Review : Chaw (2009)

via beyondhollywood.com

This horror comedy from South Korea traces the story of a police officer who gets transferred to small village. Expecting less work he shifts happily only to realize that a man eating boar has created havoc there. Now with the help of some locals he will have to find a way to end the menace. Especially hard when the corrupt police refuses to believe the story of a man eating boar. 


As you can see it has some traces of another Korean horror gem- THE HOST. But its more closely related with the JAW school of thinking. The creature is big but not as huge and destructive as the HOST one. Secondly it has humour thrown in so that you can enjoy it without getting too distressed. And for a movie featuring killer pigs its the right way. It derides its genre only to enhance it further. Laughs means more audience involvement and it gets it almost right. And the human drama exceeds the scares. As in JAW i totally don't understand why this is classified as horror? A little tension and a killer pig but the dread and scare are missing. Creature features aren't always horror.......


The acclaimed Korean director Jeeng Won Shin directs this creature  feature. His last film was a big hit in Korea and it too featured lotsa humour. So he knows how to sugarcoat the bitter pill. And this time its the topic of deforestation and poaching which gets the attention. Being an animal lover the various topics it depicts hit a chord with me. If we encroach on their land they'll enter our land and harm us, right? Simple logic. And the message is conveyed through lots of fun and a little tension. Its not as scary but the writer and director must have wanted more people to see it so they sweetened the deal a little. But you know somethings wrong. Nice!!

via dreadcentral.com

On the acting its a long cast. Usually in English movies its not more than 5-7 characters. But this horror features many characters and back stories as you get to know them.And its usual in Korean and Indian cinema to have 2hours + of running time with characters back stories and drama which sometimes takes you away from the main issue. But this is not a problem here as we see and feel the anguish and pain of the characters as we spend a lot of time with them. And less with the monster which is a letdown. But the characters are earthy funny and seem to be enjoying themselves. So its all good. But a horror with less of the creature isn't a horror and this will fail to scare you. Although the acting does lift it up. And we feel scared for them. So well done cast.


Cinematography is nice. It captures the lush greenery of the rural side perfectly. And the also the creepy claustrophobic cave of the pig. The pig attacks are brilliantly choreographed as also the climax chase. Editing and music is nice. 


HighTension Verdict: Killer pig feature done funnily and done well. The human drama absorbs you because of the acting. There is less of the creature but whenever it comes totally makes for it. Lees scares and thrills and more comedy and drama. And a pretty nice climax. So no reason you can't give this movie a watch. Just don't expect a HOST. Just think the JAW mated with a pig n the Koreans found it ;)


HighTension Meter: 7/10.

The Korean trailer looks more menacing because you don't understand the language and it isnt 121 minutes long.......

Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading.