"Memento Mori" (1999) is loosely associated with the first in the quadrilogy "Whispering Corridors" (1998), but aside from being set in an all girl's school and centering around the harsh social stigmas and stresses of Korean education... with a ghost or two thrown in... it has nothing to do with its predecessor. Not only is the story completely unrelated but more notably the cinematic style and approach is totally different. While "Whispering Corridors" was a plot-driven thriller with suspense and a few scares, "Memento Mori" is more of an art house film with a poetic quality that may be hard to follow at first, but it's ultimately a very impressive film.
The story is about a girl who mysteriously dies at school, evidently having fallen or been pushed off the roof. What follows is a very cryptic piecing together of the puzzle. It happens in disjoint flashbacks, dream/fantasy sequences and frequent wtf departures from reality, so you better be prepared to be confused. However, even if you don't grasp the entirety of what's being told (and if you're struggling to keep up with subtitles), the film masterfully conveys enough of a mood that you feel what's happening even if you don't grasp every plot element.
The presentation is very stylistic with interesting camera angles and perspectives, often using hyper closeups on seemingly trivial items. But this is precisely what gives it a poetic quality. The visuals are crystal clear even on my 480p DVD player, so even though this hasn't been released on blu-ray, it's very pleasing to the eye. So if you were less than impressed by the grainy, murky DVD release of "Whispering Corridors" this will wake you up.
It's definitely not a horror flick. In case you missed that in my title I want to repeat it again because anyone expecting jumps & scares will be very disappointed. Although there's a creepy, menacing vibe throughout the whole film, it's more along the lines of "The Others" or "The Sixth Sense" or (the original) "Wicker Man".
Oh, I have to mention the acting is incredible. Unlike "Whispering Corridors" where many of the characters were (deliberately) two-dimensional, "Memento Mori" presents characters who are extremely complex and hard to figure out. There's no clearcut good guy/bad guy approach; it's truly a mystery as we piece together who's who. "Memento Mori" demands your full attention as it doesn't always spell everything out for you. But if you like a challenge, don't miss this one.
The story is about a girl who mysteriously dies at school, evidently having fallen or been pushed off the roof. What follows is a very cryptic piecing together of the puzzle. It happens in disjoint flashbacks, dream/fantasy sequences and frequent wtf departures from reality, so you better be prepared to be confused. However, even if you don't grasp the entirety of what's being told (and if you're struggling to keep up with subtitles), the film masterfully conveys enough of a mood that you feel what's happening even if you don't grasp every plot element.
The presentation is very stylistic with interesting camera angles and perspectives, often using hyper closeups on seemingly trivial items. But this is precisely what gives it a poetic quality. The visuals are crystal clear even on my 480p DVD player, so even though this hasn't been released on blu-ray, it's very pleasing to the eye. So if you were less than impressed by the grainy, murky DVD release of "Whispering Corridors" this will wake you up.
It's definitely not a horror flick. In case you missed that in my title I want to repeat it again because anyone expecting jumps & scares will be very disappointed. Although there's a creepy, menacing vibe throughout the whole film, it's more along the lines of "The Others" or "The Sixth Sense" or (the original) "Wicker Man".
Oh, I have to mention the acting is incredible. Unlike "Whispering Corridors" where many of the characters were (deliberately) two-dimensional, "Memento Mori" presents characters who are extremely complex and hard to figure out. There's no clearcut good guy/bad guy approach; it's truly a mystery as we piece together who's who. "Memento Mori" demands your full attention as it doesn't always spell everything out for you. But if you like a challenge, don't miss this one.