The Record (film)
A 2000 South Korean slasher film about videotaped murder.
The Record (Korean: 찍히면 죽는다; RR: Jjikhimyeon jungneunda) is a 2000 South Korean horror film featuring actors Kang Seong-min, Park Eun-hye, and Han Chae-young. Its story follows a group of young people who murder an innocent person and record the crime on video for entertainment. A mysterious man then hunts down each of the killers and murders them for his own enjoyment.
The film was released on August 26, 2000, and drew 30,130 admissions in South Korea. It did not rank among the year’s top ten domestic box office hits. For context, the horror film *Nightmare*—released the same year—garnered 332,000 admissions and made that list.
In contemporary reviews, Bruce Holecheck of *Deep Red* magazine called the film a Korean version of *I Know What You Did Last Summer* that “forgets to ladle on the massive grue” of early 80s teen-slashers. He found it unoriginal but noted it was “not referential to the point of insult to true fans.” Jim Harper, in his book *Legacy of Blood*, also compared it to *I Know What You Did Last Summer*, pointing out an Americanized tone reminiscent of *Porky’s* and *Animal House*. He wrote that despite the derivative material, it is “a highly entertaining film” offering “good ol’ slasher fun” without irony or postmodernism.
The film belongs to an early 2000s cycle of South Korean slasher films that included *Bloody Beach*, *Harpy*, and *Nightmare*. This period preceded 2003, a landmark year when Korean horror cinema began producing more artistically ambitious and thematically complex works.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Kim Ki-hun
- Producer
- Park Il-seo
- Screenplay
- Choo Ki-suck / Han Chang-hak
- Starring
- Kang Seong-min / Park Eun-hye
- Music
- Lee Sang-yong / Lee Jong-gyo
- Cinematography
- Chung Chung-hoon
- Editing
- Kyung Min-ho
- Studio
- Sam Woo Communications
- Distributor
- <!-- or
- Released
- 26 August 2000
- Runtime
- 90 minutes
- Country
- South Korea
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Record was released on August 26, 2000, and had 30,130 admissions in South Korea. It failed to reach the top ten grossing films domestically for the year 2000. In comparison, the horror film Nightmare had 332,000 admissions and was among the top ten highest grossing domestic productions of that year. The film is part of an early 2000s horror cycle in South Korean cinema involving slasher films such as Bloody Beach, Harpy, and Nightmare, preceding the landmark year 2003 when more artistically ambitious and thematically complex horror cinema emerged.
Reader's Guide
The Record is notable as an early 2000s South Korean slasher film that drew comparisons to American teen horror, particularly I Know What You Did Last Summer. Contemporary reviews from Bruce Holecheck of Deep Red magazine described it as a Korean I Know What You Did Last Summer that 'forgets to ladle on the massive grue which made the early 80's teen-kill wave so much fun,' yet noted it was unoriginal but 'not referential to the point of insult to true fans.' Jim Harper, in his book Legacy of Blood, also compared the film to I Know What You Did Last Summer and noted the Americanization of the characters, likening them to those in Porky's and Animal House. Harper concluded that 'Despite the derivative material, it's a highly entertaining film' with 'no attempt at irony or post-modernism, just good ol' slasher fun.' The film's modest box office performance and its place within the early 2000s Korean horror cycle highlight its role as a transitional work before the genre's artistic shift in 2003.
Did You Know?
- It failed to reach the top ten grossing films domestically in South Korea for the year 2000.
- The Record is part of an early 2000s horror cycle including Bloody Beach, Harpy, and Nightmare.
More in South Korean horror films 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced