Budget-Friendly Korean Horror Experience at Salmokji

The 'jump scare,' a technique used in horror films to startle audiences, utilizes scenes where something suddenly appears or jumps out. This is the easiest and quickest way to achieve the purpose of a horror film, and audiences anticipate the moment of surprise as the atmosphere builds. A clever director manipulates tension by deviating from the audience's expected timing.

Director Lee Sang-min has been a horror film enthusiast since childhood and chose 'Salmokji' as his feature commercial film debut to create the kind of horror movie he wanted to see. 'Salmokji' is a reservoir in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, known through MBC's 'Late Night Ghost Talk' and also famous as a 'psychic spot' where ghosts are said to appear.

The movie 'Salmokji' tells the story of a film crew who revisit the location to re-shoot an unidentified object on the lake captured on a map app's street view. The protagonist, Su-in (Kim Hye-yoon), visits Salmokji to find her missing senior, Gyo-sik (Kim Jun-han), and four other characters join them, each with their own objectives. The film follows the typical progression of recent Korean horror movies.

The core of the movie lies in how frightening it is made. From the early to mid-stages, dazzling 'jump scares' appear consecutively, utilizing not just a typical beat but two beats, or even time-delayed attacks. The locations from which things jump out are also varied, and as the sun sets, Salmokji truly begins to deliver its horror.

Kim Hye-yoon takes on her first leading role in a horror film, alongside new actors such as Lee Jong-won, Jang Da-ah, and Yoon Jae-chan. The film, by limiting its setting to the vicinity of the reservoir and casting new actors, aims for a break-even point of approximately 800,000 viewers.