At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Blistering performances.

An insurance claims adjuster is sent to meet a man, his company believes is a con artist, engaged in insurance fraud.And during this meeting he makes a grisly discovery...the body of a young boy who has recently been hung.Despite the fact that he is not his actual son...the man has a very large insurance policy out on the boy's life. And he has the claim written up before his ashes are even spread.This leads the insurance adjuster to suspect the man has murdered the boy...so he starts to investigate this man and his past.With the insurance company refusing to pay out- before the police make a decision on the cause of death- the man becomes increasingly disgruntled...and starts to target the insurance adjuster.They eventually pay him out, but the adjuster becomes worried his wife will be next...because he also has a large policy out on her, as well.He feels particularly responsible, because, as a child, he witnessed his younger brother commit suicide...and still feels guilty for having failed to prevent it.So he acts to intervene- warning the woman of what he suspects her husband's intentions are.But a few days later, the couple is back...to collect on another claim...after the man has cut off both his arms.Now, the adjuster realizes...it was his psychopath wife the whole time.But it's too late...his brother is dead, his girlfriend's dog has had it's head cut off, and his girlfriend has suddenly been kidnapped.Obviously, this woman is not one to be trifled with.This is a really engaging serial killer-slasher, from South Korea's Terra Shin. The insurance claims adjuster is such a lovable anti-hero...that you just don't expect him to be caught up in a gore-laden situation. But that is what gives this film that subtle touch of dark humour that makes it so damn enjoyable.Recommended.6.5 out of 10.

"Black House" is a wildly uneven but nevertheless very entertaining horror/thriller from South Korea. The plot doesn't contain a single element you haven't seen at least three dozen of times before, and it seems as if director Terra Shin couldn't decide what type of movie he wanted to deliver, but at least it guarantees a good 100 minutes of suspense and (speaking for my girlfriend) a few horrible sleepless nights. The title "Black House" suggests a supernatural haunted house thriller, but the titular residential building is actually of no relevance to the plot whatsoever… It opens as an ambitious psychological thriller about a young insurance agent, naturally struggling with some unprocessed childhood traumas, who tries to prove that one of his clients deliberately murdered his young stepson in order to claim the insurance money. The story, albeit highly unoriginal, is overall compelling and intense. The film features several downright creepy moments (like an answering machine full of silent recordings) as well as horrendous genre clichés (like decapitated pet dogs). But then, suddenly, the plot takes a complete U-turn and atmosphere as well as tone and direction alters entirely. Through some revelations and discoveries, our insurance agent all of a sudden finds himself relentlessly pursued by a totally insane and maniacal female! The whole insurance fraud scheme, carefully built up until then, doesn't matter anymore and "Black House" turns into a derivative slasher/torture porn flick with sadist murder sequences and an indestructible killer. Oh well, fine by me also, it just requires a fast and rather unanticipated switch of mindset. The acting performances are decent, the make-up effects suitably vile and the set-pieces nicely sinister. South Korea arguably brings forward the best horror/thriller productions of the entire Asian continent, with for example the works of Jee-Woon Kim ("A Tale of Two Sisters", "I Saw the Devil") and Chan-wook Park ("Oldboy", "Lady Vengeance"). "Black House" doesn't belong to the elite, of course, but it's definitely worth tracking down.

By the title of my review, you might think I would chide films for imitating Hollywood out of some sort of reverence for the latter, but that couldn't be farther from the truth as Black House's imitation is its ultimate downfall. Being a fan of Korean cinema and having seen the original film (Kuroi Ie from Japan), I was disappointed to find that director Shin Terra basically removed the deeper aspects of psychology from the story and chose instead to focus on developing the plot along in the most basic of manners.At the beginning of the film, insurance agent Jun-oh is drawn into a complex web of death, dismemberment, and deceit as he suspects the apparent suicide of a client's son was not suicide at all. What would seem like simple insurance fraud grows into something much more sinister as Jun-oh encounters a true psychopath. But where the film goes wrong is in focusing on Jun-oh and his generic, last-minute back story rather than on the nature of a psychopath. Let's face it, Jun-oh the character is not interesting in the least. He goes through no changes throughout the film and his immovable belief in humanity at the end of the film is all the more laughable and ridiculous after the graphic horrors he witnesses. Sure, as you say, the killer is just like you. They just like to rip the heads off of dogs and cut people into little pieces. But they're just like you. Where Kuroi Ie goes right in this aspect is first depicting the psychopath from the very beginning of the film. You know who you're dealing with, so the whole movie carries a tense atmosphere. Black House, on the other hand, chooses to go the red herring route with an oh-so-obvious red herring and oh-so-obvious culprit. The ultimate revelation for Jun-oh is neither surprising nor shocking. Kuroi Ie scores here in a second manner by depicting the psychopath with a true disconnect, a real sense of going through life without a care, rather than as a bland and boring caricature TRYING to act like a psychopath.In the end, Black House tries to differentiate itself from the stale output of vengeful ghost films, but it falls instead into the generic thriller camp. Too stupid to be scary, and too boring to be intelligent. Couple all that with a cheesy, tacked-on ending about the cycle of violence and you've got yourself the worst kind of film - one that thinks its being artsy.

An insurance agent, still fresh on the job, gets called to a home where he witnesses an apparent suicide. After the initial shock, though, he begins to suspect murder and sets his sights on investigating the boy's father. As the investigation continues, so does the creepy nature of the father. How far will both men go to achieve their ends, and what other secrets is this family hiding? I'm relatively new to the Korean horror scene, but have liked much of what has come my way. "Black House" is no exception. While it isn't a perfect film, it certainly kept my interest, even during the hours where I would typically be asleep. The flaws are forgivable -- it carries on a bit longer than necessary, expects us to believe a killer capable of some extraordinary feats (considering the killer isn't in peak physical condition). But what horror film doesn't have us believe the unbelievable? The lead characters/actors were great. Jeon Juno (Jeong-min Hwang) was a decent lead as a courageous everyman, and Park Chung-bae (Shin-il Kang) was a formidable opponent. He played up the "less is more" approach perfectly, allowing his stares to send chills. Park's wife (Seon Yu) was both beautiful and evil at the same time. The secondary characters were alright, too... though I wasn't overly impressed by Jeon's girlfriend Mina (Seo-hyeong Kim).The visuals were well done. There was a darkness, but at the same time a crisp feel to the film, showing a sizable production. Many foreign films tend to have a lower budget feel, but this was not one of those. The blood and gore were superb, and I even felt they tended to mix violence and sexuality in a way that is sensually magnificent (particularly towards the end). Not least was the soundtrack, with very simple but effective piano melodies (presumably by Seung-hyun Choi). In some scenes they came off as repetitive, but there was one sad tune that was haunting and pulled me emotionally into the picture against my will.I have no complaints with the writing, directing, acting, cinematography. This film came together nicely and was effective. All too often, Asian (particularly Japanese) films fall back on the "dream" and "ghost" subgenres of horror. This one stayed far away, giving us a mystery-thriller that was right up the alley of Italian giallo (though more horror than mystery). If you're looking for a good foreign flick, this one's worth a shot... see it before someone tries to remake it (again, since this is in itself a remake).