Death Bell

Death Bell

Theatrical poster
Hangul 고死: 피의중간고사
Hanja 考死: 피의中間考査
Revised Romanization Gosa: piui junggangosa
McCune–Reischauer Kosa: p‘iŭi chunggangosa
Directed by Nayato Fio Nuala
Chang
Produced by Hong Jung-pyo
Im Seong-been
Written by Chang
Kim Eun-kyeong
Starring Lee Beom-soo
Yoon Jung-hee
Nam Gyu-ri
Kim Bum
Son Yeo-eun
Music by Kim Jun-seong
Cinematography Heo Seong-ryong
Edited by Yu Yeong-ju
Production
company
Distributed by SK Telecom (South Korea)
Mirovision (International)
Release dates
  • August 6, 2008 (2008-08-06)
Running time
 88 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Budget ₩1.3 billion
Box office US$9,274,859
Nam Gyu Ri at Death Bell premiere

Death Bell (Hangul: 고死: 피의 중간고사; RR: Gosa: Piui Junggangosa) is a 2008 South Korean film. The only Korean horror film released over the summer of 2008, it is the first feature by former music video director Chang (real name Yoon Hong-seung), who also co-wrote the screenplay. Death Bell stars Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role, and K-pop singer Nam Gyu-ri in her acting debut. Set in a Korean high school, the film's native title refers to gosa, the important midterm exams that all students are required to sit.[1]

Plot

A group of 20 high school students partake an elite class to prepare college exam. Among them are the rebellious Kang I-na, her best friend Yoon Myong-heo, and the class clown Kang Hyun, who harbors an affection for I-na. After several strange incidents, the class is interrupted by a TV showing of the top-ranking student, Min Hye-yeong, being trapped in a glass being slowly filled with water. A voice over the PA system announces that questions will be posed to the class; failure to answer them in time will lead to their death. It also warns them and their two teachers, Hwang Chang-wook and Choi So-yeong, against leaving the school. The class fails to solve the first question to save Hye-yeong.

Despite the warning, the class tries to leave, only to find that a teacher and hall monitor, Mr. Lee, was beaten to death, leaving only Mr. Kim to guard them. The students split up and try to answer the questions while also attempting to find a way out. Several students die, then Beom, who earlier tries to strangle I-na and was put in a mental facility, escapes and attempts to kill I-na, but Hyun shields her from the attack and dies. Chang-wook then kills Beom. I-na discovers to her horror that Myong-heo has also been kidnapped by a mysterious woman. They fail to save her and Chang-wook strangles the woman to death.

A memorial is held for the students killed, then I-na is kidnapped unnoticed. One final question is posed: have the person who killed his daughter step forward and confess. The person in question, a now-demented Chang-wook, reveals himself and is killed by the mastermind, who turns out to be Mr. Kim. I-na is then freed by So-yeong.

Flashbacks reveal that Kim's daughter, Kim Ji-won, worked hard to enter the elite class. However, the parents of the killed students bribed Chang-wook for the entrance test answers, giving them an unfair advantage. After being disqualified and finding out about the fact, Ji-won confronted Chang-wook and he kills her to cover up his misconduct. The sole witness to the incident, Beom, slowly became mad as he felt that Ji-won had been haunting him ever since. Mr. Kim and his wife (the woman who hang Myong-heo) decided to kill Chang-wook and all the students whose parents they deem responsible for their daughter's death.

The film closes with I-na seeing that she tops the class ranking, and it is implied that Beom's attacks was due to her being possessed by Ji-won since the beginning.

Deaths

  1. Min Hye-Yeong - drowned in an enclosed glass tank.
  2. Mr. Lee - beaten to death off screen.
  3. Sohn Dong-Hyuk - Suffocated with candle wax, then dropped from the ceiling to the gym floor.
  4. Cha Jae-Wook - killed by blood loss from hundreds of cuts, then his mouth was stuffed with flower petals.
  5. Yoon Soo-Jin - stuffed into a washing machine, then someone turned it on.
  6. Kang Hyun - stabbed repeatedly by Beom, the "crazy" student who is haunted by Ji-won's ghost
  7. Cho Beom (the crazy student)- hit in the head with a rock by Hwang Chang-Wook
  8. Yoon Myung-Hyo - dropped from the ceiling head-first.
  9. Kim Ji-Won's Mother - strangled by Hwang Chang-Wook
  10. Hwang Chang-Wook - stabbed by the father of Kim Ji-Won.

