Seire
Directed by
Kang Park
DVD
Also available on:
According to Korean folk tradition, the 21-day period after childbirth is known as “seire.” During this time, a newborn is vulnerable to bad luck, curses, and even evil spirits. Many superstitions surround these first three weeks, and new mother Hae-mi carefully follows every one of them. Her husband, Woo-jin, reluctantly plays along, but when he attends an ex-girlfriend’s funeral, he unwittingly opens the door to dark supernatural dangers. Haunted by terrible nightmares, Woo-jin gradually begins to unravel the mystery behind the ominous events plaguing him and his family in Kang Park's "chilling indie horror debut" (Screen Anarchy) which heralds the arrival of a fresh new voice in Korean genre cinema.
Cast
- Seo Hyun-woo
- Sun-young Ryu
- Eun-woo Shim
DVD Features
Discs: 1
- "A first-time father experiences a bad case of the “baby blues” in Korean writer-director Park Kang’s engrossingly steely feature-length directorial debut Seire. Named after the three-week period during which, according to traditions, a newborn is especially vulnerable to misfortune, the film balances psychological probings and potentially supernatural elements in deliberately disorienting and accomplished fashion. "
- "Superstition and fatherhood collide in Park Kang's crisply staged and chilling indie horror debut Seire.... Kang has a firm command of the tone of his tightly paced story.... [N]o matter how perceptive you think you may be as a viewer, the film's gleeful climax will be a welcome and wicked surprise."
- "Dark and eerie in great form, Seire is a stunner."
- "Seire... offers a lot of oneiric weirdness, shocking gross-out effects, and some moments of genuine, pitch-black humor, all of which make it worth seeking out"
- "{A]s intriguing as it is unsettling. Seire is stunning. It’s atmospheric, compelling and really good at sustaining tension. "
- "Park Kang crafts a smart, spine-tingling ghost story that showcases how close we are to terror. "
- "Seire does a great job of mixing two popular horror sub-genres with solid filmmaking and excellent acting."
- "**** (Four stars) [A] slow burn of a film which disturbs and unsettles, recalling insomniac night and too-bright mornings, a familiar world where everything seems slightly askew. It teases viewers by raising relentless questions which it never fully answers, but is all the better for preserving that element of mystery. "
- "[H]ugely effective. Recommended for fans of “elevated” horror."
Awards & Recognition
Winner
FIPRESCI Prize
Busan Int'l. Film Festival
FIPRESCI Prize
Busan Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature
Fantasia Int'l. Film Festival.
New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature
Fantasia Int'l. Film Festival.
Official Selection
Telluride Horror Film Festival
Telluride Horror Film Festival
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