WISHING STAIRS

Country: South Korea
Release Year: 2003
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Language: Korean
Running Time: 97 minutes

[Cast]
Ji-hyo Song
Han-byeol Park
An Jo
Ji-Yeon Park

[Director]
Jae-yeon Yun

Let me set the record straight for everyone here, WISHING STAIRS is not a Horror flick! I repeat WISHING STAIRS is not a Horror flick!!! There I said it.

WISHING STAIRS might have a premise of a Horror movie, it even had potential in building a Horror theme from the storyline but it never really delved any deeper than it should have.

Basically there's this long stairway. There's 28 steps to be exact. It leads up to an all girl dormitory. Legend has it that if you wanted something or someone bad enough you can have your wish granted. By climbing the stairs hence, the title.

So a person continues to make their wish as they climbed the steps and if the person's lucky or in this case is unlucky, if a 29th step appeared their wish will be granted.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.
The whole story revolves around that cursed wishing stairs.
A local legend that the girls dismissed as well...a local legend.

Oh yeah, the characters basically is this. You have two young cute girls who are in the same ballet class. One girl's name is Yun Ji(Ji-hyo Song), the other girl's name is Kim So(Han-byeol Park) What a cutie pie!!! Anyways, throughout the first half of the movie they are without a doubt a couple. Lesbians. Although there were no scenes of the girls kissing, the constant hints, and idea is there. Don't know if the director was shy about lesbian-esque scenes but whatever.

Things start to get complicated when one of the girls gets chosen to go on a very special trip to perform onstage in Russia. If they do well there, it's their chance to be able to win a scholarship to be able to study ballet in Russia. Predictably, the girl who didn't get selected started to have a jealous rage over the girl who did, and there's your MacGuffin, JEALOUSY!!!

As mentioned this movie isn't a Horror film but rather a Drama in the first half, and a Thriller in the second half. The Drama in the beginning shows the affection that these two girls have for each other. The second half is when one of the girls gets chosen to go to Russia, and jealous girl wishes at the wising stairs that she'd be chosen to go instead.

One of the girls that's jealous got the idea from an overweight, red-haired girl who's kind of a main character in the movie. I say kind of because well the director never really explained why she's in the movie in the first place other than she's studying sculpture. I believe she's supposed to be attracted to Kim So, or at least she admired her. But it's because of her that Yun Ji got the idea about the wishing stairs. "make a wish while climbing the steps and if a 29th step appears make your wish, and it'll come true! she says to Yun Ji

Predictably she does, and all the wrath of unexplainable evil that the wishing stairs comes from is unleashed unto whoever messes with its unknown dark powers. Yeah. That's about right. Unexplainable events starts to unfold. Wierd, creepy sounds are magnified in certain intense moments typical of Asian Horror flicks. Oh and yup the "hair thing" is present in this flick. Another director whose been influenced by Hideo Nakata, director of RINGU(1998) Influenced, or a down-right copycat, who really knows!

The big problem I had with WISHING STAIRS is this. No matter how hard they tried to make Kim So(Han-byeol Park) look terrifying, it just doesn't work! She's just so damn beautiful! Painting her face all white doesn't work either, hey whaddya think this is JU-ON?(2003) okay? Really she's just frickin' cute! I just couldn't be scared of that cute beautiful face! Heck if a ghost that hot starts haunting me...be my guest!!!

Seriously the story is average. The drama is actually more interesting than the thriller parts. I don't know why this movie was advertised as a horror because it ain't! also, what's with that girl hanging from a tree in the background of the movie poster? This movie had no scenes of a girl hanging on the wishing stairs tree. Oh well, whatever!

The acting is okay in this flick. I would've rather made this movie into a love story between the two girls.They both had good chemistry. It should've been a drama flick instead! I would've had Takashi Miike direct this flick, how cool that would've been? He could do the same style he did with AUDITION (1999) Oh man!!! Miike-sensei, if you're reading this please do a remake of WISHING STAIRS but add your crazy, twisted, and psychotic forte'!!!

In short, WISHING STAIRS is worth watching at least once. You won't really come back for seconds I tell you that much. The only reason to watch this flick is to google over Han-byeol Park, that's about it!!! She's hot, very hot!!!

Ahh...Han-byeol Park, would you marry me???