. She's tough like Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. She is the one who counters the main character who is more like Brad Pitt in Seven. He's the fast talking guy, he's often late to the crime scenes because he's just not on top of things. And the third guy is the fat klutz who always trips over things and he's the comic relief.

As the film progresses, we discover that the murders of the pregnant women are done in the exact same way as murders done years ago by a murderer who was put in jail by these same detectives six months ago. The fast talking cop becomes the Clarice Starling as he goes to interview this Hannibal Lechter type character. Through these interviews, he tries to track down the new killer who is copying the murderer's past deeds.

Ultimately the twist ending is really intense, and you probably wont guess what it is….it's a lot cooler than putting the cop's wife's head in a box like in Seven. This movie is really creepy and the performances are great. It's definitely worth watching.

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7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Copycat..., 20 September 2005

Author: JoeytheBrit from Cambridgeshire, England

H is another of those moody Korean movies that moves at a deliberately slow pace. This measured approach to story-telling can sometimes add to the atmosphere of a strong well-told tale but, in this instance, it simply draws attention to numerous deficiencies in both plot and characterisation.

A couple of mismatched cops investigate a complex case involving a serial killer who targets pregnant women or women connected with abortions in some way. The murders are copies of those carried out by a man ten months earlier who gave himself up and now awaits execution. The cops initially suspect the original killer has hired someone to carry out the killings but, when they have caught the person they believe to be the murderer and the killings continue, a much less straightforward answer becomes apparent.

The Koreans seem to have a thing for slow and thoughtful movies, and there's nothing wrong with that if the storyline is strong, but this film borrows from too many other films – most notably Silence of the Lambs and Seven – to bolster a fairly thin yet paradoxically complicated plot. Strong on visuals – especially some extreme gore – there are a number of effective and well-staged scenes in H but it relies too much on a brooding heroine who betrays no emotion, and an excitable hero who would quite frankly be a liability in any police investigation. In fact the pair of them overlook obvious lines of investigation and generally stumble upon clues through luck or by drawing obscure – but accurate – conclusions from the vaguest of clues. Seung-woo Cheu makes a curiously uncharismatic villain in a role clearly modelled on Hannibal Lecter, and spouts enigmatic mumbo-jumbo about blue skies and an abyss that probably made no sense before its meaning was mangled by the translators responsible for some truly excruciating subtitles. And for all the moody atmospherics from first-time writer/director Jong-hyuk Lee, the film is almost completely devoid of any tension or suspense.

There are many exciting and inventive films coming out of South Korea these days, but unfortunately H isn't one of them. Of course that doesn't mean we won't be seeing an American remake within a year or two…

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8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
A rich film describing a core male dilemma, 23 October 2004
Author: svenbremberg (sven.bremberg@telia.com) from Stockholm

The frame is a thriller with victims and chasers. Yet, the content is richer. The description of females vs. males is especially intriguing. The main female characters Detective Kim Mi Yun and Dr. Chu Kyung-sook are both more intelligent than their male counterparts and they both stay cool while the males are either easily aroused or do not understand. It is true that all the victims are females. Yet, the killings are connected with the reproductive capacity of the females that the males do not possess and can not control. A main motive is the pregnant women's ability to kill their (male) foetuses. The most influential male character, Shin Hyun, murderer now in a prison, has a non sexual foetus like aura. The killings are carried out as revenge on the women for this ability, obviously and totally in vain. Thus, the film describes a core dilemma true for all males. However, I am not aware of a comparable open description in European literature of film. Yet, I have seen it in Japanese films (e.g. Shindo's Onibaba). – A most interesting film.

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11 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
I wanted to like it., 11 April 2004

Author: veganflimgeek (David@vegsandiego.com) from San Diego, CA

H

I am a huge fan of the Korean serial killer drama Tell me something. So when the review on the box of this movie said `tell me something esque' I thought I would give it a shot. My history with Korean films are hit or miss. This is a miss. I will say this the plot twist is something you would never see in American film. Of course you would also never see it in reality either.

The film is paced so boring. Maybe the moody feeling just doesn't translate but I think the film was going for the SEVEN moody feeling. The camera work was somewhat interesting. The gore was there. The acting was so so. In the end I kinda had to force myself to finish it.

I would say if you have a choice get `tell me something' instead.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Extreme...., 9 January 2006

Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

Tartan Asia "Extreme" doesn't really put out many "extreme" films, they seem to get the dregs and market them as such though. This one is not really all that bad but it's not exactly exciting. A serial killer in jail is thought to be in some way responsible for a continuing series of murders in the style that he favored. Three detectives on the case are struggling to find out if he's "hired" someone on the outside to follow in his footsteps although that doesn't seem possible. Most of the women being killed are pregnant and unwed, although there's a lesbian thrown in here and there for good measure. This was an OK watch but nothing terribly great, and certainly not "a cross between Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven" as the box says. Most of the Korean films I've seen have been on Tartan and they've been pretty mediocre....I'd say if you would like to see something that will chill you to the bone watch "Tell Me Something". 6 out of 10. Oh, and just when you've forgotten that it doesn't seem to mean anything the meaning of "H" is revealed at the end. Woo hoo.

