Spellbound (2011) User Reviews (16)

Ghosts, romance and dark comedy; this movie is one not to miss out on...

[paul_haakonsen · 8/10 · 13 April 2014]

"Spellbound" ("O-ssak-han Yeon-ae") aka "My Girlfriend Can See Ghosts" is another one of those sure win Korean movies. There is just something fantastic about so many of the movies that come from Korean cinema, and "Spellbound" is well worthy addition to the collection if you enjoy Asian movies.

The movie is about Kang Yeo-Ri (played by Ye-jin Son) who is a gloomy and mysterious woman who, by sheer luck and chance, ends up working with Ma Jo-Goo (played by Min-ki Lee) in his Horror Illusion magic show. Ma Jo-Goo soon finds out that perhaps he gotten a bit more than he bargained for when he starts to find out the haunting secrets that surrounds the enigmatic Kang Yeo-Ri.

"Spellbound" combines three genres of movies quite nicely; being romance, comedy and horror. And the end result is a very enjoyable movie with a story that sinks into you and sticks with you. Especially because the director, In-ho Hwang, did a really good job with this movie and delivered right on the money.

The characters in the movie are well-detailed and stand out as very believable characters, and this is, of course, helped quite well along the way by the talents of the people on the cast list, who all contributed quite nicely to the movie, especially the two leads who really had great on-screen chemistry, but also great charisma on their own.

The effects are quite nice in the movie, although this is not a movie that rides high on special effects. But those put to use are really spectacular and serves their purpose quite well; be it the magic tricks, the make-up, or the ghost.

The odd mixture of romance, comedy and horror does make for a very peculiar mixture, but it worked out quite nicely, and I am very happy that I sat down to see this movie, and can strongly recommend it to any fans of Asian or Korean cinema in particular.

"Spellbound" gets a definite 8 out of 10 stars from me. Thumbs up for this movie, way, way up...

A Nutshell Review: My Girlfriend Can See Ghosts

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 22 May 2012]

What would happen if the little boy in The Sixth Sense, who has this gift of seeing and ultimately interacting with ghosts, was to grow up? It's probably something that Son Ye Jin's character of Yeo-Ri would have experienced, being left alone and ostracized by many because of this ability that will spook just about anyone. It's little wonder why this Korean beauty was made to look doom, gloom and glum in the first half of the film, being as miserable as can be because she has no friends, and family has shun her, preferring to live a life of safety thousands of miles away.

Written and directed by Hwang In-Ho, who was responsible for one of my favourite films then in Two Faces of My Girlfriend, his latest film takes the romantic comedy genre and fuses it with a very effective horror element, though at times making it seem like watching a film with two separate, schizophrenic identities rolled into one. It's a good thing that both parts are equally strong, with the romantic comedy element being very much dripped in saccharine sweetness, and the horror element dipping into the bag of tricks with the usual jump cuts to scare, coupled with realistic, scary makeup and costumes that will make you flinch in your seat and turn your gaze away from the screen.

The strength of the film is in its story, throwing us into the deep end with magician Jo-Goo (Lee Min-Ki) being mesmerized by a strangely glum looking lass Yeo-Ri, having her demeanour inspire a hugely successful horror box illusion perfected to bring in the dough. Recruiting her for his magic company, the troupe never really got any opportunity to get her to join in their post-work drinking session, only because she harbours a secret that she intends to keep under wraps, one that involves periodic visits by spirits from the netherworld seeking her help in their unfinished business, and a prolonged spooking by a mysterious long haired ghoul whose identity intertwines closely with Yeo-Ri's tragic past, intricately linked with her supernatural ability.

In-Ho creates likable leading characters in both Jo-Goo and Yeo-Ri as the inevitable lovebirds who have to overcome obstacles placed in their path toward a relationship. After all, the main ghoul at play is adamant in making Yeo-Ri's life as miserable as possible. You'll soon find yourself rooting for the two to get together, and In-Ho's story provides spectrum for the usual boy-meets-girl and the follow up scenarios to happen. The romanticism here extends also toward Yeo-Ri's seeking of help from pals over the phone as they serve as her only friends who do keep their arms length for a period. And who better to play Yeo-Ri than the Son Ye-Jin, sharing great chemistry opposite Lee Min-Ki as they battle the crazy odds thrown at their characters.

