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Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
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The Wig (2005)
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Su-Hyeon does not put on the wig straight away. She is too anxious to
get out of the hospital, and by the time she gets to her sisters home
the wig is so keen for some head that on a couple of occasions it waits
right in front of the door to Su-Hyeon's room. On the first occasion
Ji-Hyeon finds it and hangs it back up, but moments later, when
Su-Hyeon enters the room, the wig is once again waiting by the door.
She picks it up, sits in front of her mirror, and places the wig on her
head. From that moment on she is changed woman and her health improves
straight away. Her attitude also changes. The new and improved Ji-Hyeon
has much more self confidence and becomes a little too interested in
her sister’s boyfriend. She also starts having some rather nasty
hallucinations, and this is not the only price she has to pay for her
new lease of life because the evil power inside the wig seem to be
intent on possessing her completely.
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As already mentioned earlier in this review, The Wig has quite a
lot going for it. Some of the scenes really are quite scary, but the
story does not always flow as well as it should and it can be hard to
keep track of what is happening. Much of the blame for this possibly
falls on the shoulders of the Director, Shin-yeon Won. This was his
first film, and he was also partly responsible for the script, so he
may have been a little too close to the project to realize that some
viewers may struggle to understand what is happening and why.
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The strangest scene in the entire film shows Ji-Hyeon pulling pills out
of her scalp. There is a lot of blood, which makes it messy work, but
she does, at least, do it with a smile on her face. It’s quite a
disturbing scene to watch, cleverly done, and gruesome enough that it
may shock more squeamish viewers. It all seems a little pointless
though, because it does not really fit in with the context of the
story. Or if it does I failed to understand how.
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Overall, despite the fact that the story stumbles along rather than flows, I enjoyed watching The Wig. My favourite part is towards the end of the film when Su-Hyeon goes to the deserted wig factory, hoping to find her sister there. It’s a dingy-looking place and there are so many mannequin body parts strewn here there and everywhere, not to mention wigs and clumps of hair, that it creates quite an unnerving atmosphere. A few things begin to make sense in these final scenes, but the ending of the film, though tragic, is not particularly powerful. Having said that, some of the scenes work very well indeed and easily compensate for any problems with flow and script.
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The Wig is available to buy or rent on DVD, but at the time of this review Blu-ray options are not available. It's an enjoyable film, but viewers with a dislike of an intense dislike of subtitles may want to give this one a miss because—at the moment anyway—it is a case of reading the subtitles, learning to speak Korean, or waiting to see if Hollywood decides to remake the film for the English-speaking market. I’ll stick with the subtitles.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Runtime: 103 mins
Certificate: 15 (UK)
A
film about a cursed wig shouldn't work, the whole idea seems
ludicrous, but I am rather surprised to admit this Korean horror film
about a scary hairpiece has quite a lot going for it.