REVIEW: CCTV (2021)
What if I told you I had no idea what this movie was about?
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Honestly, even after watching the whole movie, I don’t think I could - with any confidence - provide a decent recap of what this film was about. It was such a mess, but then that’s almost to be expected from modern Korean horror.
[above] Her look says it all!
PLOT
An annoying Youtuber visits a woman locked up in a mental asylum to record a video about the events of a mass murder incident that occurred 10 years prior dubbed the “CCTV incident”.
In this incident, which was captured via CCTV around the office where it occurred, a group of people working on a TV series are seemingly possessed by the ghost of woman who committed suicide and wants to get revenge on them, with the girl in the asylum being the only one who survived.
If you want me to tell you more about the film, I think the best bet is to watch the video review above.
I didn’t like the movie’s black and white presentation. It’s used to signify we are witnessing a “flashback” but the audience isn’t that stupid that they can’t work that out.
Due to lack of quality English subtitles, it’s also a bit hard to understand if the movie is in chronological order or if there is a bit of Pulp Fiction style storytelling going on here.
Surprisingly, it’s not all bad news.
The movie has excellent audio. The sound mixing is one of the best in modern Korean horror, with a great use of spooky effects and whispering to build some suspense and creeps.
And the way the main character is presented on camera when she is in the asylum was also very well done. The actress (Kim Dan-mi) has rather distinctive features that are exaggerated in the asylum scenes, adding to her characters overall creepiness.
What are my overall thoughts?
This is one to avoid. I’ll award my first ever .5 score for a film with this one…
1.5 Ghosts out of 5!
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Genre Horror
Director Kim Hong-ik
Starring Kwak Do-won, Park Ki-Ryoong
Original Title 씨씨티비
Country of Origin Korea
Release Date July 7 2021