And as mentioned, this film is pretty much strong in its horror aspects, while relying on the usual jump cuts, loud sound scapes, creepy atmosphere and make up. In-Ho managed to come up with a strong storyline related to the hauntings experienced by the characters, and managed to keep audiences in suspense before all gets revealed in due course. Perhaps the end credits, which contained a sustained scene involving the primary ghoul, felt a little bit out of place for its slapstick nature. But if you can deal with minor inconsistencies involving who can see which ghoul, and are looking for a film that's apt as a date movie, then you may be bold enough to give this a go.

Humor+Horror+Romance=

[superhardrocker · 8/10 · 14 April 2012]

Original and interesting. Like L HH said, this film is one of a kind. However, there are so many stops, "Chilling Romance" never takes off and loses momentum.

This film makes a brave attempt to mash difficult genres. The end result is a dish that is hard to swallow, but somewhat edible. I was not satisfied with "Chilling Romance," because the story was not engaging and progressed roughly. I want to blame someone whether it's the director, editor, screenwriter, or all three.

The multi-talented actress Son Ye Jin saved this film from disaster. Always surprising her fans with new and unique roles.

All in all, if you want try something new, give "Chilling Romance" a try.

Funny and Unexpected

[Megan_Shida · 7/10 · 2 August 2020]

This movie will amuse you in unexpected ways. While the soapiness will no doubt bother Western viewers to some degree, it is hard to deny the charm of this film and that it tries new things. Mixing horror and romantic comedy and featuring strong acting, this film is well written, fresh, and worth a watch.I was entertained.

worth watching

[backnblack-06123 · 7/10 · 30 December 2019]

This was fun and enjoyable, the main male actor I've seen before and hes good but in this movie maybe punching over his weight class with this beautiful talented actress but it worked okay, the character actors were very good in this maybe better than the main one, solid 7

Seriously ... It's the 1st time I have this kind of feeling when seeing a movie

[hoang_hai_linh97 · 9/10 · 18 January 2012]

The romance is super cliché. The horror is also very cliché. The humour, well, maybe less cliché.

But to combine those, you make quite a great movie. At first, I really don't know how it would feel to see a "romantic comedy ghost" movie. I know you will agree with me. You can't scream your lungs out in a funny movie, nor can you enjoy the romance and humour in a ghost movie.

But I did. I laughed. Then I screamed. Then I smiled. Then I laughed and screamed again. This movie gave me mixed feeling. Very entertaining, I must say.

Seriously, if you don't believe me, check it out!

Entertaining "Date Night" Sort of Film

[corvidia · 6/10 · 28 July 2019]

Sorry to be trite, but I maintain: if you, with a date, are emotionally blackmailed into watching a chickflick, this is the one. It's likely that you'll both enjoy it. It's chock-full of sentimental elements, colored by the less glamourous aspects of relationships/humankind; the characters are deep with believable pathos and flaws, while the storyline somehow remains buoyant and laugh-out-loud funny. It's never really crass (a prevalent comic element of Korean cinema), and stomps all over the standard senseless romcom tropes.

Essentially, if you took "the Ring" and turned it into a romcom, you'd wind up at this sort of confusing & beautiful genre.

A bit of a cliché, without losing the Korean essence.

[misantrophya · 10/10 · 13 October 2022]

To be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But when I started watching it my opinion completely changed, it's a Korean relic. The actors are kept to their original skin color, which is something we don't see as much in movies today. The story is funny and captivating. In the end, you know you liked it because you watch it whenever you can. It is without a doubt one of the best films I have ever seen. The special effects aren't that great, but that doesn't spoil the movie. Another great part is the unconventional romance of the characters, the troubled development by a ghost is all I need.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 6/10 · 7 March 2019]

Maybe I was expecting too much from Spellbound, as most of the reviews and comments about this movie were possitive. However, even though it was a decent movie, it lacked some intensity for me. Plus, the romance happened kind of fast, but the progress of it was good. I also enjoyed the performances, especially from the couple, who had chemistry. The ending was good too and the scary scenes were mild, so even I, who's a scary cat, had no problem watching this one. So, six out of ten.

The acting was good, but....

