UNBORN BUT FORGOTTEN (2002)

The story is this: A woman dies under mysterious circumstances. The possible crime is investigated by a detective (Jun-ho Jeong) who in turn is being filmed by female reporter Su-Jin (Eun-ju Lee). The two of them probe for clues which eventually lead to the fact that the victim had visited a website 15 days earlier. The woman’s flat mate said that after seeing the site she told her that she had seen her own death. Even more bizarre is the fact that the autopsy revealed that the victim’s internal organs were arranged in such a way to suggest that she had been pregnant, even though her friend says that this was impossible. But when another woman dies under the same circumstances Su-Jin, decides that it would be a great idea to go and visit this website to see what all the fuss is about. Guess what happens then…She sees her own death and only has 15 days before her premature demise. Can the two of them figure out what’s going on and save the day?
This Korean horror film starts superbly. The opening scene of the murder of a woman in a bath is shot in black and white and is a fantastic way to kick things off. It is quite a gruesome moment, and the fact that it is all done without colour is a master stroke of style. Unfortunately, after things go colour, the plot starts to go down hill very rapidly. The main thread of the story is far from original and this is obvious after only a few minutes in. However, the rest of the film, all the subplots and references, left me totally confused. By the end of the film I had no idea what was going on, especially the very last scene. Please, someone explain it to me! I’ve seen a few Korean horrors now and some of those had me taxing the old grey matter, but they were still entertaining and scored well. This one, all in all, was just not a very good film.

As I said a couple of lines ago, the start of the film looks great. The skilful cinematography continues throughout, along with some decent acting and ok(ish) dialogue, but this is nowhere near enough to rescue this shambles of a movie. I was even disappointed with the ‘frightening’ moments. Nothing sent shivers down my spine, but that may have been because I found myself fighting sleep a couple of times as my brain was getting slowly fried trying to understand what the hell was going on. I’m wondering if, as I have suggested in past reviews, the problem is down to East/West interpretation. Something that shocks and surprises our Asian friends may not translate well into Western culture; just like some of our mainstream cinema might leave Asian viewers struggling to comprehend the more subtle elements.
To summarise, there are other films out there that tell a very similar story, but tell it so much better. This film should really be avoided unless you feel that you have to watch it to complete your personal collection, or if you feel like a true mental challenge. It is confusing to such a degree as to make it unwatchable. If the rest of the film had been shot like the first scene then it could have been a triumph, but just like its title, it’s ultimately forgettable.