Question & Answers

  1. 1st : Solve all of equations which are written down to a blackboard, and combine them into one complete answer in time. => Unknown. There are 2 equations of circle: x^2+y^2-10x+12y+57=0 (Central point coordinate and radius are (5, -6), 2, respectively), and x^2+y^2-10x-4y+25=0(Central point coordinate is (5, 2), radius is 2 as well). This will be a hint for the answers.
  2. 2nd : No. 2 overall ranking sins committed by the student's mother indicated eora of eight characters to Hanja. And then find the answers to show the hanja in the auditorium. => 知足不辱 知止不殆(Hangul: 지족불욕 지지불태).
  3. 3rd : Kim Ji-Won—previously ranked first on spring—died. Complete the sentence associated with it. => "One fine spring day, remember the auditorium." (Hangul: 따뜻한 봄날의 강당을 기억해.)
  4. 4th : By changing the spellings of the text, please complete the sentence. => It consists of several kinds of anagram, associated with the array of old cell phone keypad. The answer is here: "I know who killed me. My anger will endure, face the truth." (Hangul: 나는 누가 죽였는지 알고 있다. 나의 분노는 멈추지 않을 것이다. 진실을 대면하라.)
  5. 5th : Input the number as password by resolving these association with this number sequence. Then, Speak the meaning of the number. You have only one chance. : 5685 -> 2485 -> ? => 1320. To solve, Focus on the inner 2-digit number. Multiply each 1-digit (6 X 8 = 48), and Focus on the outer side numbers (5, 5), and then multiply each 1-digit (5 X 5 = 25), Then the next sequence is 2485. Repeat this once more: 1320. (it meaning '1st grade, 3rd class and 20th student, Kim Ji-Won')
  6. 6th : "2 years ago, on one fine spring day, my daughter was murdered by someone with a bear-shaped key chain.. who is it? Only the culprit would know the answer. Step forward and confess your sin; if you don't, everyone here will die." => Hwang Chang-Wook, Kang I-na's Teacher.

Cast

Production

Shot on HD video with a budget of ₩1.3 billion,[2][3] Death Bell is the feature film directorial debut of Chang, a former music video director,[4] who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kim Eun-kyeong. The film also marks the acting debut of Nam Gyu-ri,[4] a former singer with K-pop trio SeeYa, and stars veteran comic actor Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role.[5]

Release

The only Korean horror film to be produced in the summer of 2008,[5] Death Bell made its premiere in July 2008 at the 12th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.[2] Post-production on the film had been rushed in order to have it ready for the festival,[6] and director Chang had to apologise for the poor state in which it was shown.[7]

Released on 6 August 2008 in 366 theatres nationwide, the film grossed $2,370,785 and received 575,231 admissions on its opening weekend, placing it third at the local box office.[8][9] By its third week, Death Bell had climbed to second at the box office,[10] and as of 14 September 2008 had grossed a total of $9,274,859.[11]

Death Bell had looked set to become the second most popular Korean horror film after A Tale of Two Sisters, which attracted more than 3 million viewers in 2003; however, admissions of 1,636,149 (as of 14 September 2008) were less than those recorded by R-Point and Wishing Stairs.[4][9][12] Nevertheless, the film attracted more than twice the number of viewers required to break even at the box office.[13]

Death Bell was released on DVD on 8 November 2008.[14]

Critical response

Derek Elley of Variety found Death Bell to have a "neat concept" with "enough shocks and gore to keep genre addicts contented", and commented, "After a fairly conventional half-hour setup, the pic keeps the tension high with tight cutting and a no-flab script that ups the student body count in some especially inventive ways. Solution to the whodunit is less convincing than the lead-up, with a finale that doesn't deliver on expectations. But the journey there is fine, with Lee, better known for comedy, interestingly cast as the students' tough prof."[6] Kyu Hyun Kim of Koreanfilm.org was more critical of the film, saying, "Death Bell annoyingly combines prettified, slick visual filmmaking (but with no real depth) and gag-inducing torture porn excesses: it's simultaneously tepid and lackluster on the one hand and gross and offensive on the other"; he also regarded the screenplay as a "fetid mess" with an unconvincing central premise, but gave credit to the performance of Lee Beom-soo.[15] A review for Twitch also labelled the film's premise as "ridiculous", going on to say, "Lee Beom-Soo certainly tries, and the tempo keeps building decently until the end, but there’s really no vibe to it. It’s just a succession of tortures and murders, with no sense of surprise, no interest... [and] no thematic consciousness whatsoever".[3]

See also

Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Korean Slasher GOSA (DEATH BELL) Coming To DVD!". Twitch, 3 November 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  2. 1 2 D'sa, Nigel. "Korean Films at the 12th PiFan". Korean Film Council, 18 July 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  3. 1 2 "[K-FILM REVIEWS] 고死 (Death Bell)". Twitch, 4 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Yi Ch’ang-ho. "Gosa is unafraid of big-budget competitors". Korean Film Council, 22 August 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  5. 1 2 "He's one of the most recognized comical actors in Korea - Lee Beom-soo!". Arirang. Retrieved on 5 November 2005.
  6. 1 2 Elley, Derek. ""Death Bell"". Variety, 2 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  7. ↑ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "2008 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  8. ↑ "South Korea Box Office August 8–10, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  9. 1 2 South Korean Box Office for Death Bell. "Death Bell (2008) - 고死: 피의 중간고사". HanCinema. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  10. ↑ "South Korea Box Office August 22–24, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  11. ↑ "South Korea Box Office September 12–14, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  12. ↑ R-Point received 1,689,000 admissions in 2004. "Ranked Box-Office Results" (2004). Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  13. ↑ Jang Jiyun. "Low Budget Films Gaining Popularity With Good Storylines". Arirang, 24 September 2008. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  14. ↑ "Korean horror DEATH BELL aka Gosa on DVD". 24framespersecond. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.
  15. ↑ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Death Bell". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on 5 November 2008.

External links

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