| Spellbound | |
| Producer: | An Young-jin |
| Music: | Lee Jae-jin |
| Cinematography: | Lee Doo-man |
| Editing: | Steve M. Choe |
| Distributor: | CJ Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 114 minutes |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Language: | Korean |
| Gross: | [1] |
Spellbound (; lit. "Chilling Romance"), also known as My Girlfriend Can See Ghosts, is a 2011 South Korean horror romantic comedy film, starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki.[2] It is about a magician who falls in love with a woman who can see ghosts. It was written and directed by Hwang In-ho which also marks his directorial debut.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Jo-goo, a street magician (Lee Min-ki), notices a miserable looking girl, Yeo-ri (Son Ye-jin), in the audience during one of his performances, and she winds up being the inspiration for his “Horror magic show.” The show becomes a runaway success almost overnight and Jo-goo in turn, is now a successful stage magician with a model girlfriend. Yeo-ri works for Jo-goo, playing the specter in his show. Forward to almost a year later, the darkness inside her, something her colleagues sense, keeps her from truly connecting with them. When Jo-goo's attempts to include Yeo-ri in a staff dinner finally succeeds, hilarious disaster ensues when she ends up blindingly drunk. Jo-goo calls Yeo-ri the next morning to sort things out, but when the phone disconnects with a weird sound, he decides to drop by her place for a visit instead. There, Jo-goo meets and engages in a game of hide-and-seek with a ghost child, which then scares him later that night. As the two of them spend more time together, developing a fast friendship, Yeo-ri confesses the long story behind her gray, wan face.
Yeo-ri has acquired an 'unwanted' ability to see the dead ever since she survived a high school automobile accident. She not only sees dead people, but these 'dead people' also appear in her life on a regular basis. In particular, the vengeful ghost of her best friend Joo-hee, who died during that automobile incident, follows her everywhere scaring people around her relentlessly. Yeo-ri eventually ends up leading a solitary life, even her family has fled the country and left her behind. She sleeps in a tent in her living room, speaks to a friend sometimes and only through the phone, resigning herself to the idea that her solitary life is best in the grand scheme of things.
During the course of Jo-goo's failed attempts to find his lonely friend Yeo-ri a boyfriend, the pair start to develop feelings for each other. And though Jo-goo is sometimes scared witless himself, he loves Yeo-ri enough to overcome his fear. Joo-hee, consumed by jealousy, becomes a threat during the show, prompting Yeo-ri to head off to join her family in order to protect Jo-goo from herself and the ghost. Is getting away going to be that easy, or does Joo-hee have more tricks up her sleeves?[8] [9]
The film sold 590,232 tickets during its opening weekend of December 9 to 11, and grossed in its first week of release.[18] [19] It received 1.6 million admissions after two weeks,[20] 1.91 million by December 18,[21] and more than 2.29 million by December 21.[22] In total, the film had 3,009,356 admissions nationwide, with a gross of after six weeks of screening,[23] making it the 7th top-grossing Korean film of 2011, and by far the most successful Korean romantic comedy in recent years.[24]
A Philippine adaptation of Spellbound was released on February 1, 2023 by Viva Films. The film stars Bela Padilla and Marco Gumabao.[25]