Poster for the omnibus horror film ‘Ghost-Calling App: Yeong’. Photo Sam Baek Sanghoe

Typically, horror films consider their release window to run from early summer through the height of the summer vacation season. In hot weather, a chilling horror title can serve as a kind of refuge. Moreover, because the genre often casts young actors in adventurous ways, it aligns well with the summer market, which has many young moviegoers.

However, this year Korean cinema is showing ambition by rolling out multiple horror titles as early as February. The subgenres include ‘tech horror’ grounded in IT; ‘occult’, which has become mainstream starting with ‘Pamyo’; and life-anchored, true-story-based horror that has recently gained popularity among younger audiences. Korean films are unveiling a horror lineup in succession: February’s ‘Ghost-Calling App: Yeong’, this month’s ‘Samakdo’, and next month’s ‘Salmokji’.

The signs are not bad. ‘Ghost-Calling App: Yeong’, an omnibus woven from six shorts by directors Hyeong Seul-woo, Ko Hee-seop, Lee Sang-min, Seon Jong-hoon, Son Min-jun, and Kim Seung-tae, is stirring a quiet breeze at theaters in March. According to the Korean Film Council’s Integrated Computer Network for Movie Tickets, the film had drawn a total of 91,035 admissions as of the 2nd. It also ranks 10th at the box office, including foreign releases.

Poster for director Chae Gi-joon’s film ‘Samakdo’. Photo The Contents On

In February, with the cold still lingering, the results are notable for a non-mainstream genre like horror. Compared with major commercial releases, the film is on as few as one-tenth the number of screens, and although it opened exclusively at CGV, it at one point ranked second in seat occupancy rate, showing solid performance. Observers say its smartphone-based premise is familiar to younger viewers, and the direction that turns familiar spaces such as buses, offices, and studio apartments into sites of curses has captivated audiences.

In March, the occult horror ‘Samakdo’ opens. Directed by Chae Gi-joon, the film stars Cho Yoon-seo, Kwak Si-yang, Yang Joo-ho, and Lim So-young, among others. It deals with a hellish ordeal in a closed-off village where the taboos of a pseudo-religion that vanished after the Japanese colonial period are sealed away. It is an occult title whose production has increased recently under the influence of director Jang Jae-hyun’s 2024 hit ‘Pamyo’, which drew 10 million viewers.

Alongside Cho Yoon-seo, known for works such as ‘Mine’ and ‘Welcome to Samdal-ri’, actor Kwak Si-yang plays a Japanese reporter. The narrative also adopts a structure in which Korean and Japanese reporting teams join forces to dig into the histories of Korea and Japan. It was conceived for viewers who favor horror steeped in shamanism or a religious atmosphere.

Poster for director Lee Sang-min’s film ‘Salmokji’. Photo ㈜Showbox

In April, Showbox, which has posted a high box-office batting average this year with back-to-back hits ‘Manyage Uri’ and ‘Wang-gwa Saneun Namja’, releases the horror film ‘Salmokji’. Directed by Lee Sang-min, it is the first horror title for Kim Hye-yoon, who has emerged as a romantic-comedy queen with works such as ‘Carry Sun-jae and Run’. Joining her are rising young talents including Lee Jong-won of ‘The Golden Spoon’ and ‘The Flower That Blooms at Night’, and Jang Da-ah, known as the older sister of IVE’s Jang Won-young.

‘Salmokji’ takes its name from a real reservoir in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, long known as a place where ghosts are said to appear. It became even more widely known after MBC’s ‘Simya Gwedamhoe’. The film touches on how life-anchored horror spreads as people seek out actual spirit spots, tour them, and share the experience on SNS (social networking services). It aims to carry on the mood of horror films that incorporate real place names such as ‘Gonjiam’, ‘Gokseong’, and ‘Chiaksan’, and to deliver a more palpable fear.

Whether these releases can draw in more viewers in early spring, with a late cold snap still lingering, and succeed in this off-season challenge for horror is something to watch as ‘Samakdo’ opens on the 11th and ‘Salmokji’ on the 8th of next month.