Popular horror web-comic artist Ji Yoon finds life imitating her own work when her publisher turns up dead in a way, that precisely mirrors the images in her latest comic.
Killer Toon Review: Asian Horror Film Review Blog
With a title like Killer Toon, one might expect something ridiculous, say like Looney Toons gone mad! This Asian horror film, however, is not that. Hailing from South Korea, Killer Toon is about a famous artist whose work seems to come to life. As you might expect, this puts her on the radar of local law enforcement, and she is attributed to said murders. The premise is nothing new, and it is something that I have seen before. However, the artworks displayed in the film were nothing short of remarkable if you are into horror-themed art.
Being a fan of South Korean cinema, I went into this one with high hopes and expectations. Dread, drama, and twists abound seem to be some common themes among South Korean films, so I braced myself for an emotional rollercoaster. That ride, however, did not come. Killer Toon starts with a cold open with no background or foreshadowing of what to expect throughout the film. Instead, it is blatantly spelled out for us with the very first sequence that was, sad to say, rather unimpressive aside from a few things I touch on later. My interpretation of the opening sequence was that of a supernatural thriller movie with some style and impressive camerawork with little substance.
After this initial scene, we are introduced to our two bumbling and not-so-convincing detectives assigned to the case who are easily persuaded one way or the other. First, they immediately rule the first crime scene as a suicide, then they change their minds to ruling it a homicide. When the introduction of supernatural forces is at play, it is dismissed and then quickly reconsidered with very little investigating. The actors playing the detective were pretty obnoxious and unconvincing.
I understand that it is a film and I should suspend belief. Still, the writers and filmmakers should at least convince the audience of what is happening rather than blatantly showing us and not just the possibilities. In my opinion, we should have been taken on a journey through the detectives’ eyes as they too try to sort out what is happening as it would have made for a much more interesting film. Give us some mystery: is the artist the murderer, or is there something supernatural at play?
There is a total lack of scares aside from the typical and tired jump scare. And yes, they used a cat to emphasize a scare in one scene (cue the rolling eyeballs). This scene could have been intentional, but, as I saw, it was a cheap scare. The film was rather mediocre and a waste of talent, because the artwork by Myeong-chan Park used was incredible, and the direction was rather impressive and had a fair amount of style and skill.
With regard to the story, again, it didn’t bring anything new to the table, but, as is seemingly customary in South Korean cinema, not all is what it seems, and this is no different in Killer Toon. Not only is there a twist, but there are three twists that play into each other, and I can say without hesitation that these twists saved what I would consider a rather bland horror film. Again, Killer Toon is an OK film by my standards, and I enjoyed the style and artwork, but it is not something that I can see myself watching again.