High school love stories are fraught with difficulty, especially when depicted on camera, and even more so when the couple in question are involved in a same sex relationship, as shown in this suspenseful thriller, that, despite a couple of brilliantly unpredicted scares, works best as a character drama, much like its prequel, Whispering Corridors, though the two are completely unrelated.Min-ah (Gyu-ri Kim), a cheerful high school student, discovers a diary which illustrates the relationship between two of her fellow students, Shi-eun (Yeong-jin Lee) and Hyo-shin (Yeh-jin Park), which transitions from a contemporary friendship, to a complicated romance. Much like a car crash, Min-ah is unable to keep her eyes from the two young ladies, the diary being far from beautiful, proving to be as sad as it is sometimes disturbing, which reflects the tone of the feature.After one of the lovers commits suicide, the entire school is affected by not only the emotional turmoil of such an incident, but the ramifications that come after, as bizarre, haunting occurrences begin to dominate the school. To articulate any further about the plot would be telling, Memento Mori been one of those films where every scene is pivotal to the understanding of the feature, potentially requiring more than one view to comprehend segments of the plot, though unanswered questions will continue to prevail.Unlike the original, the second film in the Whispering Corridors franchise is not in chronological order, rather, past and present are simultaneously conveyed, the beginning portions of the film on initial viewing appearing to blur together, before viewers inevitably become accustomed to the story's unique portrayal. However, in using this style, the filmmakers are able to intelligently lead the audience in one direction, before surprising them with an unexpected twist, occasionally showing a moment of beauty, but once its perspective is fully realized later, the tenderness of the moment is reduced to sadness.The characters are brilliantly portrayed by the talent, the chemistry, both good and bad been exceptionally achieved, and on more than one occasion I felt as though I could be friends with some of them had they been real, a rare feeling that was quite enjoyable. This is heightened by the genuine high school environment, which captures not only the hardships of school life, but its fun atmosphere as well, although occasionally, the focus on the three central characters leaves little room for the development of Min-ah's closest friends.Questions persist after the conclusion of the film, regarding not only the directionality of the characters, but the reasons behind some of the decisions they made over the film, a query which especially relates to Shi-eun's character, whose hypocritical behavior potentially requires further in-depth perspectives. Despite characters been well articulated, additional back-story's could have proved helpful. Though the movie feels complete, viewing the special features provides the audience with the knowledge that several scenes were cut, and had they been included, the film's impact would have remained unchanged, but the many complexity's might have been more thoroughly understood.Like Whispering Corridors, viewers are able to provide their own answers to the many questions that remain, the filmmakers laying the foundations for a story that continues long after the credits have rolled. Half an hour after watching the feature I became quite sad after continuing to contemplate much of the film and character decisions, which impact the audience for a long while afterwards.Intelligent, beautiful and poignant, Memento Mori is every bit as unique and fascinating as Whispering Corridors. Although on most occasions the movie is not in your face terrifying, the story feels like a rite of passage that anyone of any age should view, in order to understand the complexities of an adolescent mind, the teenage girls of the feature inevitably forging paths that will lead them into adulthood.

Hyo-shin(Yeh-jin Park) and Shi-eun(Young-jin Lee)are a teenage lesbian couple who share a unique diary portraying their growing relationship which is found by Min-ah(Min-sun Kim). The setting is a private girls school and the film details why Hyo-shin leaped from the top of the school building to her death. The film leaps into the past where we see the rejection of Hyo-shin and Shi-eun's lesbianism from the students around them. Also, detailed is Hyo-shin's unfortunate choice to sleep with her professor, Mr. Goh(Jong-hak Baek)and the subsequent strain that has on her relationship with Shi-eun. Also, we watch as Shi-eun becomes more and more increasingly uncomfortable with sharing their love in front of others while Hyo-shin doesn't hold back her feelings with no shame whatsoever. The present shows Hyo-shin's haunting of Min-ah who reads the diary and what the little morsels from within convey to her. We also see how Min-ah's life changes upon reading the pages of the diary trying to search Shi-eun for answers regarding Hyo-shin and what might've lead to the fateful suicide. The ending shows Hyo-shin's wrath upon everyone as her ghost closes the doors of the school not allowing anyone to leave while showing herself to a frightened group of people. Min-ah wishes to return the diary to Hyo-shin if it will stop the carnage.This is, in actuality, a painful lesbian drama with the horror elements only further telling the story. The rejection of society and the acceptance of who you are main themes focused on. Min-ah is our guide into the trauma and the past yields sad truths about love turned away. I'm afraid many might feel jaded towards the directors' shifts in time because they do so without restraint..you will have to give yourself to the film and allow it to take control. It's a powerful piece of film-making where you're able to tell a strong story about the throes of unrequited love within the horror genre without the usual limitations in story-telling.

Young lesbians at Korean high school for girls have a rough go of it. Death separates the young lovers and soon after the school seems haunted. I have seen a number of good Korean films, including some very creepy horror gems, but this sure ain't one of them. The movie takes a very long time to get rolling, it's about 40 minutes into the film before we get some idea of where the heck it's going. Prior to that the viewer is indulged in the neurotic lives of a bevy of young girls who seem overly fond of abusing one another verbally...and sometimes physically. The film's climax is nearly an unintentionally comic episode, though it takes itself seriously. Unfortunately, many horror films today resort to the flimsy gimmick of having the characters wax hysteric in an effort to increase tension. Perhaps this is more typical of high school behavior than I know, but let's hope not.

The best high school movie I've ever seen. This is so superb. The acting of Lee-young Jin is very superb and brilliant, also Kim min sun and Park Yeh Jin. The camera work is very stylish and authentic. The ghost scenes are well shot. The school scenes are brilliant. The atmosphere is just pretty awesome. I first watch this film at cinema, but it seems like no Philippine release...This is the first Korean movie I've seen. And after I saw it, I start to like Korean films. This film is really excellent.I recommend this film to anyone who loves Asian films.10/10