New maid Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon) is about to find out what horrors lurk behind closed doors in remake of Korean cult classic
THE HOUSEMAID (Im Sang-soo, 2010)
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at Third St., 212-924-7771
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, 1886 Broadway at 63rd St., 212-757-2280
Opens Friday, January 21
www.ifccenter.com
www.lincolnplazacinema.com
As Im Sang-soo’s updated, reworked version of Kim Ki-young’s classic 1960 erotic thriller THE HOUSEMAID opens, restaurant worker Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon) is intrigued by a young woman’s suicide jump on the street right outside. It’s a rather ominous sign for Eun-yi, who then gets a job as a nanny for a rich businessman, Hoon (Lee Jung-jae), his pregnant wife, Hae-ra (Seo Woo), and their daughter, Nami (Ahn Seo-hyeon). When Hoon finds his way into her bed, Eun-yi is at first resistant, then surrenders to her master, much to the dismay of Mrs. Cho (Yoon Yeo-jeong), who has been running the household for years. And once Mrs. Cho tells Hae-ra’s mother, Mi-hee (Park Ji-young), precisely what’s going on, the real trouble starts. Im (THE PRESIDENT’S LAST BANG) infuses his tale of wealth, power, and sex with elements of horror and suspense, at times evoking Richard Donner’s THE OMEN as Mi-hee seeks to protect the family at all costs. Jeon, who was named Best Actress at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for her haunting work in SECRET SUNSHINE, is riveting as the conflicted young maid, caught in a web of shame, jealousy, betrayal, and ecstatic pleasure, going from childlike when playing with Nami to alluring when making passionate love with Hoon. Im’s fiftieth-anniversary reimagining of an influential Korean classic is a highly charged, potent melodrama with plenty of thrills, shocks, and surprises.