H (DVD)

H (which ostensibly stands for the devil’s domain — the tagline says, “You can’t spell Hell without it!”) is an interesting and well-made Korean police procedural with a horror twist. Holding no bloody bars and pulling no putrid punches, this gory yet cerebral thriller follows a trio of mismatched detectives on their hunt for an elusive serial killer who preys on pregnant women and their unborn babies.

The stylish and visually pleasing film, directed by Jong-hyuk Lee, stars Jung-ah Yum as Detective Kim, the no-nonsense female cop in charge of the investigation. She and her two male subordinates center their attention on a series of grisly slayings that are so blatantly being brought to bear in her jurisdiction.

The killings kick off when a very young woman's body is found at a landfill one rainy night. The forcefully removed baby is found a few feet away, cradled in trash and offal. More victims are soon added to the police station’s bulletin board of photos — are all young, pregnant, and unwed. Immediately, Kim decides that the killer’s M.O. is all too similar to the ones committed by another serial killer years ago, currently safely (?) enconsed on Death Row. He’s named Shin Hyun (Seung-woo Cho) and his character is very much like a too-young Hannibal Lecter: Arrogant, intelligent, and harboring secrets about the current killings that he is simultaneously loathe to share and desperate for the attention his insider info wins him.

Although H is undeniably influenced by American films in plot, structure, characters and plot twists, I guess maybe because I’m American that did not bother me (see other reviewers’ thoughts on various online sites, lamenting H’s so-called homogenized and Westernized end result).

I was impressed by the linear style of storytelling, which eked out just enough backstory and hints at clues in regular intervals. I liked the characters, and I thought the murder-scenes were appropriately grisly enough to qualify the film in the horror genre. It’s not a perfect, 4-star film, however — there are some pretty big leaps of logic required (especially at the film’s climax), a few over-the-top acting scenes, and some too-slow stretches. But taken as a whole, H is hella good and certainly worth your time.

The DVD features many entertaining and informative featurettes to make up the additional release material.

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson