Urban Myths (film) explained

Urban Myths
Native Name:
Hangul:서울괴담
Hanja:서울怪談
Rr:Seoulgoedam
Director:Hong Won-ki
Starring:
Editing:Han Young-kyu
Distributor:Megabox JoongAng PlusM
Runtime:123 minutes
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Gross: $811,092

Urban Myths (is a 2022 South Korean anthology horror film, consisting of ten stories directed by debutant director Hong Won-ki, featuring Kim Do-yoon, Lee Yul-eum, Lee Young-jin and Lee Su-min. The omnibus film presents stories where horror is felt in familiar everyday life places like noise between floors, old furniture, mannequins, tunnel and social media. It was released theatrically on April 27, 2022.[1]

Stories

[2]

StoryTitleMain castSynopsis
1"Tunnel" (터널, Teoneol)Kim Do-yoonOne night, Gi-hoon is returning from a fishing trip in his car, as he comes near a tunnel, he sees handprints over his windshield. He tries to activate the wiper to clean them off, but these are still there. He cleans them from inside, and they all go. Is he alone or...? The truth comes out when he enters the tunnel ahead...
2"The Woman in Red" (빨간옷, Ppalgan-ot)Lee Yul-eum[3] Soo-jin attends Hyeon-joo's funeral, whom she bullied. There, she hears that Hyeon-joo has committed suicide. After her funeral, she is tormented by visions of a woman in red. And there is no escape from it.
3"Tooth Worms" (치충, Chi-chung)Lee Ho-wonA man complained of endless toothache visits the dentist (Choong Jae), but Choong Jae was not able to find the cause of it. Only after consulting his mentor and doing research in the library does he realise the toothaches are more than it.
4"Necromancy" (혼숨, Honsum)Lee Su-min, ArinTwo teen girls named Ji-hyeon and Hye-yeon were best friends. They shared dreams and interests and made wild promises, and one such promise was to perform necromancy ritual if the other ever died. When Hye-yeon dies, Ji-hyeon in her grief honors the promise and successfully brings back Hye-yeon's soul, but soon after, she finds out that she shouldn't have...
5"The Wall" (충간소음, Chung-gansoeum)Jeong Won-chang, ExyJeong-gyoon (Jeong Won-chang) moves into a new dorm and hears noise coming from the wall next to him, but he doesn't care. The next day, he meets a woman (Exy) and has an affair. But the problem is that the room is noisy from the wall in her room.
6"The Closet" (중고가구, Jung-gogagu)SeolaJi Hye is looking for a cloest to fit her house, after finding a cheap closet from the creepy owner, she starts to get experience sleepless nights due to something touching her, is there something wrong with the closet...?
7"Ghost Marriage" (혼인, Honin)Lee Min-hyuk, Lee Young-jin[4] Jae Hoon was in an interview for a new job, but strangely, the interview asked for his time of birth and his name in Hanja. Despite warning from his friend that the interview is shady, he managed to prevail and got the job. But soon he finds out the job comes with a "Marriage".
8"The Girl in the Mirror" (얼굴도둑, Eolguldoduk)Seo Ji-soo Hyeon-joo works in a cosmetic shop and is obsessed with her beauty. In order to be an influencer to get sponsorship for cosmetics, she starts to take pictures and post on social media to gain more followers, but is that the only way...?
9"A Mannequin" (마네킹, Maneking)ShownuJong Chan works for a warehouse that stores Mannequin. There are stories of extra mannequins found that do not belong and are human-like. One day after work, Jong Chan saw an old man talking to mannequin that turned around and stared at him. Is that mannequin alive?
10"Escape Games" (방탈출, Bangtalchul)Bong Jae-hyun, AleXa, Ju Hak-nyeon[5] Se-ri (AleXa) is a famous social media influencer and escape room expert with Nu-ri (Ju Hak-nyeon) and Young-min (Bong Jae-hyun) accepts the huge sponsorship of 10 million won on the condition of escaping the special escape room but the greater the reward, the greater the risk.

Cast

"Tunnel"

"The Woman in Red"

"Tooth Worms"

"Necromancy"

"The Wall"

"The Closet"

"Ghost Marriage"

"The Girl In The Mirror"

"A Mannequin"

"Escape Games"

Production

Principal photography began on April 29, 2021.[11]

Release and reception

The film will be released in 13 countries overseas including Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan in May 2022.[12]

Box office

The film was released on 474 screens on April 27, 2022.[13] [14] It was placed at 3rd place at domestic box office on opening day.[15]

As of May 15, it is at 13th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2022, with gross of $811,092 and 109,017 admissions.[16]

Critical response

Kim Na-yeon of Star News writing about the format said, "[it is] eye-catching" and "the story that breaks the boundaries between reality and ghost stories is the sufficient 'virtue' of this film." She praised the performances of idols and wrote, "these actors completely erased concerns about their acting skills, and only made use of their strengths." Kim was also critical of the story as she wrote, "it seems that the 'poorness' of the story could not be filled even with the passionate performances of the actors who made use of each episode". Kim didn't appreciate the "excessive sound that appears every time before an important scene", and the transforming of "a character into a zombie or a bizarre monster" as it "can come as an unpleasant feeling rather than a fear."[17]

Lee Yoo-chae writing for Cine21 stated that idols appearing in the short stories and making different facial expressions is a "special gift for fans in that you can see a different side of your favorite star". Lee concluded by writing, "Overall, it is a mild-tasting horror film with less tension because it is easy to predict when something will come out." Lee further stated, "Contrary to the title, it is also unfortunate that the characteristics of the city of Seoul do not stand out."[18]

Notes and References

  1. News: 셔누·주학년→아린 스크린 데뷔 어떨까..'서울괴담', 메인 예고편 공개 . Shownu, Hakyeon Joo → How about making a debut on Arin's screen... 'Seoul Ghost Story', main trailer released . Kim Na-yeon . Star News . Naver . April 8, 2022 . April 22, 2022 . ko . April 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220422085203/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/108/0003042977 . live .
  2. Web site: Urban Myths - (Korean Movie, 2022, 서울괴담). April 22, 2022. HanCinema. April 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220421230707/https://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_Urban_Myths.php. live.
  3. News: 이열음의 공포 연기...간담이 서늘한 '서울괴담'. Lee Yeol-eum's horror acting... 'Seoul ghost story' with a cool chatter. Jeong Ji-eun. KBS Entertainment. Naver. April 27, 2022. April 28, 2022. ko. April 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428141002/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/438/0000046100. live.
  4. News: '서울괴담' 이영진, 눈만 마주쳐도 긴장될 듯 '섬뜩 연기'. 'Seoul Ghost Story' Lee Young-jin, 'spooky acting' seems to make you nervous just by making eye contact. Yoon Hyo-jeong. News 1. Naver. April 28, 2022. April 28, 2022. ko. April 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428141002/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/movie/article/421/0006060301. live.
  5. News: 알렉사, 美경연 이어 '서울괴담'으로 스크린 진출..핫 행보. Alexa advances to the screen with 'Seoul Ghost Story' following the US contest.. Hot move. Moon Wan-shik. Star News. Naver. April 28, 2022. April 28, 2022. ko. April 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220427232222/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/108/0003048625. live.
  6. News: [D:현장] 스타 뮤비 감독 홍원기, 셔누→설아…아이돌 군단 꾸려 스크린 도전]. [D:Site] Star MV Director Wonki Hong, Shownu → Seolah… Form an idol corps and challenge the screen. Ryu Ji-yoon. Dailyan. Naver. April 18, 2022. April 18, 2022. ko. April 18, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220418094727/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/movie/article/119/0002595403. live.
  7. News: '서울괴담' 이열음 "실제 촬영때 몰입해 무서웠다…영화 긴장 풀릴새 없어" . 'Seoul Ghost Story' Lee Yeol-eum "I was immersed in the actual filming and was scared... I couldn't relax my tension in the movie" . Jang Ah-reum . News 1 . Naver . April 18, 2022 . April 22, 2022 . ko . April 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220422085201/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/421/0006036430 . live .
  8. Web site: 셔누·주학년·아린 스크린 데뷔..'서울괴담', 4월 27일 개봉[무비타이밍] ]. Kim Na-yeon . Shownu, Hakyeon Joo, and Arin screen debut... 'Seoul Ghost Story', released on April 27 [Movie Timing] . Star News . Naver . March 29, 2022 . April 22, 2022 . ko . March 29, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220329031458/https://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=108&aid=0003039606 . live .
  9. News: '서울괴담' 주역들 한 자리에. The main characters of 'Seoul Ghost Story' in one place. Kwon Hyeon-jin. News 1. Naver. April 18, 2022. April 22, 2022. ko. April 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220422085203/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/421/0006035911. live.
  10. Web site: 정원창, 장르 불문 완벽 연기...매 작품 ‘막강 임팩트+입체적 캐릭터’ 완성. Hwang Eun-cheol. Jung Won-chang, perfect performance regardless of genre... Completed each work ‘strong impact + three-dimensional character. Ten Asia. Naver. August 8, 2022. August 8, 2022. ko.
  11. News: K호러 '괴담' 크랭크업...김도윤·서지수·아린·셔누·주학년 등 출연. K-horror 'Ghost Story' crank-up ... Appearances such as Kim Do-yoon, Seo Ji-soo, Arin, Shownu, and Ju Hak-hak. YTN. Naver. Lee Yu-na. ko. May 3, 2021. April 22, 2022. May 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210503035313/https://entertain.naver.com/movie/now/read?oid=052&aid=0001583100. live.
  12. News: '서울괴담', 해외 13개국 5월 중 개봉..'지우학' 이을 K-호러 될까 . 'Seoul Ghost Story' to be released in May in 13 overseas countries.. Will 'Ji Woo-hak' follow Eul K-horror? . Kim Na-yeon . Star News. Naver . May 4, 2022. May 4, 2022. ko.
  13. Web site: KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) Box office: Urban Myths (2022). May 6, 2022. KOFIC.
  14. News: 일별 박스오피스 . Daily box office . Korean Film Council . KOBIS . May 8, 2022 . May 9, 2022 . ko . February 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220227054926/https://www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/mobile/main/findDailyBoxOfficeList.do . live .
  15. News: '신동덤', 15일 연속 박스오피스 1위…'니 부모' 2위 출발 . 'Shin Dong-Dum' tops the box office for 15 consecutive days... 'Your Parents' start 2nd place . Lee Han-lim . The Fact . Naver . April 28, 2022 . April 28, 2022 . ko . April 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220428141014/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/629/0000146293 . live .
  16. Web site: KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022. May 16, 2022. KOFIC. January 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220112131620/https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/boxOffice_Yearly.jsp?mode=BOXOFFICE_YEAR&selectDt=2022&category=ALL&country=K. live.
  17. News: [리뷰]'서울괴담', 연기는 합격점 공포는 글쎄]. [Review] 'Seoul Ghost Story', acting is a passing score, fear is well. Kim Na-yeon. Star News. Naver. April 23, 2022. April 23, 2022. ko. April 23, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220423073920/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/108/0003047206. live.
  18. News: [리뷰] 괴담의 짧은 호흡과 모호한 매력이 살아 있는 '서울괴담']. [Review] 'Seoul Ghost Story' with the short breath and ambiguous charm of the ghost story. Lee Yoo-chae. Cine21. Naver. April 27, 2022. April 27, 2022. ko. April 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220427135807/https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/movie/article/140/0000047211. live.

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