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| From top left, clockwise, are posters for "The Invisible Man," "Brahms: The Boy 2," "The Nightmare," "St. Agatha," "Stray," "The Turning," "It Comes" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." / Courtesy of KOFIC |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
While major film releases are being cancelled or postponed due to the spread of COVID-19, a batch of relatively low-budget horror films are being released as planned.
The number of moviegoers in Korea fell to a 15-year low last month due to fears of the coronavirus outbreak. According to data provided by the Korean Film Council, 7.37 million people went to the cinema in February, down 66.9 percent from last year.
Overall box office ticket sales have plummeted because of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the openings of 50 domestic and foreign films being postponed, including Disney's live-action version of "Mulan" and its new animated adventure, "Onward."
However, horror films are seeing the hiatus as a means of avoiding competition and an opportunity to fill the void for moviegoers.
The sci-fi horror film "The Invisible Man" has topped local box offices for 18 consecutive days since opening Feb. 26, selling a total of 399,770 tickets as of Saturday.
Blumhouse's horror-thriller stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass who, after her controlling ex-boyfriend apparently commits suicide, finds herself haunted by an invisible stalker she believes to be him.
Psychological horror film "Brahms: The Boy 2," which opened March 5, has been carrying out a marketing campaign tailored for teens and people in their 20s. Despite showing on much fewer screens, it landed in sixth place in the weekend box office rankings.
The flick revolves around a child-sized demon doll named Brahms with a list of rules that his owner must abide by or face the consequences.
Mystery-horror film "Nightmare" tells of director Yeon-woo, played by Oh Ji-ho, who loses his daughter in a tragic car accident. He struggles to overcome the sorrow by trying to revive his dead daughter through his films.
"The Nightmare" director Song Jeong-woo mentioned that horror films are gaining steam due to their well-structured storyline.
"Compared to other horror flicks, The Nightmare aims to arouse fear without providing any background details. I wanted the audience to feel a sense of horror as they put the pieces together," he said.
Three additional horror films are set to be released in March, including "St. Agatha," "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" and "It Comes."
"St. Agatha," the latest film from "Saw" franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman that will hit theaters March 19, goes all-in on creepy, sadistic nuns. The film puts an emphasis on the emotional toll that falls upon the young women.
Set in 1968, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is about a group of teenagers stumbling across a mysterious book of scary stories while investigating a haunted house.
"It Comes" is a Japanese supernatural horror film based on the novel by Ichi Sawamura.
In April, the U.S. supernatural horror flick "The Turning" and Russian horror thriller "Stray" will hit local theaters.
"The notion that summer is usually the high-time for horror films success is outdated. In recent years, we have witnessed many horror films opening in spring and getting strong box office results," said culture critic Kim Heon-sik.
"Compared with the past, more and more horror films are adopting fake documentary styles and making great use of sound as in A Quiet Place," he added.
