The Wig
| The Wig | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Won Shin-yun |
| Written by | Do Hyun-jung Won Shin-yun |
| Produced by | Kim Yong-dae Lee Seo-yeol |
| Starring | Chae Min-seo Yoo Sun Sa Hyeon-jin |
| Cinematography | Kim Dong-eun |
| Edited by | Kim Sun-min |
| Music by | Kim Jun-seong |
Production company | Korea Entertainment |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$2,146,621[1] |
The Wig (Korean: 가발; RR: Gabal) is 2005 South Korean horror film directed by Won Shin-yun, and starring Chae Min-seo and Yoo Sun. It was first released on August 12, 2005 in South Korea and was released onto DVD in the United States in 2008.
Plot
A young woman named Soo-hyeon (Chae Min-seo) is struggling against cancer and her older sister Ji-hyeon (Yoo Sun) decides that she should take her home so that she can enjoy what little time she has left rather than spend it in a hospital. Ji-hyeon is a mute, because of a car accident that impaled her throat. She buys a long-haired wig for her sister so that she can go out without feeling ashamed; what she doesn't know is that the wig is cursed. Soo-hyeon is happy with the wig on; she begins to look and act healthier and more attractive, and leaves the house often.
Soon, however, she begins to try and steal Ji-hyeon's boyfriend. He breaks up with Ji-hyeon but is not interested in Soo-hyeon. One day, one of Ji-hyeon's friends finds out that her husband is cheating on her. Soo-hyeon lends her wig, saying that she will feel prettier and better. The next day however, the friend is found dead with her husband, covered in hair. Soo-hyeon's wig returns to her, mysteriously. She cruelly ignores Ji-hyeon and is plagued with frightening images of the friend's demise. The next day, she tries to have sex with Ji-hyeon's ex, but Ji-hyeon picks her up and the two drive home. Soo-hyeon goads her, angering Ji-hyeon.
At home, the two don't speak until Soo-hyeon washes the wig and Ji-hyeon sees a ghost in it. She grabs the wig and locks Soo-hyeon in her room, then cuts the wig to shreds. The cancer returns and Soo-hyeon has to go back to the hospital, unhappy and refusing to see her sister. She escapes the hospital after not taking her medication. We see a disturbing scene of Soo-hyeon pulling pills from her bloody scalp.
It is revealed that the wig belonged to a man who was in a romantic relationship with Ji-hyeon's ex. Being gay, he was shunned by Ji-hyeon's ex and beaten by a group of teens, cutting his long hair. He then committed suicide. The ghost of the man now possesses Soo-hyeon and is trying to get back with Ji-hyeon's ex. As they kiss, Soo-hyeon's hair grows at an impossibly fast rate. Ji-hyeon appears and sets fire to the long hair, freeing her sister and destroying the ghost. Unfortunately, she hallucinates that the ghost is in the place of her sister and beats her to death. As Soo-hyeon dies, her sister cries at what she has done. The film ends with a photograph of the two girls as children, before Soo-hyeon's cancer and Ji-hyeon's speech loss.
Cast
- Chae Min-seo as Soo-hyeon / Hee-joo
- Yoo Sun as Ji-hyeon
- Bang Moon-soo as Ki-seok
- Sa Hyeon-jin as Kyeong-joo
- Soy as Hye-yeong
- Shin Hyeong-jong as father of Hye-yeong
- Seo Joo-seong as husband of Kyeong-joo
- Na Hyeon-joo as Min-joo
- Ryoo Hyeon-min as Tae-joon
- Kim Joo-kyeong as Ki-hoon
Reception
Critical reception for The Wig has been mixed.[2] DVD Talk and Shock Till You Drop were both relatively ambivalent in their reviews, as both felt that the movie wasn't the best that Asian horror had to offer but still had some viewing value to it that people would enjoy.[3][4] Bloody Disgusting echoed these sentiments, as they felt that the movie "requires a lot of commitment on the part of the viewer" but that the payoff was "worth it, because as strange as it is, you might not have seen anything quite like it before."[5]
Trivia
Chae Min-seo actually shaved her head for the movie.[6]
References
- ^ "GABAL (THE WIG)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ Johnson, David (24 June 2008). "DVD Verdict Review: The Wig". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "The Wig (Region 3) (review)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "The Wig (review)". STYD. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "The Wig (review)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7f0cxq4-FY . Retrieved 18 June 2019