Warning: Do Not Play

Warning: Do Not Play (Amjeon) (2019)

Runtime: 86 long minutes

Directed by: Kim Jin-Won

Starring: Seo Yea-Ji, Jin Sun-Kyu, Kim Bo-Ra, Ji Yun-Ho, Cha Yup

From: Several South Korean companies

i.e. also my advice on whether or not you should ever watch this on Shudder...

For awhile now I have had this in my queue on that particular streaming service. One day I stumbled upon its title, laughed, saw it was a Korean picture, and was dumbstruck when I saw that the plot description mentioned something about a film MADE BY A GHOST. How could I not see a movie w/ such a plot point? I've seen some praise this... I wish my opinion matched theirs. It will be explained why I encourage those who see this on Shudder: do NOT press “Play”, watch something else instead.

The story follows a young filmmaker who is in the horror genre and has made at least one movie, but is struggling to come up with a new script. As she is on a time deadline of “two weeks” and she has a few people-if not more-left waiting for her, was it a great idea for her to become obsessed with an urban legend where a student film is made and it results in panic & at least one death? Yes, that student film is said to be made by a ghost. Of course it's actually not... what we got instead was:

* Characters I couldn't give a darn about. This includes the lead girl. I feel bad she almost took her own life once, but otherwise...

* A nonsense story that is full of missteps, confusing moments and contradictory scenes.

* Digital effects that most often stink like a fully-loaded diaper.

* TWO fake-out dream sequences.

* An unsatisfying ending.

God Bless everyone that got more out of this than I did. Its original Korean title means “Dark Battle” (at least according to Google Translate) so who came up with the new name that makes wisecracks all the easier—that is a mystery far more interesting than the one in this crummy motion picture. The one thing I am sure to remember about this years from now: several film students are seen arguing about Nolan and Villeneuve; that is something I can imagine Letterboxd users engaging in no matter where in the world they reside.