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Cheol-min
is a hardworking truck driver who lives for
his daughter. When his daughter suddenly becomes ill
however, he urgently needs money for her surgery.
After loosing everything in a game of poker, he
agrees to dump a bunch of dead bodies into a lake,
but the trip there will be anything but simple. On
his way he's forced to give a police officer a ride...
a police officer who just happens to be an escaped
serial killer...
Before we go into detail with this review I just
have to tell you how sad I am to see that South
Korean horror is performing so badly this year with
the exception of Death Bell. Both Loner and now The
Fourth Day became the two least-attended local
horror flicks ever. Truck however did decent money
but I wouldn't really count Truck as a horror flick.
Not an ordinary one at least, it's more of a bloody
thriller but since many people on this site seem
interested in it, I figured I'd give it a review
anyway (heck, I reviewed Untraceable didn't I?).
The first thing I noticed with Truck was how bleak
the colours were. Yes, it's a South Korean thriller
with mediocre cinematography! That has got to be a
first. There's nothing eye-catching at all. The
directing isn't exactly anything to call home about
either. Fortunately the story is quite decent, if
a bit far-fetched. It's about a man who agrees to
get rid of a bunch of dead bodies in order to save
his daughter. On his way to a lake, he accidentally
ends up picking up a serial killer and all hell
breaks loose. You know, this is just one unlucky
man I'll tell you that. Obviously it's not believable
at all but it's actually pretty entertaining.
As far as the pacing goes, Truck really works. It
doesn't drag, there's always something going on and
you're never tempted to push the fast-forward button.
However, the movie is very by-the-numbers. There's
nothing very clever about it. It's a rather forgettable,
good, but forgettable thriller and it doesn't feel
all that new. I can imagine that had this been an
American production it would have been rather
successful but one simply expects more from South
Korea than America. Why? Oh I don't know, maybe
because 99% of all American-made movies suck these
days? Truck is still horror enough to entice horror
fans though. It has some bloody moments and there
certainly are parts more suspenseful than most horror
movies these days.
I don't think that horror fans will jump all over
this one but if you happen to run into it in the
video store, it's well worth a rent. I don't think
that anyone will really dislike it, I think that
you either think that it's okay or you really love
it. I thought that it was a notch better than Okay
but still not good enough for a higher rating. It's
just too forgettable for me.
Not much but very realistic blood.
It's okay, not as powerful as the stuff we've come
to expect from South Korea though.
Truck is a crime-thriller with some minor elements
of horror thrown into the mix. It's far better than
The Bourne Identity (for example) if you ask me but
I'm not a fan of generic American thrillers and
Truck kind of feels like one.
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