IDIOT GIRLS AND SCHOOL GHOST: SCHOOOL ANNIVERSARY (Korea 2024) - MINI REVIEW
When dumb girls get smart!
Three high school girls at risk of failing their final exams discover a video tape called “Ghost Hide and Seek”, where the winner is guaranteed a perfect exam result. They enlist the help of a second-year girl who runs a religious club, and they play the game.
But during the game, they break the rules. Desperate to try and survive the night, they must work out a way to stop the ghost who is trying to hunt them using a variety of Korean and Western horror movie cliches.
It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed a Korean horror movie, and of all movies, it had to be a comedy horror that I’ve enjoyed the most. The last decade or so of Korean horror cinema has been far too slick and over-produced for my liking, and unlike Hollywood’s horror output of the last few years, it’s been completely devoid of any creativity.
This movie, though, won’t change too many people’s mind if you are of the same thinking.
This is a comedy first and foremost, and it makes no secret of that fact. And you could even go one step further and describe this as almost a parody-style film of both Korean and Western horror. The characters, specifically the main girl who wants to be a movie director, never shies away from calling out cliches that are happening in the film.
The basis of this movie feels to be the Whispering Corridors series, although my knowledge of Korean horror and that movie series are very limited. They certainly share the same initial idea - all girls school and ghosts. But scratch away the surface and there are references to films like The Ring (from Japan), Phone, Bunshinsaba (Ouija Board) and more.
It’s the characters that make this movie a lot of fun. As mentioned, there is a girl desperate to be a movie director who calls out all the horror movies cliches she can find. There is the camerawoman who faints every time she is frightened. The third girl in the group is a budding influencer who names the spirit doll in the film - to which the ghost at the end of the film has come pretty selective feedback for her.
But the most interesting of all is the fourth girl - the religious “mercenary”, as she is referred to, who prefers to speak in Japanese and has a love for all things Otaku. The movie is clearly based around who she represents and why a book should never be judged by its cover. You even say that about the film in total.
And then there is the ghost. It’s the typical generic “Asian” ghost - a grey skinned girl in white flowing dress and long black hair. A cliche made popular by Sadako in The Ring, but in reality, it’s just a rather generic representation of a ghost in Asian cinema. You’ll find the same representation in Indonesian and Philippine horror cinema too.
The ghost actually has one of my favourite scenes from the movie - a scene where the filmmaker kind of peels back the fourth wall of the film and shows the ghost setting up a trap for the girls, only to be sprung by the girls while she is doing it. It’s that kind of humour that’s all throughout this film. And I admit, I laughed out loud more times that I dare to remember.
I think if you enjoyed the film The Odd Family: Zombie For Sale, have an interest in Korean horror cinema and enjoy comedy horrors - then this movie should be right down your alley. And thankfully, for Korean cinema, there isn’t a zombie in sight!
I give this movie 3 ghosts out of 5. Genuinely funny moments, great cast of characters and actual humour make this a fun movie to watch. And… there is a sequel on the way!
Genre Comedy Horror
Director Kim Min-ha
Starring Kim Do-yeon, Eunseo, Jeong Ha-dam, Kang Shin-hee
Original Title 아메바 소녀들과 학교괴담: 개교기념일
Alternative Title Idiot Girls and School Ghost: Schoool Anniversary
Country of Origin Korea
Release Date 6 November 2024