The opening film of the 16th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival(PiFan) is HORROR STORY, the horror omnibus film of four episodes by five filmmakers including Jeong Bum Shik(EPITAPH), Kim Gok and Kim Sun(WHITE), Hong Ji Young(THE NAKED KITCHEN), Yim Dae Woong(MY TEACHER) and Min Gyu Dong(MEMENTO MORI, ANTIQUE), who finished the bridge cuts connecting all episodes. All four episodes are combined in a film-in-film structure provided by a story of a young girl who is kidnapped by a serial killer who cannot sleep until he listens to a story horrifying to death.
All directors - except Hong - made horror films before present distinctive styles and themes of their own in the frame of traditional horror conventions. Introducing classic elements of horror films like zombie, serial killer, each episode addresses different social issues of contemporary Korea from laborer’s reality to vulgar capitalist desires. Unlike its past years of having best time in summer season, Korean horror seems top keep losing its attraction recently. Hopefully, HORROR STORY would fuel the heat of Korean horror films, again.