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Gam Woo-seong, Seo Jeong-min, Kang Gyeong-heon, Jang Hyeon-seong, Son Byeong-ho

Kang Min (Gam Woo-seong) wakes up in the middle of a forest and wanders toward a nearby cabin, where he's shocked to find the scene of a brutal, bloody crime. A man lies hacked to death, and Kang Min'... read more read more...s girlfriend, Su-young (Kang Gyeong-heon) lies dying of stab wounds nearby. Kang Min sees a dark figure fleeing the cabin and gives chase. Eventually he winds up in a tunnel, where he is struck down by a speeding SUV. In the hospital with a head injury and suspected of murder, Kang tries to recall what happened for his policeman friend, Choi (Jang Hyeon-seong). In flashback, we see Kang, a TV producer, try to deal with the tragic death of his wife. As he sinks into a pit of alcoholism and despair, Su-young, a co-worker who shares a secret bond with him, tries to rouse him out of his funk. When Kang is assigned to investigate rumors that Spider Forest, the remote wood where the murder took place, is haunted, he asks a girl from the region, Su-in (Seoh Jung of The Isle), to tell him all about the local legend. As it turns out, Kang has his own mysterious connection to the ghost story. Spider Forest, written and directed by Song Il-gon (Git), was shown at the 2005 New York Korean Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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57% liked it

1,544 ratings

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Il-gon Song

Release Date: October 25, 2005

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DVD Release Date: October 25, 2005

Stats: 96 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (96)

  • DragonEyeMorrison
    March 6, 2009
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Interesting premise, good start, but the story is told in the most cryptic way possible. Far from engaged i was a bit annoyed and hardly that interested in the characters.
  • kiriyamakazou
    February 10, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Purposefully confusing with a a scattered narrative that takes in flashbacks of events, flashbacks of stories, dreams and more. As the story unfolds it's obvious as to where it is going, but at least the journey is full of surprises and some fantastic scenery. It's a beautiful fi... read morelm in terms of look and how it slowly unravels. The script does an excellent job of creating empathy towards the characters and the symbolism is left for you to piece together yourself rather than too many blatant explanations.
  • threefolddado
    May 17, 2008
    threefolddado
    Beautiful and haunting.
  • fb1532277942
    February 1, 2012
    fb1532277942
    This was an interesting movie. A korean movie in the style of David Lynch. I think I understand what happened but then again....who knows, only the guys who write these will ever truely understand I think. Ok, it's a good movie and the shots were really good.
  • kingmob6
    June 16, 2011
    kingmob6
    This was a decent little thriller that I re-watched recently, though I think I had to scale back my initial rating. I think the first time around I found this a bit more interesting on the 1st viewing due to the vaguely David Lynch feeling I found in the film, what with the myst... read moreery, the forest, etc., but upon another look I had to reevaluate a bit.

    Give it a go, it has some nice pacing and the supernatural elements are well handled.

    The film is very watchable and well worth a rental.
  • GabrielKnight
    November 27, 2010
    GabrielKnight
    This movie is quite a mind-bender. To say that the story is non-linear is a major understatement, it's more like a tangled spider web (pardon the pun). We are talking flashbacks within flashbacks and multiple sub-plots that all of a sudden change the direction of the movie entire... read morely. Watching this movie requires 100% attention to detail - everything you see and hear may be a clue to figuring out what this all means. But to put it all together is left entirely up to you - do not expect an explanation in the end.

    I think it's fair to say this movie requires more than 1 viewing. After I watched it for the first time, I was totally confused, and had several theories of what it all meant but none of them really seemed to make sense. I almost never watch the movies again, but I was so intrigued by the mystery, I just had to. Hint: watch the cast interviews and the deleted scenes on the DVD, they will help quite a bit. On the second viewing, I knew what to pay attention to, and the puzzle pieces finally fell into places. What a brain exercise this was!

    If you are interested in my take on this story, it can be found here (needless to say - spoiler alert): http://tinyurl.com/23nhom8
  • joyouskiss
    July 12, 2007
    joyouskiss
    A mystery thriller about a man with amnesia whom is tied to the cabin in spider forest for some reason. Suspenseful, a mite confusing as to what's past and present when it blends. Like memories are.
  • aelric99
    January 21, 2007
    aelric99
    not a bad little movie, if i do say so myself. and i do. borrowing a bit from other movies (i can't name which movies without giving away parts of the plot), this film in fact improves upon the flicks it draws from with a David Lynch kind of narrative. I've really been impressed ... read morewith a lot of the cinema coming out of Korea lately, and this is no exception.
  • decals74
    August 15, 2006
    decals74
    the delivery is pretty david lynch-esque, confusing with moments of beauty. i liked the cinematography in this movie more than Gam Woo-Sung's other releases.

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Critic Reviews

Anton Bitel
June 17, 2008
Anton Bitel, Film4

Whether it is a psychodrama or a ghost story, Song Il-Gon's heady blend of mixed-up memory, desperate loss and overwhelming guilt will have viewers returning to its primal scene again and again in sea... Full Review

Josh Ralske
August 5, 2006
Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

...a twisted journey that lingers in the memory. Full Review

Don Willmott
December 23, 2005
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

Spider Forest is interesting enough and watchable, but it lacks that aha! moment that those who stick with such a confusing story deserve in the end. Full Review

Derek Elley
March 26, 2009
Derek Elley, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

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