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Eun-ha Shim, Suk-kyu Han, Ju-sang Yun, Jang Hang-seon

This film opens with a young man arriving at an apartment and ending up on a concrete slab getting slowly dismembered with a scalpel by an unseen killer. That unfortunate soul, along with a number of ... read more read more...other hapless victims, turns up in a bunch of plastic garbage bags littered around Seoul during Korea's steamy, rainy season. Burnt-out cop Jo (Han Suk-Kyu) is assigned to head up the investigation. The killer, who puts the limbs of a body with the corpse of another, clearly must have a basic grasp of surgery, Jo and his colleague Oh (Jang Hang-seon) quickly surmise. Their inquiry soon leads them to Chae Su-yeon (Korean idol Shim Eun-ha), a beautiful museum restorer who knew three of the victims. At first, she is wary and unresponsive. The cops' attention is briefly turned toward Kim Ki-yeon (Yu Jun-sang), an obsessive suitor of Chae who had not been seen for several days, that is, until a video tape surfaces of the missing man getting his legs lopped off. Later, as Chae begins to divulge the dark secrets of her past -- sexual abuse and the fiery death of a friend -- the body count grows and the murders become more gruesome. Director Chang Yoon-hyun's profoundly creepy "hardgore" thriller was a major box-office success in its native South Korea, matching that of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999). ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

55% liked it

1,816 ratings

Critics

44% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Chang Youn Hyun

Release Date: November 13, 1999

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DVD Release Date: June 18, 2002

Stats: 128 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (128)

  • WrenchLT
    April 13, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Grisly Korean serial killer thriller. It's a little bit overlong, has a few plot holes and the twist ending isn't quite as surprising as it tried to be. Still a solid effort, it was certainly twisted and gruesome enough for me. If you enjoy disturbing thrillers like The Silence o... read moref the Lambs and Se7en then give this a look.
  • 76Majikat
    July 13, 2008
    76Majikat
    This film heavily relies on shockability, blood and gore, without it the investigations would not have been as interesting and this film would not be popular, having said that, the blood and gore were at least something 'new' and is definitely not for the squeemish.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 3, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    An all round good attempt at a serial killer thriller. It just can't stand up against the heavyweights in the category and results in a a bit of a mess. There's too much dialogue being spoken and not a lot of it relates to the actual murders. The film then becomes more and more c... read moreomplex and feels as though it is trying to confuse its audience in an attempt to seem like something more. While watching it becomes such a chore piecing it all together your brain starts to hurt. It has moments of style and moments of suspense but with 5 different writers the pacing and overall story is a jumble.
  • harrycaul
    February 23, 2008
    harrycaul
    With a multiple vehicle pile-up, a relish for grisly detail and a soundtrack reliant on cherry-picked, westernised popular music, this slick, South Korean serial-killer flick tries so hard to emulate similar Hollywood fare that it becomes every bit as tedious, flavourless and for... read moregettable as that which it is copying. The only difference, really, is that an equivalent Hollywood thriller would condescendingly hammer home the explanations, whereas "Tell Me Something" makes very few concessions to being understood at all. Alternately smart and silly, there's nothing here that hasn't been done better elsewhere.
  • alanjayh
    April 10, 2008
    alanjayh
    moody, a bit slow, nonetheless interesting whodunit..a bit gory..main problem I have with it is that the lead detective does not have much personality that shows....nice surprise ending!! if you can tolerate the pacing, its worth watching
  • cacutshaw
    February 2, 2007
    cacutshaw
    Very good psychological thriller that was far gorier than I expected. Another film with good performances and a story that deserves repeat viewings (or surfing the net) to catch things you may have missed.
  • Hexenkult
    May 14, 2008
    Hexenkult
    I was pretty impressed with this Korean horror crime/thriller. It mines much of the same ground as Se7en and other high profile thrillers, but it's decidedly more gory and grisly (which I certainly appreciate). There seems to be a slight "giallo" influence as well (especially one... read more of the killings, which had an Argento-esque feel to it). The story involves a serial killer terrorizing Seoul and leaving his victims' body parts in garbage bags throughout various public locations in the city. The garbage bags contain different parts from different male victims; and the special investigators task force, led by Detective Cho must piece together the human puzzles to determine the victims' identities. Once the identities are discovered, the task force manages to link all the victims to a former lover, Su-Yeon Chae. Is she a suspect? Or is she the killer's next target? Watch and find out. It's a little slow in places but it does manage to build suspense; and the thriller aspect holds your attention to the end. The cinematography and look of the film is exceptional, and the soundtrack was also memorable. The acting is capable with no real stand-out performances. I only recognized one actor that I've seen in other films, Jung-ah Yum. She played the stepmother in A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, another exceptional Korean film. She also played a small part as the "vampire woman" in the opening scene of Park-Chan Wook's segment of THREE...EXTREMES.
  • futuresmkt
    October 25, 2007
    futuresmkt
    This is one of the stragest most disturbing movies I have everseen(Korean). Excellent but, different.
  • DS291284
    September 10, 2007
    DS291284
    A Korean thriller in the vein of "Se7en", this film features strikingly stylish direction from director Yoon-Hyun Chang, moments of chilling suspense, and a plot that is genuinely clever with manipulative red herrings and a few surprising twists. However, there is a major flaw: u... read morender-development and lack of cohesion within the said plot. The film's final revelation leaves the viewer in a state of confusion as multiple questions are raised but are left unanswered by the film. The lack of answers is not thought-provokingly ambiguous (which I would have welcomed) but rather it simply had not been adequately explained enough within the film for it to be cohesive with the rest of the plot (which I do not welcome)... it's as if the filmmakers had simply tacked on the ending for an added surprise element, or that certain scenes were simply deleted that would have more fully explained things (perhaps out of fear it would make the ending too predictable?). Regardless of this flaw, the film is still an effective piece of genre filmmaking that fans of serial killer-thrillers such as the aforementioned "Se7en" or its many knock-offs.

View All Telmisseomding (Tell Me Something) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle
November 30, 2001
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A complicated and stylish Korean thriller that will make viewers' skin crawl. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
November 9, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

For all its style and assurance, Tell Me Something is not ultimately original enough to sustain its many horrific images, however brief they may be. Full Review

Frank Scheck
October 3, 2001
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Mainly demonstrates that Asian filmmakers are just as adept as Americans at producing genre exercises.

September 24, 2001
Village Voice

Stylish, sullen, and a little predictable, Tell Me Something is the match of any American film in its quasi-genre. Full Review

Jonathan Foreman
September 14, 2001
Jonathan Foreman, New York Post

So bedeviled by plot holes and violations of common sense that by the time you get to the climax, you've ceased to buy the whole story line.

A.O. Scott
September 13, 2001
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Though it comes from halfway across the world, the movie, directed by Chang Youn-hyun, shows a desultory mastery of Hollywood clichés. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
March 20, 2003
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The Grand Guignol effects seemed more grim than convincing. Full Review

Joshua Tanzer
March 11, 2003
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff

Has strong characters and a gruesomely intriguing plot but doesn't wrap up its central mystery convincingly. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 3, 2002
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Has a lot to show but little to say. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
November 30, 2001
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

How can filmmakers from other countries make basically the same films we're making here but make them better? Full Review

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