In recent years my love of romantic comedies has waned.  Yes, even us women can get overwhelmed with the unrealistic sappiness, but if the story seems interesting then I may give it a chance.  Especially, if it’s a blending of genres.  You would think that some genres are impossible to blend.  A thriller may occasionally be funny and a comedy can sometimes be sad, but you would never think that a romantic comedy could also be scary.  Even if they could be combined, any attempt of doing so would be a disaster.  Right?  Actually, no.  Let’s look at the current box office sensation CHILLING ROMANCE (오싹한 연애).  Also going by the name SPELLBOUND this movie is the brainchild and directorial debut of scriptwriter Hwang In-Ho.  For an idea that would seem to revolve around shock value, CHILLING ROMANCE turned out to be quite a fun experience.

Yeo-Ri (Son Ye-Jin) is a recluse with a dark secret.  She can see ghosts.  Not only can she see them but she’s perpetually haunted by the ghost of her dead best friend from high school.  This ghost blames her for her death and aims to keep her alone for the rest of her life by scaring or threatening anyone who gets close to Yeo-Ri. This has resulted in Yeo-Ri isolating herself from all of her friends, family and any possible love prospects.  In enters Yeo-Ri’s boss Jo-Gu (Lee Min-Ki) who hired her to play the ghost in his death themed magic show and, despite her efforts to push him away, gets pulled into her scary life.  First, he stays with her out of sympathy, then friendship and finally love.

This whole concept baffled me going in.  I’m not a fan of movies that have a bad flow or that try too hard to push their concept on the audience.  As I said before this is the first film Hwang In-Ho has directed but I think his experience in scriptwriting, and the fact that he actually wrote this script, helped him get his actual vision on paper onto the screen.  There was a balance between the two elements and, most importantly from my viewpoint, they connected.  They also functioned well on their own.  I laughed when I was supposed to and I covered my eyes when I felt I needed too.  The two main characters also had a good build in their relationship and the actors had good chemistry.  I’ve read that this was Son Ye-Jin’s comeback role and she came back strong.  Honestly, I thought that part of the film’s success in the first couple of weeks was because of  star power and the public’s curiosity but after watching it I can say that it’s a good solid film that’s worthy of the attention.

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