Critic Reviews

It's a deliciously perverse melodrama.

This is a household in which the rules are very formal, and they're matched by the formality of the filmmaking.

The class warfare in The Housemade feels dated, but there's something nicely kinky in this lusciously photographed erotic Korean thriller by Im Sang-soo.

It is beautifully shot, with impeccable acting and visual detail.

This story is told by writer-director Im Sang-soo with cool, elegant cinematography and sinuous visual movements. The dominant mood is gothic, with the persistent sadomasochistic undertones that seem inescapable in so much Korean cinema.

The acting's very strong throughout, though few would argue that the final half-hour satisfies either as suspense, or narrative, or social observation.

Gorgeously shot (by Lee Hyung Duk) and well worth seeing for Jeon's deceptively simple performance. Unlike its heroine, though, it gets away without a scratch.

While the film grows increasingly preposterous in its final act, the enigmatic performances of Youn and Jeon carry the day.

Im Sang-soo has crafted an erotic thriller whose cool beauty speaks for itself.

Falls somewhere between the kind of trashy, campy romp that's on movie channels in the middle of the night (though with far superior acting and production values) and the dark psychological thrillers of Kim Ki-duk.