Asian Film Festival: LEGEND OF THE EVIL LAKE (Korea, 2003) June 24, 2004

92 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
Directed by: Lee Gwang-Hun
Starring: Jeong Jun-Ho, Kim Hyo-Jin, Kim Hye-Ri

Selected by Kodak to receive a special screening at the 2003 Asian Film Market in Singapore , due to its lush cinematography, this Korean/Chinese co-production is a throwback to the Hong Kong fantasy films that thrilled audiences in the 1990's. Racing for the finish line like a wild horse, this lean, mean thrill machine kicks into gear with the ethnic cleansing of the Moon Tribe by the Shilla dynasty who pin the evil spirit of the Tribe's leader to the earth with an enchanted sword. Jump ahead a thousand years, to AD 896, and the Shilla Queen, Chinsong (Kim Hye-Ri), is preoccupied by revolts that threaten to destabilize the kingdom, and she's nursing an unrequited crush on her general, Biharang (Jeong Jun-Ho), who's in love with a little carefree peasant girl, Jaunbi (Kim Hyo-Jin), whose dad was a rebel sympathizer (before he was executed). Wouldn't you know it? Jaunbi yanks the cursed sword out of the ground, gets possessed by the spirit of the Moon Tribe and starts flying around and exploding people.

Sporting a tight focus on its central cast, well-executed CGI and martial arts choreography by Hong Konger, Yuen Tak (who trained with Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan as a kid), LEGEND OF THE EVIL LAKE is a zippy, guilt-free thrill ride. Plus, there's an evil possessed chick, like a medieval Carrie, at the center of this Tootsie Pop, and that automatically makes everything cooler. With miles of billowing silk, piles of dismembered limbs, gaggles of clashing armies and a possessed commoner who likes to split people in two with her mind, Hong Kong fans will feel like they've stepped back through a time warp to a happier era when movies were all about entertaining absolutely everyone very, very quickly.

TICKETS - http://www.subwaycinema.com/frames/nyaff04tickets.htm