**Some spoilers in this comment**
South Korean movie "Whispering Corridors" is a horror movie which is not scary enough. Unlike "Phone" from the same country, the screenwriters of this movie did not succeed in maintaining the terrifying suspense throughout the movie. After the death of the sadistic female teacher and brutal male teacher "Mad Dog" Oh, the movie dragged on and on until its rather disappointing climax. At the climax an average-looking school girl apparition, who was in no way scary, appeared and explained the motivation behind the haunting. Convinced by the sincerity of her former friend Miss Hur, she goes back to the netherworld. This was not even one-tenth as scary as the climax of "Phone" where the apparition of Jin-hee, a murder victim, emerges from a wall and stares at her victim with her horrifyingly angry eyes. Jin-hee was a totally unforgiving monster. She has an uncompromising grudge, which even an average moviegoer can feel from the screen. How can the average-looking female ghost in "Whispering Corridors" measure up to Jin-hee of "Phone?"
The only matter of note in this movie was the incredible brutality of the Korean teachers. The teachers slap, punch, whip and sexually harass the students, but the students take it with obedient "Yes, sir." These teachers make some U.S. Marine Corps drill instructors look like cream puffs. If these teachers acted like this in the U.S., they would have been thrown in jail.
According to my Korean acquaintance, teachers are allowed to use corporal punishment in South Korea. He also told me that the root cause of the brutality of Korean schoolteachers is the generations-old Confucian ideology. Followers of Confucian ideology believe that teachers can do no wrong and give teachers absolute authority over his or her students. And many modern Koreans pride themselves as being obedient followers of classic Confucianism. Just as the adage "Absolute authority absolutely corrupts." states, the absolute authority given to Korean schoolteachers make many of them to act any way they want. Many resort to intolerable violence while some resort to sexual harassment. (Of course, I strong believe that there are many kind, respectable Korean schoolteachers like Miss Hur in this movie.)
In conclusion, "Whispering Corridors" is just an OK movie. It should be obvious to any competent movie fan that "Phone" from the same country is a much better crafted horror movie.
South Korean movie "Whispering Corridors" is a horror movie which is not scary enough. Unlike "Phone" from the same country, the screenwriters of this movie did not succeed in maintaining the terrifying suspense throughout the movie. After the death of the sadistic female teacher and brutal male teacher "Mad Dog" Oh, the movie dragged on and on until its rather disappointing climax. At the climax an average-looking school girl apparition, who was in no way scary, appeared and explained the motivation behind the haunting. Convinced by the sincerity of her former friend Miss Hur, she goes back to the netherworld. This was not even one-tenth as scary as the climax of "Phone" where the apparition of Jin-hee, a murder victim, emerges from a wall and stares at her victim with her horrifyingly angry eyes. Jin-hee was a totally unforgiving monster. She has an uncompromising grudge, which even an average moviegoer can feel from the screen. How can the average-looking female ghost in "Whispering Corridors" measure up to Jin-hee of "Phone?"
The only matter of note in this movie was the incredible brutality of the Korean teachers. The teachers slap, punch, whip and sexually harass the students, but the students take it with obedient "Yes, sir." These teachers make some U.S. Marine Corps drill instructors look like cream puffs. If these teachers acted like this in the U.S., they would have been thrown in jail.
According to my Korean acquaintance, teachers are allowed to use corporal punishment in South Korea. He also told me that the root cause of the brutality of Korean schoolteachers is the generations-old Confucian ideology. Followers of Confucian ideology believe that teachers can do no wrong and give teachers absolute authority over his or her students. And many modern Koreans pride themselves as being obedient followers of classic Confucianism. Just as the adage "Absolute authority absolutely corrupts." states, the absolute authority given to Korean schoolteachers make many of them to act any way they want. Many resort to intolerable violence while some resort to sexual harassment. (Of course, I strong believe that there are many kind, respectable Korean schoolteachers like Miss Hur in this movie.)
In conclusion, "Whispering Corridors" is just an OK movie. It should be obvious to any competent movie fan that "Phone" from the same country is a much better crafted horror movie.