January 15, 2011

Missing: You Should Never Call a Woman a Dog, Pet Owners


So you're one of those people who equate owning a dog with rearing a child and believe that pooches are really people in fur, eh? Well, have I got a Korean movie for you: Missing. In Kim Seong-hong's twisted little fright flick, the serial killer kidnaps young women then forces each, in quick succession, to be his dog: keeping her in a cage, spraying her down with a hose, getting her down on all fours for some doggy-style. The idea of canines as humans doesn't sound so hot when you reverse the direction, now does it? And I'm sure Hyeon-ah (Jeon Se-hong) and Hyeon-jeong (Chu Ja-hyeon) -- one a brutalized victim, the other her sister survivor -- would heartily agree on all counts. Being treated like a dog is a bitch, especially if your owner is Pan-gon (Moon Seong-geun), a devoted son and deranged serial killer who spends his time in between torture sessions playing harmonica or spoon-feeding gruel to his invalid mother (Son Yeong-soon). Missing was inspired by a true story of a septuagenarian fisherman who killed four women in Bosung. That character doesn't show up until the movie's end; the villain in this movie -- with his axe, birthday cake, and egg delivery service -- is really more of an original.

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