Blood Rain is an interesting take on the murder mystery genre, working like a Miss Marple, or Poirot of some past century when people in Korea still wore flamboyant costumesm beliueved in shaman’s and curses.
On a remote island, a community lives together making specialist paper for their Lord. On one particular night an incident with the shaman during a ritual. She seems possessed and curses the villages that the sky will rain blood having torn his limbs and killed him unjustly. Following this, a fire is started setting the materials on a ship on fire, destroying it and the papers ready for shipping. This forces the workers to create more paper in time as tribute to the ruling Government. The unresolved incident results in the calling of Officer Lee Won-Kyu, who is also the son of a well known inquistor.
Upon his arrival, however, incidents start to take place that are both gruesome and curious. The first day of investigation begins with the death of a drunk who has been skewered and hunge in full public view. Over the course of the day, Officer Lee seems to have solved the death, but need to solve the incident regarding the cargo fire on the ship. The following day, however, results in a second death of a man who is boiled to death in a vat of red dye. The events soon reveal a dark history hidden by the villagers, for which it seems someone is exacting their revenge. The villagers, however, belive the spirit of the dead are returning for retribution.
I was pleasently surprised by Blood Rain’s refreshing take on the genre, both in it being a period film and offering red herrings on the traditional sense. The film is fairly slow coming in at about two hours long, and sometimes tends to drag its heels along to get to the point. Generally, however, it does a pretty good “whodunnit” minus firearms (with the exception of a flintlock), little in the way of forensic science and only a handful of people to solve the crime before the tally of five deaths is carried out.
As a period piece, it is quite violent at times, and gruesomely so on a few ocassions. Individuals, aside from being skewered and boiled, are severed in violent fashion. Whether or not they used real chickens to behead, I’m not sure, but it certainly looks real, and it’s rather bloody as well. It’s definitely not for the squeamish.
Performances aren’t too shabby either, with the lead playing a rather arrogant but confident Officer. The killer is practically obvious and equally arrogant, but that doesn’t actually hinder the film too much. So you know who’s behind the crimes, what you don’t know is why, and it’s quite entertaining to watch this arrogant Officer thinking he’s solved the crime in one day only discover the body count increasing, and it’s even partially linked to his own family. All during which, the villagers persist on the acts having been committed by a vengeful ghost whom they’ve wronged.
Costumes, environments and the direction all complement each other to provide an authentic feel to the film. There aren’t any moments where you find yourself taken out of the film period due to something that shouldn’t be there. instruments used to kill are more often than not makeshift, as are the homes people live in the tools they work with.
Like many other films, Blood Rain does seem unclear as to what sort of mystery it wants to present. On the one hand is the killer a human tricking the village idiots into thinking it’s a ghost? Or, as the village idiots believe, there is a ghost at work who is taking out everyone? Part of it works within the film, but there are moments where you wish the writing and direction was focused on one or the other, as the ending is quite a confusing anti-climax, that is also very, very bloody.
In anycase, if you’re looking for a film that offers a different take on the usual murder mystery theme, then Blood Rain might be the ideal film. It’s well produced, entertaining, and rather gory. With likable acting, and some rather interesting costumes that look more like primary School Guy Fawke’s outfits, Blood Rain managed to keep my interest for the duration of the film, even if the film did disappoint at the end.
Verdict: Refreshing Korean period murder mystery, offering some gory violence. Worth a late evening watch