Synopsis
The halls of Migeum apartment building exude an air of foulness as if alluding to the terrible history written on its walls. Yong-hyun, a cab driver, moves into apartment 504, where a young writer died recently in a fire, carrying only a suitcase and his hamster. He meets his neighbors, each affected in one-way or another with yet another terrible fire and murder that occurred there 30 years ago. The barber who remembers too much about the incidents of 30 years ago, a novelist who stole the dead writer's notes and is attempting to finish the accounts of the tragedy and Sun-young, who lost her child and is abused by her husband. Soon after his arrival, strange and mysterious events begin to take place and the entangled fates of its residents, past and present, begin to be revealed. The dilapidated apartment building takes on a life of its own as its residents' lives intermingle tragically. Yong-hyun and Sun-young live in their own deserted worlds and are haunted by their own demons. They find themselves drawn to one another by a power they both cannot deny. One is inexplicably drawn back to the cursed building and one cannot leave it behind. Hidden beneath the obvious layers of misery lies each soul's deep fear of finding the truth to their origin and existence. KIM Myung-min, making his screen debut, gives a convincing portrayal of the tortured and disturbed Yong-hyun and JANG Jin-young, following her memorable performance in , transforms herself into the physically and emotionally battered Sun-young. Director YOON Jong-chan makes his feature debut after a string of critically acclaimed short films such as , and . promises to be a different kind of psychological thriller. (Ellen KIM)