Being a fan of horror movies in particular and also being a big fan of Asian cinema, I bought this movie from Amazon and was sort of excited to watch it because it had gotten fairly good reviews, and the cover of the DVD looked appealing. And the cover also said "Exciting... An atmospheric terror story... A welcome addition to the genre of Asian horror." - So with those words and the movie's first impression, I popped it into the DVD player.The story was easy enough to follow, it just didn't really make any particular sense. There were a couple of glitches and holes here and there in the plot, which really made the movie come off less believable than intended. The overall plot is basically discarded dolls returning to life by some spirits and seeking vengeance on those who threw them away and needed them no more. Yeah, alright, not really much of a solid plot right there.As far as "The Doll Master" goes for scares, then there was none for me. But I am sure Asian people sitting down with the movie will be in for the odd shock here and there, because of the thing they have with the hair covering the face, lots of that trick being used in the movie. That never was scary to me though.The acting in the movie was adequate enough, though the main actress did put me off. She wandered around with a constant look of grand surprise and shock on her face, that really didn't work. It was like watching a female Asian version of Nicholas Cage here - one facial expression for every scene no matter if it was a sad scene, scary scene, funny scene, etc. That didn't' work well, and I think had they opted with another actress, that would have made it a tad more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, her acting was fine enough, it was just her lack of facial expressions aside from the one that was glued on there.One of the best things about "The Doll Master" was the attention to detail. There was a lot of really nice touches to the house and the dolls in particular, in this movie. So that, at least, was working in favor of the movie. And the scene that worked out the best for me in the entire movie was the toilet scene. I will not spoil anything here and give away anything, just watch it.If you enjoy Asian horror movies, and have nothing better to do, you can give "The Doll Master" a go, though you will not be in for anything extraordinary or spectacular. And there are far better Asian horror movies available out there, both new and old movies. I wasn't impressed with this movie one bit, though I did sit through it from start till end.

Have to say, the film has a lot of potential to be something really spooky but unfortunately resorts to the almost Hollywood like style sense of horror with the predictable deaths of its characters which makes this look more like a slasher film.It doesn't help that all the characters feel like card board cut outs - the annoying college girl, the annoying male, the uptight and serious guy, the awkward weirdo girl who can't be removed from her doll and our heroine who is sort of in the middle of everyone. They are all invited to a house so the owner can model dolls from their features and find well....there is more going on in this house than meets the eye - like you couldn't work that out for yourself.The film doesn't build up the suspense which would have been perfect considering there are so many creepy dolls in this house - but relies more on the cheap scare tactics which doesn't work at all here. And it is a pity considering the production design and the look of the film has so much to work with.If the director had seen A Tale of Two Sisters and tried to make that approach by slowly revealing things while still maintaining a sense of mystery instead of throwing it down your throat, this would have been a much better film but unfortunately, is on the same level as a teenager slasher film. Disappointing - has its nice moments but overall just as hollow as normal doll - all looks but nothing inside.

Bought this quite cheap at a video-store and since I've always been fascinated by dolls I simply had to buy it!The film starts out a bit slow, but here you really get to know the characters and their personalities. Then when it starts to speed up you'll be introduced to the horror and how scary dolls really can be. You'll cover your eyes and ears during some parts. The tension is extreme throughout the movie and it constantly changes your perception of the horrors that the characters encounter. What I mean by this is that once you think you've figured out how the horrors can take place, the movie throws something different at you to make you think different.It's a little reminiscent of The Grudge, and adds a new twist to the "evil doll-genre". All the actors did a great job, but the once who really stand out are the guy who invites everyone to the mansion and Yu-Mi. Especially Hae-Mi as Yu-Mi delivers a stunning performance.The story is very strong with a lot, and I mean A LOT of twists as well as impressive writing. The plot throws something different at you every 10 minutes or so, never leaving you bored or making you take your eyes off the screen.Only watch this if you want to enjoy a rich story, get freaked out, scared out of your mind and love dolls!10/10

Yong-ki Jeong's "Puppet Master only with scary parts" was the most recent Korean Horror flick I had the pleasure of watching. With the title of "Inhyeongsa" in Asia, this movie struck me immediately when I saw it reviewed online, with images that made me think of Puppet Master, Childs Play and other toy/doll based horror flicks in the past. But for some reason I didn't think.."Boy, this will be tacky", I imagined it would be creepy and fun. Toysome horror done well almost.The movie starts slowly, but I like that, so it was fine. The score, almost like I found with Acacia, was beautiful and very much reminded me of classic horror scores of the past. I wont give much away, but the story was strong in this one, and I would highly recommend it to any fan of Asian HORROR. It isn't extreme, it isn't to be taken with utmost seriousness, but it is really good.