It took quite a long time for the killing spree to start but no second leading up to it was wasted. This film had a brilliant story behind the horror and whilst most horror films are more sadism than substance, Death Bell 2 had a great balance of both. In fact, the deaths were so imaginative and disturbing I hope never to meet the writers behind the script!
I was interested in seeing Ji Yeon in a horror role after only seeing her as catty Rian in Dream High 2. I expected her to be ok but she surpassed my expectations. She had the same shy, slightly twitchy yet 'tower of strength' personality I loved in Nam Gyu Ri's character from Death Bell 1 whilst being completely different, and most of the boys were easy on the eyes (the ones who managed to stay alive long enough to get a good look at anyhow).
The music's hard to comment on as the film was so intense I barely noticed it and the most effective scenes were the killing ones where silence or indescribable music boosted the scary atmosphere. The music I did notice at the beginning though was great for setting the scene.
Overall the film isn't too gory (although there's a lot of blood) and not that scary so if you're a human jelly, like me, then you won't need to find anything to hide behind before you watch. I've given Death Bell 2 a rewatch value of 8 just because I feel once you've worked out who's behind the killings and who's going to be killed, the element of surprise might be lost and make rewatching less enjoyable (but am going to rewatch anyway!)
A great film!
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And kudos for casting beautiful actors/actresses and this movie sequel is closer to the Japanese movie Battle Royale.
The only thing that bothers me is the ending... It keeps as hanging. But overall I recommend it!
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I had a lot of free time to waste, so I did....
Like, wth did I just see. Well again, its not like I didn't know that this movie is shit, but yea, I was in a mood like "Lets watch some trash"...lol. This movie is the best example of how to make a 1hr 30 min movie out of story that contains only one line. Death Bell 1 is better than this.I can't believe Ji Chang Wook starred in this movie, lol, guess most succesfull actors somewhat start from a trash project like this. Apart from him I saw other successful actors in it who did fantastic jobs with good scripts, like, Kim Bo Mi in Angel's last Mission, Son Ho Jun in Go Back couple.
So, yea, sure watch it.
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This review may contain spoilers
i didnt like the first movie but imo this was a big improvement
the first movie wasnt very enjoyable for me at all so this one was a pleasant surprise- to start, the overall atmosphere feels much more fitting. maybe its because it started at night, maybe its because the first body was dropped from the roof rather than on a screen, im not sure but i know from the start i just felt the vibe registered better. to me, the horror vibe felt slightly faker when the game begun in the first movie
- the side characters were more noticeable here than in the first movie. before it felt like they were all virtually nonexistent and did nothing but fill extra space. besides the mean (?) girl, most were difficult to differentiate from one another due to how little their characters were built up or given personality. these side characters are much more distinguishable and to the point where i thought wed get more content focused on them
- the mystery surrounding the mastermind is also better done in this movie. the teacher in the last one served as a quick plot twist and not much more but this one really adds to the suspense. involving multiple people in the crime rather than just one person was a good idea because there are people who can be built up and also disposed of to add to the suspense and make the deaths feel notable while still allowing us to steadily uncover the truth
- i enjoyed the tasks more too even though there werent as many. they felt more put together and relevant like sifting through the evidence and killing the girl who killed tae yeon. it felt so stupid when the kids would die anyway even if they got the question right in the first movie but this time it feels more fitting since this is revenge against those who were responsible for tae yeons death. the tasks were more about exposing the perpetrators to the class judging by the mean girls death
- i also love how unlike the first movie, the deaths didnt feel gory just for the sake of it. JK dies from his own motorcycle, ji yun gets killed by the class, hyeon a is poisoned by her own pills, all the dying students being complicit in the crime so the brutality also served to punish the students for their actions. meanwhile the candle dude and the other students deaths in the first movie were so unbelievably brutal (even more than the actual killers) for virtually no reason.
- i liked the plot twist about the main characters decision too. it was wrong of her but i cant say i dont understand where she was coming from and it puts her words from earlier in the movie into perspective
- overall, this movie made the deaths and overall situation feel more purposeful and the characters were better utilized too. so were the relationships imo. i definitely enjoyed it
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peer pressure and alcohol
It's a shame, I really wanted to like this. I read the reviews and some were saying it's better than the 1st so I went thinking it will be great, what a letdown.The whole film was a mess and felt like it was written by a child. Yoon Si Yoon was categorised as a lead but was barely shown throughout the show.
Also there were so much characters and scenes that had unnecessarily long screentime, when they weren't even that important. Considering they wanted to push too many things in, this problem gets worse when you find out the rising of the story only starts at around 28min mark, which is bad considering it is 1hr 20mins.
The film felt like it took forever even with it's short time span. Furthermore that ending judt ruined it for me, too many things that are unclosed and characters without a proper resolution.
To end in a good note, I think the CGI and cinematography for this film was much better, it also was directed pretty well and was able to deliver a roller coaster of emotions while presenting issues that may happen in our education system.
If you thought the first was average or bad, then don't even think of watching this, but if you're like me who loveeeeed the 1st and want some more school themed survival games then it's worth giving a shot, lower down your expectations though.
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No just no
I literally don't even know what to say. I really liked the first one my only problem was the ending but this one was so???? Like I genuinely was very confused. Like I even watched the movie twice given I forgot I watched it at first. It was so random idk like the first one was pretty good to me this one i really didn't understand what it was going for. I don't recommend this at all. The ending was kinda nice with her with her friends (iykyk) but other than that I was upset that I even watched this. I was surprised to see Ji Changwook's character so I thought I'd like him but no definitely not.Was this review helpful to you?
Since this is a sequel, it's given that it shares a similar storyline with Death Bell: someone died, and someone's avenging the death through a killing spree. It was bothersome though that the killing spree began a little late, leaving me wondering whether this sequel has a different direction than the first movie. The killing spree did come, and it was gruesome as hell. This movie is actually scarier than the first one, and that's a good thing. But I liked the first movie better if we're talking about all aspects: story, acting, etc. And the ending? The ending just proved how terrible this movie was. It's a horrible conclusion that perfectly fits this terrible movie.
Yoon Si Yoon was cute though. As always.
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