Neeraj Dani Cello (2005) is a cool horror movie, one which you can watch with your entire family. It neither has rivers of blood flowing nor ear piercing screams, or for that matter no dark, zero electricity nights. Still it sends a chill down your spine.It primarily focuses on building up an atmosphere where even the normal things in day to day life when overturned can end up being a cause of your worst nightmare. The direction is good. The characters and their portrayal, the scenes and their neatness makes you feel normal, until you are jolted into reality of horror. The story at the end will pause you to think... for the protagonist and then for your own self.On the downside, there is a tinge of "The grudge (2004)" and "Ju-On (the grudge) (2002)". But then it leaves a distinct flavor for the later movies like "1408(2007)", etc.

p-stepien Cello instructor and would-be music professor Hong Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong) entrapped within unresolved past issues becomes haunted by an unnamed ghost, which has clear bad intentions and will stop at nothing to enact revenge for an unnamed wrong. Pretty standard Asian ghost theme? You betcha."Cello" is so deeply in tune with the Asian ghost film phenomenon that it starts eating its own toes within the first few scenes. However repetitive the story a proper execution would at least keep up interest in the unfolding story, even if surprises are few and far between. Hyeon-a Seong gives off a terrible performance painstakingly imitating emotions with the utmost failure being that of fear. Supporting cast further dilute the story with some laughable reactions, which make 1980s slasher movies look almost Oscar worthy. Scare factor is severely diluted not only down to performances, but also thanks to the unwaning deja vu attacks. Held together by a slow meandering plot which lacks both compassion or tension with frights signalized by overtly noisy and predictable music / sounds reaching the finale is an arduous task. Once there the story does offer some respite to those, who traversed the journey with a nicely tied in twist conclusion, notwithstanding the irksome humdrum leading to the point.

Scott Baldwin (Meven_Stoffat) Actually, checking the "spoiler" box was a tad bit of an oxymoron. There's nothing to spoil really. And actually, right now I'm sitting at my desktop with a dumb, moronic facial expression, wondering what I should type...Instead I'll just go over what this movie has:Mysterious bedtime ghost visitations (The Grudge)? Check. Mysterious Marie-Antoinette-esquire Decor (Strange Circus)? Check. Mysterious haunted recording devices? (The Ring)? Check. Mysterious Long Haired Female Ghosts? Check, though I'm surprised there aren't two of them, which means DOUBLE the aggravation... oh wait... Mysteruious scary noises made by female long haired female ghosts (The Grudge)? Check. Myaterious distorted pictures (the Ring)? Check. Mysterious hands (The Grudge)? Check. Mysterious False endings (The Ring)? Double check.In short, just watch the above movies instead and keep far away from this fragmented craporama.

LCShackley I used to teach music theory. I flunked a student one time and his mother went ballistic, sending slanderous letters about me to the dean, the president, and eventually even the board of the school. Well, let me just say that her treatment of me was mild in comparison to what happens to the teacher in THIS trashy horror flick.Well, at least that's what we're led to believe at the beginning. The offended student is getting revenge on her snooty teacher. But then other weird things start happening. We see the same scenes repeated, but with different characters and outcomes. We have odd supernatural sounds and horrific nightmares. We have a bizarre mute housekeeper who creeps everyone out, but who stays because the husband feels sorry for her. (Would you keep a housekeeper who had "swallowed acid" if you had two young girls in the house?) There are deaths (including two animals and a small child), suicides, and an autistic child who loves the cello.This film can't seem to decide what it's really about. Mental illness? Revenge? Self- punishment? Competition in the world of music? It's just a bunch of random plot elements hung together on a cello string. It's one thing to have surprises in a movie; it's another thing to be misled by an idiotic script. And it's got an ending that's a weird combination of GROUNDHOG DAY and CARRIE.My most profound memory from this movie is: "Wow, Korea has the CLEANEST parking garage floors in the universe." I'm already forgetting the rest.