To Catch a Virgin Ghost (2004) User Reviews

Unusual, creative and amusing comedy flick

[kneiss1 · 6/10 · 21 October 2010]

I really had fun watching this movie. The movie did not make me laugh out loud, but I have been very amused by all the crazy and creative ideas, witty conversation and funny characters. If you are a fan of black and odd humor, try this one.

I can't find much in this movie that is plain bad, but at the same time, I cant find anything that is extraordinary good. The movie is a little above average. It looked quite low budget, and it probably has been. Considering that, the movie did a pretty good job.

Every single Hollywood production has more votes than this movie (228 votes), yet, this movie is better than most Hollywood productions. This flick really deserves a little bit more fame. Just like a lot other Korean movies.

A touch of Raimi, a dash of Puzo.

[Ky-D · 8/10 · 9 March 2005]

"Sicily 2km" mixes horror film and tough guy clichés into a cross genre picture that has strong echos of such films as "Shaun of the Dead" or "Army of Darkness". Like those films, it seeks to combine genres in an acceptable way, all the while ensuring that things come with a heavy dose of humor.

What we have here is a quartet of "goodfellas" that are looking for a former associate that has lifted a heavy sum of diamond off them. In the mean time, a rural family has come across the compressed pieces of carbon and don't feel like giving them up. Conflict ensues. As things go, the mob boys begin to witness strange things (like a girl's ghostly body hanging at a deserted school) that leads them to believe that the family is hiding more than just the diamonds.

It's strengths lay in it's solid filming, quirky script and willing cast. It's major flaw is that while it seeks to mix genre elements, it keeps itself from ever going very far in any direction. All things considered, it ends up a fun piece of pop-corn.

8/10

Hilarious, unique, and entertaining

[korean-dude · 10/10 · 25 June 2010]

I would give this film a 10/10 just because of how unique, different, and surprisingly fun the film is. I really have not seen any other film like it. The film is chop full of clichés and stereotypical ideas people have about films. Notably, the horror and gang genre. Im Chang-Jeong is quite an extraordinary actor and portrays his character very well. I especially liked him in "Sex is Zero"(Raunchy comedy often dubbed as the "Korean Pie") Interestingly enough there was some romance in it as well, very minimal but still there. This was a goofy outrageous movie and a good one to watch. The relationship developed between Im Chang-Jeong and another certain character(I will not spoil it) caused a huge laugh and it was really a breath of fresh air to see such a relationship. Though this is a horror-comedy combination I would not draw similarities between it with films such as "Scary movie". "Scary movie" does spoofs of other movies, however, Sisily 2km is very original but still fun. Highly recommended.

Really nutty, really wonderful comedy/ghost story/mobster flick from Korea

[redwriteandblue · 8/10 · 17 June 2013]

TO CATCH A VIRGIN GHOST (yeah, I swear, that's the title; it's also known as SISILY 2KM) is a fun, enjoyable black comedy-thriller set in a small village in South Korea. It'd be difficult to explain even the story without giving much away, but suffice to say the film opens with a thug on the run from the mob (after stealing a cache of diamonds), who accidentally crashes his SUV near a remote village. Walking to the village, he finds about a half-dozen country bumpkins, men and women working the fields, who he cons into letting him stay the night because he's stranded. When a practical joke gone bad results in the not-too- bright gangster's death (he cracks his skull on the toilet in the john), the villagers find one of the diamonds on him (he swallowed the rest; long story), and instead of calling the police they decide to bury the dead crook and sell the diamond to make their lives prosperous again. When the dead guy's ex-buddies from the mob come looking for him, the guy's crashed vehicle leads them directly to the simple villagers - and a female ghost that spooks the gang's leader big-time.

But this is a KOREAN film - which means the gangsters ... the villagers ... even the ghost are not what they may at first seem. Further, is the guy who stole the diamonds even really dead?? Things get very weird, very fast in this low-budget black comedy where, just when you think you KNOW who the bad guys are, you find your perception of things might just have been dead wrong.

I watched this on Netflix because (other than my love for Korean films) the film had some very well-received reviews there. Was so totally NOT disappointed; just keep in mind this one is both funny and a little bizarre - and well worth your time.

Off beat fun

[reallyevilboy · 8/10 · 7 November 2014]

This is a great movie.

As you've probably guessed by reading the other reviews, it's more of a comedy than a horror and it has some very funny scenes.

It has the usual flavor of many other South Korean movies. Extreme off beat humor mixed with a plot that twists and turns until you're facing a completely different way.

If you decide you need to see this movie and have trouble finding it try searching under "Sisily 2km" because that was the name of the movie we saw.

Extremely funny, well worth the watch.

Criminals are undone by clever locals, ghosts, and Murphy's law.

[suite92 · 8/10 · 26 October 2013]

Our protagonist, Seok-tae, is a thief who murders his friend then flees. He seems amused as his friend suffocates during their last telephone conversation. Nice start. When he sees the sign 'Sisily 2km' there is another sign warning of serious accidents in the area. As per cliché, he decides to put out his cigarette, thereby taking his eyes off the road, then rolls his SUV off the road through the guard rail. Apparently he's a man of robust good luck, since he was able to walk the 2 kilometers to the town of Sisily.

The setup is clearly that Seok-tae has a hard time during the film, and he's moving there swimmingly. His friend told him that their mutual boss will kill him in three days. One can only hope.

Seok-tae faints under embarrassing and humorous circumstances. The locals think he's dead, and also find one of the diamonds he stole. While walling him up, he rouses and won't shut up. They give him an extra shovel to the head. They have no idea that he swallowed many of the diamonds.

The gang arrives and sets about provoking and bullying the locals. The idiot relative to an even bigger crime boss is with them. He keeps finding just the right things, and they keep ignoring him.

During the first night staying with the locals, the thugs start getting rattled from bad dreams and waking hallucinations, plus the locals doing Buddhist chants to drive out bad spirits. That trend continues the next day, though a bit more slowly in the light of day.

The assassin named The Monk keeps talking about local ghost lore, including the Virgin Ghost. The Monk tells them that the Virgin Ghost type is afraid of 'man things' which results in ridiculous and funny visuals. The thread that allows Seok-tae to 'survive' is hilarious. When the crooks recover the diamonds, the locals find out there were several. After that, they attack the crooks and do rather well, but not well enough, of course.

There are several places where the movie might have ended, but the comedy was not exhausted yet. Will the ghost resolve this, or just the normal course of real events? Loved the Virgin Ghost's explanation of who the local farmers really were, and the lead gangster's discussions with her.

-----Scores------

Cinematography: 8/10 Super in daylight exteriors. Not too bad for the darker interior and night shots.

Sound: 10/10 Rich and kind to the ear.

Acting: 8/10 Hate the character Seok-tae, since he listens to Chuck Mangione. (That's just me, of course.) On the whole though, I liked the acting.

Screenplay: 9/10 Pleasant comedy of errors; nicely directed.

Quirky, Original Gem

[CelluloidDog · 8/10 · 15 December 2014]

A bit of a surprise since I was expecting a bit more horror than comedy in this Korean flick. It actually is a vegetable/fruit blended drink: horror, comedy, gangster, mystery...But Korean films are among the most original. Surprisingly I just looked up director Jeong-won Shin who really hasn't had any other gems or slew of Korean movies. It's cleverly written by In-ho Hwang and Chang-shi Lee. The gangsters are a fun type with a monk-like and a Smeagol type hood. They confront a group of farmers who aren't quite the farming type. And a ghost haunts the place as the comedy-mystery unwinds. Just a clever, quirky movie with great humor and original screenplay. The gangsters were the strong point in acting and cinematography could have been better as the filming color and exposure was inconsistent. But regardless, this film surpasses 80% of the popular Hollywood type. Definitely a must-see. My real rating is a 7.0-7.5/10 but given the scant attention it gets, let's bump the film up a notch.

Hilarious, weird and totally worth seeing!

[Swarm92 · 8/10 · 9 January 2014]

I recently noticed a broad addition of korean movies in the Netflix library and decided to watch this one (along with The Yellow Sea and The Chaser).

I started watching it expecting it to be another one of those korean psychological horror movies but I soon had a change of mind as this movie took a comedy-turn for the best.

A cheesy and hilarious script, stereotypical character personalities and many huge turn of events. Don't expect to be scared out of your mind, it does have a few fairly surprising moments but in general this movie got a huge focus on comedy.

I loved it!