Welcome back to the ninth day of my Korean horror film recommendations. I realised that most of the films that I have recommended to you up until this point could be seen as either really gory, or very scary, and not everyone enjoys really creepy films. That is why today, I am going to recommend a film that is much more suitable to non-hardcore horror fans; 4th Period.
This movie is set in a Korean high school, and focuses on the escapades of two characters; Jung Hoon who is the best student in the school, and Da Jung who every student avoids due to her scary Sadako-like looks (the girl from The Ring) and rumoured supernatural tendencies.
Jung Hoon is the best student in the school, but his rival, Tae Gyu, takes every opportunity to try and knock him down – be it physically or verbally. It is very well known between the students that Jung Hoon and Tae Gyu are enemies, but one afternoon Tae Gyu pushes Jung Hoon too far. Their altercation ends with Jung Hoon threatening Tae Gyu with a knife, a situation witnessed by another student, but Jung Hoon walks away before carrying out his threat. Shortly before the beginning of the 4th period class, Jung Hoon returns to the classroom only to find Tae Gyu dead – the other student has been stabbed multiple times. In shock he picks up the bloody murder weapon, only to have Da Jung enter the classroom and find him in this incriminating position. Luckily Da Jung believes that he is innocent, and even offers to help him find the real killer. They only have 40 minutes on the clock before the next lesson starts and their classmates will return to their classroom, so they must race against time to figure out what really happened. They set out in search of the murderer, realising that anyone could be the suspect, but even worse is that the murderer seems to be after them too.
This was one of the first Korean horror films that I watched, and I think it was a nice and gentle introduction to the genre; it is horror in a less terrifying way, and contains no supernatural elements. It is a thriller with a mild dose of gore, and thoroughly enjoyable as you watch the two race against the clock to prove his innocence. It also ties in a slightly romantic storyline with it, as you see the two main characters get close as they spend this tense time with each other.
With all this in mind, I definitely recommend this film to anyone who wants to watch something in the horror genre, but doesn’t want anything nightmare-inducing. Really, this film is a bit of a high school romance, but with a nice helping of gore and tense situations to turn it into a thriller!
I felt like I needed to add a less scary film to this recommendation list as I would love to make horror more accessible to more people! I want people to know that you don’t have to have nerves of steel to enjoy thrillers or horror. So, let me know if you’re going to watch this film! And join me again tomorrow for my tenth recommendation.