[justinsummersell · 3/10 · 23 June 2015]

It's not very often that a film actually makes me mad, and even less often that I'll shut a movie off with 10 minutes left on the clock. OK, these things have never happened other than when I watched this film. It started out incredibly promising and interesting, yet quickly faded into formulaic oblivion. Granted, this is a romantic comedy film, and regardless of the country of origin it is to be expected that a certain level of cliché will be present. However, I had high hopes that the underlying premise of supernatural activity would have broken up the formula a bit. Not so. For all of the promise of the idea, it just fell flat. The supernatural aspect of the story really added very little, which was a shame because had it incorporated the element as effectively as, say, "Shaun of the Dead," it would have been an incredibly solid romance/comedy/horror film. The acting was actually very good, hence not rating the film as awful, and the comedy was such that it did garner a giggle or two at times. Sadly, the comedy and the acting was wasted on a very lackluster story, one that had an incredibly clever, creative, and promising idea yet was sadly incapable of carrying it through to fruition.

A good one time watch

[gk303007 · 8/10 · 11 May 2020]

Somehow Ye-jin Son's movies had impressed me earlier and this one followed; maybe its her innocent acting or attraction or charisma which binds and hooks me to keep watching. However, saying so, that does not mean the storyline and acting are not good. I mean look at her movies like A moment to remember, the classic or April Snow, all were good.

Coming back to this movie, it was a different way to represent romance refraining it getting into cliche. What also i found amusing were horror aspects plugged in which were scary in places and made hillarious in the later point of movie, like the small kids story, or her friends death etc.

I had a notion of it being another Pee Mak but its not. Instead it's different and yet entertaining. One time watch definitely.

I do not recommend

[leahcubed · 5/10 · 27 January 2020]

This movie blends comedy, romance and a little bit of horror. The female lead, Son Ye-jin, plays Yeo-ri a young woman who can see dead people. And not nice, friendly dead people, but some haunting, frightening characters. Lee Min-ki is a magician who spots Yeo-ri in the crowd at one of his performances and senses something different about her. After getting the story of what she sees - he works her into his stage show in a horror magical piece that leaves audiences on the edge of the seats and enhances his magic career. Soon the two become friends, and quite quickly become more than friends. Not sure if it is because I thought this was a series at first but I found that the story moved entirely too fast for me. It was really hard for me to envision them having fallen for each other because it just did not see like that much time had passed. He is willing to give up a lot and put up with a lot to be with her and I just did not get that level of connection. I am a big chicken when it comes to horror movies and I did not find this one very frightening at all. It also did not show enough of what she experienced to drive home just how horrific her life was. I would not recommend this one - I did not find it very entertaining. I also did not feel the two of them made a very convincing romantic couple.

Comedy romantic horror movie

[VishnuprasadKmenon · 10/10 · 2 August 2020]

Actually it's a comedy movie with romance.And its horror feels like more funny.After all it's a good movie with a full entertainer of two hours.

For cinema study students!

[charliemouse-06733 · 8/10 · 30 October 2021]

It's a fun movie and the good thing with Korean directors is that they don't feel the loyalty to one genre or another. Thus it is a mix, with a little bit of Korean shyness among a western way of life. But what I really loved about this one is the critic about romantic comedy it offers! Characters enjoy compare their lives to cinematic situations... in that regard I think it's interesting for cinephiles the "real" ones. Those who love movies regardless of genre and expectations...

Pay no attention to the rating

[keithomusic · 1/10 · 26 January 2024]

What a horrible start to a story. First some busker notices a woman in the crowd that just doesn't smile, so he thinks he should find a way to make her smile. He chases her, and some door opens as she is facing it and suddenly he thinks she would make him famous. (???) Then suddenly he is a famous illusionist and plays to a large crowd. Then way after the show is over we see that woman has been stuck in a small space under that stage floor and only now is allowed to come out. WTF??? Then the illusionist invites her for drinks with hem and the rest of the crew after the show. He uses and abuses her, how is this romance or love? This is more like Stockholm Syndrome. I just turned this off after that, I don't like seeing abuse. What an awful start to what is supposed to be a wacky romance. Not recommended.

Medium fan for western viewers

[stermix501 · 5/10 · 14 June 2020]

I like Asian cinema. An interesting aspect of it is that sometimes you cannot easily categorize a movie. This is good because you cannot be sure what to expect and is realistic because our everyday can be a mix of categories. This movie started quite well, it attempted a mix of horror and romantic comedy which apparently is common in Korea. I liked both aspects but I less appreciated the long length of the film and the melodrama that linked them. I can't say I regret watching it but I don't really recommend it either