I love a good horror film, including a number of Asian titles from the last twenty years or so, but this seemed like a butchered version of what was meant to be a longer film. (No cause and effect, unclear motivation, difficult chronology.) It made very little sense to me (maybe if I was Korean, it would have made more sense, but I have my doubts.) The main character and her daughter are also two of the most annoying characters I've seen on film in the last few years: screaming at each other constantly... angry... petulant. I wanted them both dead half an hour in. There are some nice visuals here and there (and the male lead has some charisma), but to be honest, I barely made it through this utter mess of a film.

I've read people complaining about the shoes being pink (they're magenta/fuchsia to be precise) instead of red, I'm more concerned about the fact that those shoes aren't made for ballet, not even flamenco shoes have heels that high, they don't even look like a pair of shoes you could find in the 40s (but I might be wrong on this) and I wish this was the only problem about this movie! This movie is all about clichés, plot holes and bad written twists. It mixes the classic Red shoes tale with the basic revenge-themed ghost stories, but it does it wrong and makes no sense at all. This movie will only give you a headache for trying to find some kind of logic in this mediocrity award winning piece of @#?!. If you're looking for a well scripted movie this is not the case.

"The Red Shoes" is an entertaining and definitely fun Asian ghost film.**SPOILERS**Moving into a new apartment, Sun-jae, (Kim Hye-soo) and her daughter Tae-su, (Park Yeon-ah) try to move on with their lives following her painful divorce. When she suffers a series of personal tragedies, she manages to find a pair of red shoes and takes them home, experiencing a slight reversal of fortune while having them. Using them, she manages to meet In-cheol, (Kim Sung-su) who is helping her start over with her new career, but a vicious jealous streak emerges with everyone who she feels is attempting to steal away the shoes. When it soon becomes apparent that some outside force is killing off those who are involved with her, she realizes the deadly curse attached to them and tries to find a way of keeping her loved ones from being part of the tragedies.The Good News: This was an enjoyable and entertaining ghost entry. One of the best parts is that, like most of the normal Asian ghost films, this one is simply filled with really striking visuals during the course of the film. Some, including the opening attack where a woman is stalked through a gigantic walkway inside a train station, only to be confronted by a supernatural force that moves over the ground, into her shoes and then begins screaming, pulling back to reveal that the amount of skin covered by the floating supernatural force has been bloodily removed, as well as other scenes are just outstanding, and quite suspenseful at times. Another brilliant scene occurs on the roof of the hospital, where, while discussing what's happening, they look up to notice the picture of the person haunting them and are then doused in blood raining down like snowflake, which is made apparent to them after-the-fact. Other big scenes, such as the nightmare in the bedroom where the ceiling opens up and pulls her into it, then rains down gallons-upon-gallons of blood on her or the simply chilling twist-ending that is extremely well-thought-out and makes for some fun times, are some more great examples. Perhaps, though, one of the best features here is the rather great amount of time spent on making the shoes to be something worthwhile, due to the obsessive behavior exhibited just to own them. The opening scene again shows this trait, as does the attitude and behavior of the daughter once she takes them home, as well as the different ways people react when they're on, from the murdered friend to passerby on the street and more, the film does a great job at building up a solid mystery as to what the shoes will drive a person to do. That they manage to keep reappearing, despite being visibly thrown away on numerous occasions, shows the power they have, and that is a simply effective tool no matter what. This one also manages to have an effective back-story in here that spells out the convoluted but still understandable premise with a great deal of clarity, which is a strong plus when considering these kinds of films but is also quite fun as well with a fantastic duel murder thrown in. That brings up the last plus, the rather strong gore on display. There's the aforementioned legs being lopped off, an eyeball cut out, a shoe heel stabbed in the eye, a broken glass shard slicing the legs off and two victims, at once, being hung-up on a supernaturally-powered noose. These here are what make the film work.The Bad News: There wasn't much wrong with this one. A pretty big flaw in here is the simply large amount of time spent on the adultery angle. There's a rather lengthy scene early on of her running around town and then stumbling upon the act, which is fine, but the fact that this plot point continues to become relevant in the middle of the film is quite troublesome. It had already been dealt with beforehand with the various people all commentating on the differences she had experienced since moving on, yet to keep bringing it up when there's very little cause to do so is simply weird and confusing. Another problematic point is the attitude of the daughter, who's constant whining and complaining about the shoes got tiresome. They're screaming matches, one of which turns into a brawl, to regain custody of the shoes is certainly not that fun due to the annoying habit of the daughter, and was certainly a case where discipline was needed. The last flaw is the slow middle part, where the story is given some legs and as such there isn't much in the way of excitement during these scenes, although that's to be expected in an Asian ghost film, and isn't detrimental. These here are the film's problems.The Final Verdict: A strong entry in the genre, not entirely without flaws but still with such impressive positive points to hold the bad-parts down. Strongly recommended for fans of these films or of Asian cinema in general, as well as the curious, while the only ones who won't take to it are non-Asian fans.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language

I'm in a quandary over this film. Like many other reviewers have amply illustrated here, this film is like a Korean Klone in lots of ways. It borrows moves from the Ringu play-book, the Dark Water play-book, the Ju-On play-book, The Eye play-book...please stop me. It's got a daughter and mother all alone in the world facing supernatural evil. It's got hunched-over, black-haired teens with bad attitudes and osteoporosis floating around upside-down and showing up in elevators. It's got the cheating hubby, the young love interest, the entrepreneurial "young Asian professional female" slowly losing her mind. Most importantly, it's got the requisite cursed artifact (not a wig, not a videotape, not a pair of transplanted corneas, but a swanky set of pink stilettos that a particular ghost doesn't want any mortal wearing).BUT GOSH DARN IT, I LIKED THIS FILM! I guess it says something if I feel compelled to excuse myself for this fact, but I really did care for the characters and the serious situation they are hopelessly trapped in. Indeed, I was hooked by the grue--people getting their feet forcibly removed gets my attention. The cinematography is colorful, and artful, and top notch--as we have come to expect from Korean directors. (Did you catch those cool on-purpose-out-of-focus shots? Fuzzy weirdness...) The music is actually pretty unique--the low-key guitar ditty that recurs off and on is melodic, and personal, and not overwrought. Yes, the plot "twists and turns" in terribly predictable ways: Could our protagonist really be the guilty one? Is it possible that we might find the answer to the horrible mystery by rifling through old newspaper copy in the library? Even though we've "properly buried" the red shoes with their owner, is it possible the evil will return nevertheless to wreak ultimate revenge? When we get to the end, will the decidedly downbeat narrative actually make very little sense? Yes, you've seen--and come to expect--it all.But, darn it, this flick is done with such panache in a very gutsy way. The characters are carefully drawn, the direction is solid. And when you get right down to it, America simply does not make films like this. I don't think America ever will again. We used to make great, sad, horror films, but not anymore. We real horror fans have got to rely on films like "Bunhongsin" to get our fix. In fact, that's precisely why I give this film the benefit of the doubt.