I. Introduction
Guimoon: The Lightless Door is a 2021 South Korean horror film, directed by Kim Yong-wan and starring Kim Kang-woo, Kim So-hye (I.O.I) and Lee Jung-hyung. The film was shot in an abandoned building in Pocheon to bring out horror in the film & is simultaneously produced in 2D, ScreenX and 4DX versions. It depicts the story of the director of a psychic research institute and college students. It was released in theatres in 2D, ScreenX, and 4DX on August 25, 2021.
II. Synopsis
Guisari Training Center closed after a mass murder in 1990. And in that place, people disappeared!
In 1990, at a training center in Guisari, a building manager murdered guests and committed suicide. Since then, when suicide and death accidents occurred every year, the training center closed and has been neglected for many years, and ghost stories about the 'Guimoon' that people enter but no one comes out begin to be the talk of town.
Meanwhile, 'Do Jin', director of the Psychic Research Institute, who came to the training center to uncover the secret of her mother who died while trying a rite of passage at the training center, and college students 'Hye Yeong', 'Tae Hoon' and 'Won Jae', who went to the training center to shoot a video for a competition were horrified and faced with a bizarre horror.
If you can handle it, try to open 'Guimoon'.
III. Cast
| Pic | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Kang Woo | Do Jin The director of the Psychic Research Institute |
|
| Kim So Hye | Hye Young The leader of college students |
IV. Trailers
V. Reception
As per the Korean Film Promotion Council (Kofic), the film ranks 4th on the Korean box office on the first day of its release. As of September 11, 2021, it grossed US$675,574 from 91,373 admissions. It has gained the scores of 6.6 on Mydramalist &, 4.6 on IMDB.
William Schwartz from HanCinema has got a mixed review about the film as followed - GUIMOON: The Lightless Door benefits from masterful ambience as director Shim Duck-geun focuses on backdrop rather than jump scares. There's almost never a time where we're actually expecting something scary is going to happen. The reformatory itself is just naturally claustrophobic and creepy, with frequent ominous cues. When one door closes, others open. Wind appears to be blowing from nowhere. And there's always sick, ominous laughter just around the corner.
This sense of ambience mostly makes up for the movie's main obvious failing, which is the lack of any particularly interesting characterization. It's only quite late that we get a good look at shovel murderer Seok-ho (played by Jang Jae-ho-I) and learn why exactly he committed the crimes that led to the reformatory being shut down. As it happens that explanation is disappointingly straightforward, and not exactly something that required investigating the reformatory itself to figure out.
