H

DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 106 minutes, alternate opening, behind-the-scenes featurette, tartan asia extreme trailers, photo gallery, and easter eggs

STUDIO: Tartan Video/ KTB Entertainment/ B.O.M. Film productions

RELEASE DATE: 5-24-2005

H is like what if Michael Mann directed Seven. Shin Hyun (Cho Seung-woo) has been in prison for ten months after confessing to killing six women (pregnant women and women who had abortions). The murders have started up again as Detective Kang (Jee Jin-Hee) and Detective Kim (Yeom Jeong-A) must track down the copycat as they face Shin Hyun (who caused Kim's former partner and lover to commit suicide). Kang is a detective who easily goes over the edge. H is a film that I loved until the last ten minutes. Even though I didn't see the twist coming at the end, I still don't know if I like it. The clues were dropped for the twist through the film. H is still a better film than David Fincher's Seven. I do think the doctor chick was a hottie- so attractive and yet so evil looking.

VIDEO: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

Image detail is OK, but the film looks soft and sometimes washed out (probably due to how they shot H).

AUDIO: Korean 5.1 Dobly Digital Surround, Korean 5.1 DTS, Korean 2.0 Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English, Spanish

The rain and traffic sounds come through very clearly like you are there in the movie.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The alternate opening is very interesting, but I'm glad the director went with revealing the details in the alternate opening during the film. A photo gallery and trailers of H and other Tartan films are included. The behind-the-scenes featurette shows the actors going through training for guns and fighting, a public demo of what they have learned, a pre-production press conference, and footage from H's production. I wish they included a look at the post-production and the response to H. Don't forget that three Easter Eggs are hidden on this DVD (two are behind-the-scenes footage and another is a weird promo teaser for H).

FINAL ANALYSIS: H is a worthwhile police thriller from South Korea even though some people don't seem quite convinced by the twist at the end.

this review is (c)4-7-2006 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com