The Mimic (film)

The Mimic is a 2017 (Hangeul: 장산범, tr. Jangsanbeom) South Korean horror film written and directed by Huh Jung, and starring Yum Jung-ah and Park Hyuk-kwon. It was released on August 17, 2017.[2][3]

Not to be confused with Mimic (film).
The Mimic
Theatrical release poster
Hangul장산범
Revised RomanizationJangsanbeom
Directed byHuh Jung
Produced byKim Mi-hee
Written byHuh Jung
StarringYum Jung-ah
Park Hyuk-kwon
Production
company
Studio Dream Capture
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$9.4 million[1]

Plot

A couple, a man and a woman, argues while driving in the mountains at night. The man hits a dog and steps out to bring the body to the trunk. Inside the trunk is his wife, bloodied and bound. In the woods, the man smashes open a small brick structure while the first woman, his girlfriend, watches. After pulling out lengths of rope affixed with bells and paper charms within arm's reach in the hole, the man puts the bodies inside. He and his girlfriend turn to leave, but stop when they hear the voice of the dead wife.

Hee-yeon, Min-ho, and their daughter Joon-hee move into a house in Mt. Jang with Joon-hee's grandmother, who is senile. The grandmother seems to hear voices calling to her from the woods by the house. Two children come in search of their dog, which their posters reveal is the one killed in the car accident. Hee-yeon shows them the dogs in the family's kennel. The kids hear their dog barking in the woods and follow the sound to the brick structure. The hole in the wall is open, and the girl is pulled in by an unseen force. She eventually comes back out in tears.

As Min-ho searches the brick structure for the kids, Hee-yeon finds a taped mirror in the woods. She peels back the tape and sees a girl in red through the reflection. She finds the girl some distance away, but leaves her when Min-ho screams upon finding the bodies. As the police question the couple, Hee-yeon grows annoyed, asks about the girl in red, and berates them for being unable to find lost children. It is gradually revealed their son went missing when Hee-yeon left him with the senile grandmother in public. That night, the girl appears at the house and is brought in by Hee-yeon, who takes care of her over the following days. The girl calls her "Mom", mimics Joon-hee's voice, and says her name is also Joon-hee. Min-ho is unsettled by the girl and Hee-yeon's refusal to get over their son. The police track down the first man, who doesn't explain the deaths of his wife and girlfriend. He now hears voices and has eye problems.

A blind woman, who is suggested to have put the ropes in the brick structure, advises the family to flee the house. The grandmother begins to cover mirrors in tape. She follows a voice to a cave in the woods. Min-ho searches for her and disappears as well. Hee-yeon goes to the blind woman for help. The blind woman gives her a protective wreath made of bells and rope, and tells her about the man possessed by the Jangsan Tiger (Jangsanbum) decades ago. Both he and his abused daughter, the girl in red, could imitate voices. The blind woman urged Hee-yeon to return to the house.

The girl's father/Jangsanbum appears. Joon-hee hides in the kennel and is helped by the girl in red. Hee-yeon returns home and shuts Joon-hee in her room with the wreath. She asks the girl to guide her to Min-ho in the cave. In the cave, Hee-yeon is driven to a panic by voices and chased by Jangsanbum into an area full of mirrors. Min-ho, now blind, shows up and helps her by breaking the largest mirror. Hee-yeon, now mostly blind, leaves Joon-hee behind and reaches the cave opening with Min-ho, as Joon-hee cries out in various voices. Hee-yeon returns to Joon-hee upon hearing her son's voice.

Cast

Main

Supporting
  • Heo Jin as Soon-ja
  • Shin Rin-ah as Girl
  • Bang Yu-seol as Joon-hee
  • Lee Jun-hyeok as Middle-aged man
  • Gil Hae-yeon as Kim Moo-nyeo
  • Lee Yool as Detective Kim
  • Lee Ju-won as Jeong-soo
  • Park Soo-young as Min-ji
  • Noh Susanna as Constable Min
  • Jung Ji-hoon as Joon-seo
  • Lee Chae-eun as Hyo-jeong
  • Hwang Jae-won as Hyo-min
  • Jang Liu as Ji-hye
  • Jeon Hyeon-ah as Director Kim
  • Lee Ja-ryeong as Woman
  • Lee Dal as Police officer
  • Joo Ji-hoon as Shabby boy
  • Lee Sang-ok as Music therapist
  • Lee Seong-bae as Veterinarian

Special appearances
  • Im Jong-yun as Detective Park
  • Lee Jang-won as Jangsan tiger (voice)
  • Jung Joon-won as Soon-ja's older brother (voice)
  • Kim Su-an as Soon-ja's older sister (voice)
  • Jo Hyeon-im as Girl's mom (voice)

Production

The plot is inspired by the South Korean urban legend of the Jangsan Tiger, a man-eating creature that roams around Jangsan, a mountain in the city of Busan. It is rumored to have sharp teeth and white fur and moves swiftly through mountains and lures people by making a sound that resembles a woman's wail.[4]

Release

The Mimic was released in South Korean cinemas on August 17, 2017.[5][6][7] By August 26, the 10th day of its release, the film earned a total of US$$7.3 million from 1,035,308 admissions. It became the first South Korean horror film to have accrued more than a million viewers in four years, since 2013's Killer Toon.[8]

According to The Mimic's distributor Next Entertainment World, the film was sold to 122 countries including South America, North America, Malaysia, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Philippines prior to the local release.[9]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017
 1st The Seoul Awards Best Supporting Actor Park Hyuk-kwon Nominated
54th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Yum Jung-ah Nominated [10]
38th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Nominated
Technical Award Kim Seok-won & Moon Cheol-woo (Sound effects) Nominated
2018 27th Buil Film Awards Best Actress Yum Jung-ah Nominated [11]

References
  1. "The Mimic (2017)". koreanfilm.or.kr.
  2. "장산범".
  3. "Daum<장산범>".
  4. "Watch: First Teaser Trailer for Korean Horror Film 'The Mimic'". 23 June 2017.
  5. Kim Bo-ra (2017-08-01). "[화보] '장산범' 염정아X박혁권, 오싹하게 만든 스릴러 커플" (in Korean). Korea Daily. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  6. Choi Seong-hee (2017-08-01). ""Even if you look at your eyes..." 'Jangsanbum' still cut movie" (in Korean). Insight. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  7. Hyo Jin (2017-08-01). "'장산범' 콜라보 웹툰, 1000만 뷰 눈 앞...'무빙툰'도 공개" (in Korean). Biz Enter. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  8. 김희선 (27 August 2017). "'장산범' 관객 100만 돌파…"한국 공포영화 4년만의 기록"".
  9. "S. Korean Horror Film "The Mimic" Sold in 122 Countries". KBS World Radio. 2017-07-06.
  10. "[23회 부산국제영화제] 부일영화상". Busan.com (in Korean). 20 September 2018.
  11. "[23회 부산국제영화제] 부일영화상". Busan.com (in Korean). 20 September 2018.
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