In
Korean horror movies, Shaman exorcist have a lower life expectancy than red
shirts on Star Trek. So-hee is an exception who sort of proves the rule.
She is the moody daughter of a shaman, who has a bit of the shine herself. Those
are all classic “final girl” indicators. Seriously, she really should have
known better than to go out stirring up a supernatural hornet’s nest, but she
lets her paranormal investigation club do it anyway in Yoo Sun-dong’s 0.0
MHz, which premieres today on Shudder.
The
club is called “0.0 MHz” because that is supposedly the frequency at which the
human brain can make contact with ghosts, or some such silliness. Regardless,
So-hee does not seem to have much interest in ghost-chasing, so it is hard to
see why she signs on for their latest field trip. Nebbish Sang-yeob aspires to
be a horror novelist and not-so secretly carries a torch for her, so his
presence makes sense. Yoon-jung, the party girl, is out for a good time, while
their charismatic leader Tae-soo and the jerkheel Han-seok are both out to
score with her. Unfortunately, they have chosen a really sinister location: the
isolated house in the mountains that was the scene of the disastrous exorcism
during the prologue.
Frankly,
0.0 MHz is pretty standard stuff, but it works better just because it is
K-horror and has trappings of shamanism. In fact, the film picks up
significantly during the second act, focusing on Yoon-jung’s possession. Choi
Yoon-young really ought to be in a different film, because her performance as the
bleached-blonde Yoon-jung is way more fun than anything else in 0.0 MHz.
In
contrast, K-pop star Jung Eun-ji is rather lifeless and underwhelming as So-hee.
Most of the guys are not any better, but at least Shin Joo-hwan grouses about
with snarly energy as the contemptible Han-seok.
To
be fair, Yoo deserves credit for several good decisions, starting with his
avoidance of shaky-cam. Despite the club’s many posted cameras, 0.0 MHz never
uses the found footage conceit. He also clearly recognized Choi was working and
went with her. Nevertheless, his adaptation of Jak Jang’s web-comic is about as
formulaic as horror gets. (Yet, there is something perversely reassuring about
tried-and-true genre conventions at a time like this.) Recommended for Korean
horror fans (who will appreciate the scenery chewing of Choi and Shin), 0.0
MHz starts streaming today on Shudder.