GL84 After a tragic accident, a young ballerina and her friends at an exclusive boarding school are tormented by a malicious spirit when one of the students discovers a legendary wish-granting staircase on campus.When this one really wanted to, there was some good stuff here. One of the biggest points here is that the central premise to this is rather nice, and appears to go much deeper than it seems at first glance. It appears to be a set of events unleashed by a wish gone wrong, but the difference is the inclusion of the titular stairs acting as a catalyst rather than just having the ghost appear otherwise. It works in a nice explanatory back-story as well that gives it another distinctive flavor by mixing in the mythological with the rational and makes it effective. There's also some really nice haunting scenes mainly during the middle segments with the few short ghostly hauntings which are great at building suspense which include the one where real eyes appear in a clay model at art class or the ghost visits one in the bathroom by constantly changing which mirror they're shown in. That is thankfully made-up for with a longer, later sequence that starts off nicely with a creepy bloody shower scene before showing the dorm losing lights amidst a sea of ghostly flashes twirling around while performing a ballet routine in perhaps the best sequence in the film. The main sequence where it goes after the dance-class members in the dorm is quite well-done as well and rather creepy as the atmosphere during most of these scenes makes this quite enjoyable and highly entertaining. Along with being another entry in the Asian ghost genre where this features the utterly creepy fully- covered face and pale features and some rather impressive kills, these here are what make the film enjoyable although there was a couple points about this one that managed to hold it down. Frankly, the biggest problem with this one is the fact that there's so many different subplots going on that it really makes the film quite long and dull- feeling at times due to the excessive amount of time spent on the various different subplots that aren't all that great. It's really not all that exciting to showcase the lesbian vibe here between the two leads, as it's nothing more than a tease and the scenes featuring them aren't really all that interesting, and the film's numerous scenes of them in dance class or at competitions aren't even close to be interesting or exciting which just drags the beginning of this out to the point that it's irritating waiting for it to get going and actually do something during these times, as it doesn't really have much else going for it. Another big plot that doesn't do much is the storyline with the slightly overweight member, as this is the definition of a go- nowhere plot since it doesn't factor into the film's outcome at all, is so obvious where it's heading the shock doesn't register and eats up valuable time during the period of time that's supposedly building up to the finale which could've been much better. The last flaw to this one is that the ending here is a little confusing, as the encounter in the dance hall and resulting chase are built around one person while the revelation out at the stairs proves otherwise, making it a little confusing. These here are what hold it down.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Verklagekasper Yun Jae-yeon, the first woman to direct a movie of the Yeogo Goedam series, faced a big challenge when making Wishing Stairs. It was Yun's debut, and the two leading actresses, Song Ji-hyo and Park Han-byeol, were newcomers at that time as well. Also, Yun had to meet high expectations because Wishing Stair's predecessors, Whispering Corridors and Memento Mori, had been very successful.Just like all of the Yeogo Goedam movies, Wishing Stairs has a closed story of its own but plays with the same themes. Again, it takes place at a girls' school, this time a school of arts. There, the main characters, Yun Jin-seong (Song) and Kim Sohee (Park), are studying ballet. They are close friends, but their friendship gets challenged when they both enter a contest for a place to study at a Russian ballet faculty. Yun Jin-seong envies her more talented friend. She works hard but just gets scolded by the teacher, whereas Kim Sohee impresses everybody with her effortless skill; she looks like the sure winner of the contest. Yun's jealousy grows till the point that she even seeks supernatural help: Campus legend has it that there is a stair case on the campus which grants a wish when you reach its last step. But as Yun climbs the stairs, the viewer already knows that this is a bad idea. For folklore tells that wishes granted by a supernatural force often come with undesirable side effects, and Wishing Stairs confirms this.Like the previous Yeogo Goedam films, Wishing Stairs isn't a real horror movie. The supernatural serves as a vehicle to accelerate a worldly tragedy. So the movie is less about horror and more about people feeling trapped because they are unable to become the persons they want to be. This idea is stressed by the third main character, Eom. Eom is an overweight outsider, and if the other students notice her at all, it's usually just to make fun of her. She tries to escape her misery by idolizing Kim Sohee, dreaming of being her friend or perhaps even being her.However, it is also Eom (Jo An) where direction wasn't flawless. Unlike her character, Jo happens to be pretty and slim, so she was put in a fat-suit. The problem with that approach is that viewers always notice fat-suits, no matter how well they are made. This might not be a problem in comedies, but in this drama it is a distraction. Also, Jo's performance is sometimes at the border of slapstick, which doesn't do her tragic character justice.Another distraction was the use of an incoherent flashback. It seems an obligation for Yeogo Goedam movies to employ flashbacks to reveal dark secrets of the past, so Wishing Stairs has one flashback as well. Without spoiling too much, it's about an act of sabotage. However, that small part of the plot doesn't roll out plausibly. It causes more confusion than insight and should have been deleted entirely.But the strengths of Wishing Stairs outweigh its flaws. The acting of Song and Park is great. The movie has a high production value. And like its predecessors, it has a certain charm and unique mix of drama and horror to it. It is a tragedy of universal nature, so viewers can relate to it even if they don't happen to be Korean teenage girls (as is the case with this old bloke). Wishing Stairs is a worthy entry in the series, which makes director Yun's debut a real accomplishment.

CloverCandy Even fans of horror movies are sometimes in the mood for something a little lighter & this fits the bill. It's not gory or intense. The story is good, as is the acting. I've read a lot of comments about the lesbian tone to it, but it's just barely. I didn't see the first two before this one but I might check them out one night when I want something easy to watch. This movie would be perfect for something like a 13 year old girls slumber party or something like that. If there is a lesson to be learned from this movie, more so than be careful what you wish for, it's use conditioner. The main characters have such gorgeous hair it will make you sick!!

Jo Okay, so some of those horrors out there are really, really HORRible. Sure, they scare you pantless but then take off in some unknown direction to further frighten the viewer. Personally, from the Ring, I still pray that Sadako won't find me under the covers at night, but the story was nothing too spectacular.In this movie, however, there are definitely a few good lessons and themes intertwined with the horror. Assuming you are familiar with the premise: a set of stairs with a mysterious, wish-granting 29th step, I'll continue. Surprisingly, most of the true horror is not caused by monsters or ghosts, but by the actual PEOPLE who are victimized. They, themselves inflict the pain upon themselves.A girl wishes to be skinny, she becomes bulimic. A ballerina wishes to be better than her friend, she eliminates the competition. An artist wishes her art was more lifelike, she becomes her art. These are snips of irony that are just so mingled with the overall story that you can't just help but say to yourself, "that's what you get for wishing." I'm not native Korean, so it was difficult for me to appreciate this movie as a whole, but I would have to say the acting pretty okay. The effects were a little bit unoriginal, if not plagiarized, but the over all feeling they left was definite. This movie was fairly original, and I enjoyed it, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Eastern Horror of any type.But remember, be careful what you wish for...