Nightmare (2000 film)
A South Korean horror film about a vengeful spirit.
Nightmare (Korean: 가위; RR: Gawi; lit. 'Scissors'), also known as *Horror Game Movie* and released in the Philippines as *Gawi: The Nightmare*, is a 2000 South Korean horror film. Written and directed by Ahn Byeong-ki, who later helmed *Phone* (2002), *Bunshinsaba* (2004), and *APT* (2006), the movie stars Kim Gyu-ri, Ha Ji-won, and Choi Jung-yoon. It ranked as the sixth best-selling film of 2000, drawing 322,000 admissions in Seoul over five weeks.
The story follows six college friends who drift apart after graduation. Sun-ae moves to the U.S., Hye-jin studies psychology, Hyun-jun works in a scrapyard after a knee injury, Se-hoon opens an art studio, Jung-wook becomes a married lawyer having an affair with actress Mi-ryeong. Years later, Sun-ae returns and tells Hye-jin she is being chased by Kyung-ah, a girl believed dead. Hye-jin visits Se-hoon, who has nightmares about a faceless woman, and begins seeing Kyung-ah herself.
In college, Hye-jin had befriended a girl named Eun-ju, who was actually Kyung-ah—rumored to be a "possessed" child spreading death and misfortune, including the death of Hye-jin's father. After Hye-jin told Eun-ju to stay away, she witnessed Eun-ju's suicide. Now, Kyung-ah kills Se-hoon. Hye-jin gathers the group; Jung-wook reveals Sun-ae went to the U.S. for mental treatment, not education. Hyun-jun blackmails Jung-wook with a tape of his affair, recorded by Se-hoon, who also captured Kyung-ah's death. Hyun-jun is killed next. Kyung-ha appears, visible only to Sun-ae, who flees.
Mi-ryeong is nearly drowned by Kyung-ah, then breaks up with Jung-wook and is found dead. Hye-jin finds Se-hoon's tape, which shows the truth: after Hye-jin left, Kyung-ah's cat attacked Jung-wook; in the chaos, Hyun-jun broke his leg, and Kyung-ah fell and passed out. The five friends faked her suicide, pushing her off a building. When she woke up, Jung-wook killed her. Jung-wook breaks into Hye-jin's home for the tape, but Sun-ae attacks him. He chases her to the same building, tries to kill both women, and is impaled by Sun-ae with a metal rod. Later, Kyung-ah appears to Hye-jin as well and kills Sun-ae, so the two can be together.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Ahn Byeong-ki
- Producer
- Goh Hyeong-wook / Stanley Kim / Lee Min-ho
- Starring
- Kim Gyu-ri / Choi Jung-yoon / Ha Ji-won / Yoo Ji-tae
- Music
- Lee Tae-beom
- Cinematography
- Lee Seok-hyeon
- Editing
- Park Soon-deok
- Distributor
- Tube Entertainment
- Released
- 29 July 2000
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Country
- South Korea
- Language
- Korean
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows a clique of six friends who, after college graduation, go separate ways. Years later, Sun-ae returns from the United States and tells Hye-jin she is being pursued by the supposedly deceased Kyung-ah. Hye-jin begins having visions of Kyung-ah, and the group learns that Kyung-ah was a girl from their past rumored to be 'possessed' and who spread deaths and misfortune. One casualty was Hye-jin's father. After Hye-jin told Eun-ju (Kyung-ah's alias) to stay away, she witnessed Eun-ju committing suicide.
Kyung-ah kills Se-hoon, and later Hyun-jun. Hye-jin finds a video tape recorded by Se-hoon that reveals the truth: the night Kyung-ah died, an altercation occurred, and the five friends decided to fake her suicide and push her body off a building. Kyung-ah woke up but Jung-wook killed her anyway. Jung-wook attempts to kill Hye-jin and Sun-ae to cover up the truth, but Sun-ae impales him with a metal rod. Some time later, Kyung-ah appears to both Hye-jin and Sun-ae, and kills Sun-ae so the two can be together.
Reader's Guide
Nightmare is notable as an early entry in the 2000s wave of South Korean horror cinema, directed by Ahn Byeong-ki, who later directed Phone (2002), Bunshinsaba (2004), and APT (2006). The film's plot involves a group of friends haunted by a vengeful spirit, a common theme in Asian horror. Its commercial success—ranking 6th best selling film of 2000 in Seoul—helped establish Ahn Byeong-ki as a horror director. The film also gained a Chinese remake, Bunshinsaba 2 (2013), also directed by Ahn, which is almost a shot-for-shot remake with setting and language changes. The production was marked by actor injuries and ghost sightings on set, adding to its lore. The film's home media release by Tartan Video had a vertically stretched image, causing distortion.
Did You Know?
- The film was released in the Philippines as Gawi: The Nightmare on March 3, 2004.
- A Chinese remake titled Bunshinsaba 2, also directed by Ahn Byeong-ki, was released on July 16, 2013.
- The actors had injuries and incidents while making the film, and also mentioned ghost sightings in the toilet.
- Tartan Video's Region 1 release has a vertically stretched image, presenting the 1.85:1 film in 1.74:1.
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