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7 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
'H' stands for horrible, 1 February 2006

Author: resvon from United States

I could go on about the slow pace, bad acting, moodiness, implausibility, contrived and generally ridiculous plot line but suffice to say that I wish it was me getting a bullet in my head at the end of the movie.

The movie was dreadful. I'd recommend almost any other Korean movie over this. The sheer number of times I found myself scoffing at the actions of the characters, the plot "twists" or the character "dialogue" were too numerous to count.

Any deeper reading about the supposed message of the movie only serves to obscure the fact that this was one horrible flick.

The only positive comment I can make (as someone on the message boards noted) was some of the very interesting artwork; I quite liked it.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
The abyss, 31 December 2006

Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Copycat killings of a psychopath on death row named Shin Hyun(Seung-woo Cho, creepy in a chilling role)emerge as bodies of slashed pregnant women are found with their embryos forcefully extracted. Detective Kim(Jung-ah Yum)takes a special interest in this case because her fiancé committed suicide after accidentally letting Shin go before he murdered six women in a row. Interesting enough is Shin turned himself in. Wet-behind-the-ears Detective Kang(Jin-hee Ji, very good)becomes embroiled with the case desperately craving to catch those responsible for the murders, but his visits with Shin will alter his life forever. When interviewing Shin for answers as to whom might be responsible for copycatting his handiwork, he speaks in riddles never quite making himself clear. During the film, the detectives realize that Shin's therapist, Dr. Chu(Sun-kyung Kim), may have important information regarding Shin and if he is actually masterminding the killings behind bars.

If you are willing to accept certain unusual aspects that lead to killing innocent young women such as the possible angle dealing with hypnosis presented here, it might be much more compelling. The major tie in the film is the links to abortions carried out by several victims of Shin. Shin's past relationship with his mother is also a major source to the killings as well. Perhaps too slick for it's own good, this offering from Tartan Extreme is stylishly directed and quite well-acted. It could be seen as a bit contrived, but I found it fascinating from start to finish.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A suspenseful thriller with hints of "Seven" and "Silence of the Lambs", 20 April 2003

Author: Pedro-37 from Switzerland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"H" tells the story of two cops who encounter a series of gruesome murders. The victims were pregnant women - which leads the duo to a young killer who awaits his death penalty. Is another killer copying his crimes? Did the guy order someone to to it?

There are many clues that connect the film to "Silence of the Lambs" (imprisoned killer, cops hoping for help from the killer), but as the story progresses, there are more connections to "Seven": It's gritty, it has a serial killer who has some John-Doe-mannerisms. The female cop is the Morgan Freeman character, the impulsive male cop is Brad Pitt. Even the ending (no spoiler!) fits this line of thinking because of what happens to the "Pitt"-cop. This is vague enough so it won't spoil anything for you.

Because this ending is not what you might expect. The final reel of the film leaves the path of its American predecessors and follows an Asian film I'll mention below. Before that, I'll conclude that "H" is a suspenseful, gory, gritty, well acted thriller which is strongly directed by newcomer Jong-hyuk Lee. It steals a lot from other movies but better well stolen than badly invented.

My rating: 8/10

And now some spoiler: The film in the end resembles the Japanese thriller "The Hypnosist" - this also explains that the "H" of the title doesn't stand for heroin or something else you might have expected, but for hypnosis. The end credits even see the "H" move to the left and reveal the "full title". It's a nice twist for a nice film. But again: This ain't new, "The Hypnosist" or Kiyoshi Kurosawas "Cure" come to mind.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
I wanted to like this movie..... but people actually fall asleep watching this movie, 3 March 2006

Author: Dave bullis (nobull408@msn.com) from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

When I found this at the video store I thought this looked & sounded amazing. Oh what a disappointment. The film starts off, with a young girl's body being found in a garbage heap along with her newborn baby. From there, you are lead on a journey that looks promising but fails miserably. The Hannibal-Esq character is unconvincing & has no emotion. He spouts Nietzche/ German-Esq philosophy, meaning he speaks in hidden meanings. The film take forever to get "started" and by the time the all too expected plot twist happen, you don't care about any of the characters & just want the movie to end.

*SPOILER You find in the end, that the Hannibal-Esq character has used hypnosis to force people to copycat his killings. Even thought, it makes no sense. Yeah, don't bother.

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