Howling (Korean Movie)
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User Rating
Current user rating: 90/100 (32 votes)
Profile
- Movie: Howling
- Revised romanization: Hawooling
- Hangul: 하울링
- Director: Yu Ha
- Writer: Asa Nonami (original novel), Yu Ha
- Producer: Lee Tae-Hun, Shin Gyung-Ho
- Cinematographer: Kong Pyung-Jae
- Release Date: February 16, 2012
- Runtime: 114 min.
- Genre: Mystery
- Distributor: CJ E&M
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Plot
A man is found burned to death inside of a car. Detective Sang-Gil (Song Kang-Ho) and his co-workers investigate the scene. Sang-Gil doesn't want to take the case, because it looks like a simple suicide case and won't help him get the promotion that he desperately wants. Furthermore, rookie female detective Eun-Young (Lee Na-Young) is selected as his partner for the case.
Later at the morgue, Eun-Young discovers a dog bite on the burned corpse. As Detective Sang-Gil and Eun-Young investigate further they discover a trail of drugs, child prostitution, and a lethal wolf-dog all involved in the case. Detective Sang-Gil and Eun-Young keeps their discoveries to themselves as Detective Sang-Gil hopes to crack the case and get his promotion. Soon, another murder victim is discovered having dog bites on his body. Can Detective Sang-Gil and Eun-Young unravel the mysterious case before more people are killed?
Notes
- Movie is based on Naoki Prize winning novel "Kogoeru Kiba" (English title "The Hunter") by Asa Nonami - published 1996.
- Filming took place from March 27 to August 22, 2011.
- Related titles:
- Kogoeru Kiba (NHK / 2001)
- Onna Keiji Otomichi Takako ~ Kogoeru Kiba (TV Asahi / 2010)
- Howling | Hawooling (2012)
Cast
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| Song Kang-Ho | Lee Na-Young | Shin Jeong-Keun | Lee Sung-Min | Lee Min-Ho |
| Detective Jo Sang-Gil | Detective Cha Eun-Young | Chief detective | Detective Young-Cheol | Sang-Gil's son |
Additional Cast Members:
- Im Hyeon-Seong - Detective
- Jeong Jin - Detective
- Jo Young-Jin - Jung-Ah's dad
- Nam Bo-Ra - Jung-Ah
- Jeong In-Gi - Coroner
- Jang In-Ho - Lee Ki-Nam
- Kwon Tae-Won - Racketeer
- Kim Dong-Yoon - gangster 1
Trailers
Image Gallery
Gasenadi Says:
Mar 05 2012 2:11 am
This is on my list because I reference whatever Ki critiques. Ki had mentioned how great Song Kang-Ho is, so naturally... I'll watch and arrive at my own conclusions, but as a new arrival to Korean entertainment, I just want to thank Ki for the film reviews. They've helped me make better selections. Saludos desde Puerto Rico.
anna Says:
Mar 04 2012 5:31 pm
Such a dramatic trailer hunting for a ..wolf-dog? I don't know why but it made be laugh. I think it would be more interested if it was a werewolf.
Ki Says:
Feb 25 2012 11:53 am
Watched Howling twice here in South Korea and both times left disappointed. The movie shows promise in the early portions and there’s the tantalizing pairing of Song Kang-Ho and Lee Na-Young. The storyline also seems to have a lot of promise, especially since I’m not familiar with the original novel or the Japanese TV drama versions, so I had no idea where the story would go.
Sooo … what exactly disappointed about the film you might ask? The movie builds up as a mystery involving two police officers investigating a chain of deaths. This part is ok and teases that the movie might turn out really good. Once the mystery starts to unravel, this is where “Howling” sinks deep into mediocrity. The wolf-dog element turns out not all that exciting and the lengthy shots of the dog sprinting across a field or highway felt flat or boring even. The criminal elements also has a paint-by-the-numbers feel and the main person behind the mystery just doesn’t seem all that believable. On top of all that, there’s a daughter in the movie that is crucial to the story and her performance is just plain awful.
Meanwhile, Song Kang-Ho playing a low level cop on a murder trail certainly recalls “Memories of Murder,” but, obviously, not nearly as good or having the element of surprise. The first time I watched “Howling” I felt Lee Na-Young might have been miscast for her role, simply because she is such a beautiful woman. The second time watching the movie this aspect didn’t cross my mind as much and I enjoyed her performance more the second time around.
I wanted to like “Howling,” but the movie turns out to be a really mediocre film. Certainly, some people will like this movie more than myself and hopefully I won’t discourage those folks from seeing the movie. For myself, if the movie’s entertainment factor could be shown in graph form it would show a gradual descent from high to below average.
Simon Says:
Jan 21 2012 6:06 am
Yu Ha is one of my favorite directors! I can't wait!