A group of high school girls are herded into a classroom and given a curt introductory message by a severe-looking taskmaster. They are ordered to change into uniforms -- baggy, desexualized sweatshirts and pants - and everything in their possession is confiscated (even their mobile phones) and put into boxes marked with their names. They are then marched down the hall and steered into concrete rooms with bunk beds and desks where, in groups of four, they will live for the next ten months.
Is this jail? Not quite - it's a study academy for students who have flunked the annual university entrance exams. Quite literally locked in, the students will spend the coming months devoting all of their time, save for meals and calisthenics, to studying for next year's test. Their parents will pay dearly for this service, in the hopes that it will put their children into a top-ranked university and secure for them a life of privilege.
It's perhaps not surprising that Korea's insanely competitive educational system should spawn institutions of this kind. Our young heroines (virtually no men in this movie) struggle with the stifling atmosphere of the place, particularly the rebellious, sharp-tongued Yoo-jin, who from day one seems destined to clash with the authoritarian staff.
Roommates (its Korean title is "D-Day", referring to the date of the college entrance examination) is a horror film with no need of ghosts, though it tosses a couple in for good measure. As the days pass and the girls spend their time walking back and forth between the classroom, the cafeteria and the study hall, tensions begin to rise. Yoo-jin lashes out in rebellious acts of defiance, and is dealt with harshly. Another student keeps popping pills. Continually worsening grades causes one student to become wrapped up in anxiety and panic. Meanwhile, some of the girls start to have strange, horrible visions: images of the halls and classrooms filled with burned, twisted bodies...
Director Kim Eun-kyung won critical praise for her short films Blink, Music Box and Fragile before signing up with CJ Entertainment to make this, her debut. It is one of four low-budget horror films in the "Suddenly One Day" series, shot as a package in HD format and targeted at TV viewers as much as theatrical audiences. With only $600,000 and no famous stars, Kim decided to structure Roommates around drama rather than gore or technique. The film's emotional kick emerges from its claustrophobic setting, and the young actresses are good enough to keep us interested in the story as it unfolds. Pleasingly enough, the film also makes sense from a logical and dramatic point of view - something not to be taken for granted in most Korean horror films.
Perhaps due to its modest production values and limited release, Roommates seems to have come and gone without most viewers ever learning of its existence. It may lack the excitement and visual style needed to give it broad mainstream appeal, but of all the horror films to debut this summer, this one is the most consistent in its vision, and the most memorable. In 2006, the awkward-looking girls in sweat pants proved far more interesting than sexy interior designers or long-haired ghostly maidens draped in white.