Death Bell
Encyclopedia
Death Bell 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.
1.3 billion, Death Bell is the feature film directorial debut of Chang, a former music video director, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kim Eun-kyeong. The film also marks the acting debut of Nam Gyu-ri
, a singer with K-pop
trio SeeYa, and stars veteran comic actor Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role.
. Post-production
on the film had been rushed in order to have it ready for the festival, and director Chang had to apologise for the poor state in which it was shown.
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. By its third week, Death Bell had climbed to second at the box office, and as of 14 September 2008 had grossed a total of $9,274,859.
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
. Nevertheless, the film attracted more than twice the number of viewers required to break even at the box office.
Death Bell was released on DVD on 8 November 2008.
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." 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. 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".
K-Horror
Korean horror, sometimes referred to as K-Horror, is the term given to horror films made as part of the cinema of Korea. Korean horror features many of the same motifs, themes, and imagery as Japanese horror. Korean horror has been around since the early years of Korean cinema; however, it wasn't...
film released over the summer of 2008, it is the first feature
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
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
K-pop
K-pop is a musical genre consisting of electropop, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originating in South Korea...
singer Nam Gyu-ri
Nam Gyu-Ri
Nam Gyu-ri is a South Korean singer and actress. She was a former member and leader of the Korean female trio, SeeYa...
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.
Plot
The film is set in a high school, where an elite group of twenty students—including rebellious heroine Kang Yi-na, her timid best friend Yoon Myong-hyo, and her suitor Kang Hyeon—are taking a special class for their college entrance exam. After Kang Yi-na is nearly strangled and another student throttled in the restroom, the classroom TV screen switches to an image of top-ranking student Hye-yeong trapped inside a fish tank that is slowly filling with water. A disembodied voice announces that her life depends on the exam questions he will set for them, and that a student will die for every question the class gets wrong. Trapped with the students are head teacher Hwang Chan-wook and English teacher Choi So-yeong. Yi-na realizes that the students are being killed in order of their rank in the class, and she is ranked fifth. Someone is slowly killing the students one by one, but who are they? And what do they want?Victims
- Min Hye-yeong was killed by drowning.
- Son Dong-Hyeok was killed by candle in the face.
- Cha Jae-Wook was killed by inflicted.
- Yoon Soo-jin was killed by rotary washing machine.
- Kang Yi-na suvived because she was the friend of murdered student Kim Ji-Won
- Hyeon(starring Kim Bum) was stabbed
- Yun Meong-Hyo was killed from the ceiling(she was dropped head first)
- Hwang Chang-Wook, teacher, was killed by the father of Kim Ji-Won.
- Criminal: Kim Ji-Won's Father and Mother.
Question & Answers
- 1st : Solve mathematical problems that are listed here by combining all of the answer is a complete one. It ligne. => Unknown.
- 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 kanji in the auditorium. => 過而不改是謂過矣.
- 3rd : Kim Ji-Won previously ranked first in the spring died. Complete the sentence associated with it,one fine spring day,remember the auditorium .
- 4th : By changing the spelling of text in front of the new Please complete the sentence. => I know who killed me. My anger will endure,face the truth.
- 5th : To open the door to know the password. When in front of the problem is stated. After understanding the problem to find answers to finding out the 4-digit password. => 1320.(it meaning '1st grade, 3th class and 20th student, Kim Ji-Won')
- 6th :2 years ago one fine spring day my daughter was murdered by someone with a bear-shaped key chain,who is it? only the culprit know the answer.you step forward and confess your sin,if you dont,everyone here will die. => Hwang Chang-wook. Kang Yi-na's Teacher. He was killed by Kim Ji-won's father.
Cast
- Lee Beom-soo as Hwang Chang-wook (teacher)
- Yoon Jung-hee as Choi So-yeong (English teacher)
- Nam Gyu-riNam Gyu-RiNam Gyu-ri is a South Korean singer and actress. She was a former member and leader of the Korean female trio, SeeYa...
as Kang I-na - Kim BumKim BumKim Bum is a South Korean actor and model. He is best known as So Yi Jeong in "Boys Over Flowers".-Television:-Film:-Kim Bum:#Intro #성탄 전야의 하늘 #지금, 만나러 갑니다...
as Kang Hyeon - Son Yeo Eun as Yoon Myong-hyo (Ina's Best friend)
- Ham Eun-jeongHam Eun-jeongHam Eun-jeong is a South Korean idol singer, rapper, dancer and actress. She rose to prominence with her status as a member of K-pop girl group T-ara.- Biography :...
as Kim Ji-won
Production
Shot on HD video with a budget of ₩South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
1.3 billion, Death Bell is the feature film directorial debut of Chang, a former music video director, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kim Eun-kyeong. The film also marks the acting debut of Nam Gyu-ri
Nam Gyu-Ri
Nam Gyu-ri is a South Korean singer and actress. She was a former member and leader of the Korean female trio, SeeYa...
, a singer with K-pop
K-pop
K-pop is a musical genre consisting of electropop, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originating in South Korea...
trio SeeYa, and stars veteran comic actor Lee Beom-soo in his first horror film role.
Release
The only Korean horror film to be produced in the summer of 2008, Death Bell made its premiere in July 2008 at the 12th Puchon International Fantastic Film FestivalPuchon International Fantastic Film Festival
The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival , or PiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea...
. Post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
on the film had been rushed in order to have it ready for the festival, and director Chang had to apologise for the poor state in which it was shown.
Released on 6 August 2008 in 366 theatres nationwide, the film grossed $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2,370,785 and received 575,231 admissions on its opening weekend, placing it third at the local box office. By its third week, Death Bell had climbed to second at the box office, and as of 14 September 2008 had grossed a total of $9,274,859.
Death Bell had looked set to become the second most popular Korean horror film after A Tale of Two Sisters
A Tale of Two Sisters
A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film written and directed by Kim Ji-woon...
, 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
R-Point
R-Point is a 2004 Korean horror film written and directed by Su-chang Kong and starring Gam Wu-seong and Son Byung-ho. It is set in 1972 Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. However, most of the movie was shot in Cambodia...
and Wishing Stairs
Wishing Stairs
Wishing Stairs is a 2003 South Korean K-Horror film. It is the third in a series of South Korean horror films set in girls high schools that began with 1998's Whispering Corridors, but, as with all movies in the series so far, is unrelated to the others; apart from a song being sung in one scene...
. Nevertheless, the film attracted more than twice the number of viewers required to break even at the box office.
Death Bell was released on DVD on 8 November 2008.
Critical response
Derek Elley of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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." 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. 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".