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A class
reunion goes terribly wrong when a masked killer
shows up and crashes the party. To Sir With Love tells
the story of a group of 20-something's who have just
arrived at a cottage by the sea, to visit their old
teacher. But this is not some ordinary reunion. Even
though the teacher can't seem to remember it, she was
apparently very mean to her pupils - and on top of it
all, a killer in a bunny mask has shown up to make the
party even less pleasurable.
It's not often that we get to see Asian slasher movies,
and when we do, they usually have a tendency to be
quite bland and PG-friendly. Luckily, To Sir With Love
is far from as heart-warming as the title. This South
Korean slasher flick takes all of the old slasher
clichés, throws them in a bag, and adds some clever
twists into the mixture.
Obviously inspired by "Friday the 13th Part 2" (which
to many is the original Friday the 13th movie), To Sir
With Love really has it all. A deformed kid forced to
spend his life in a basement, an uncomfortable class
reunion and someone with a taste for revenge. When
someone starts playing with staplers and knifes,
things start to get messy.
The story isn't anything new. A bunch of 20-something's
go to a class reunion, only to be picked off one by
one by a serial killer in a bunny mask (it's creepier
than it sounds, believe me). What makes this movie
stand out is the fact that they've really managed to,
err, "Koreanize" this old concept and made it feel
interesting again. The fact that it's surprisingly gory
naturally helped as well.
I was thrilled to see that the stylish cinematography,
that we've grown used to in South Korean horror movies,
was there. The director finds many interesting angles
and seems to have fun behind the camera (it's not quite
as stiff and sterile as many of the other recent Korean
horror flicks have been). The acting was, as expected,
top-notch, and even though you ache to find out more
about the characters throughout the movie, the ending
makes it all worth while.
Overall, To Sir With Love is a great and entertaining
slasher flick (even if I was close to giving this 3
instead of 4). It might not win any prizes for originality
but at least it tries to do something different and go
in new directions. Hopefully, we'll get to see more
Asian slasher flicks in the future.
A guy is force-fed razors, one gets the eyes stapled
open, and we also get a lot of blood splatter.
Moonlight Sonata always works in horror movies, but
it felt kind of displaced here. Either way, the score
was alright, but nothing more.
Surprisingly gory and entertaining slasher flick from
South Korea which plays with the clichés and takes some
unexpected turns. Might not satisfy everyone but if
you're looking for an Asian take on "Friday The 13th
Part 2", you've found it.
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