White: Melody of Death
White: Melody of Death (Korean: 화이트: 저주의 멜로디; RR: Hwaiteu: Jeojooui Mellodi, lit. White: The Melody of the Curse) is a 2011 South Korean horror film by Kim Gok and Kim Sun.
| White: Melody of Death | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Hangul | 화이트: 저주의 멜로디 |
| Revised Romanization | Hwaiteu: jeojooui mellodi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hwait‘ŭ: chŏjuŭi melrodi |
| Directed by | Kim Gok Kim Sun |
| Written by | Kim Gok Kim Sun |
| Starring | Ham Eun-jeong Hwang Woo-seul-hye May Doni Kim |
Production company | DOO Entertainment |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$5,299,831[1] |
Plot
The film opens with a girl group called "Pink Dolls" about to perform in a televised competition. They lose to the more mainstream girl group, Pure (played by After School). They move into a new studio where they hope to record their next hit, and finally make it to the top. There is rivalry between the four members - Je-ni, a singer insecure with hitting high notes, A-rang, a singer addicted to cosmetic surgery, Shin-ji, who can't sing but is an excellent dancer, and Eun-ju, former backup dancer who, despite being the oldest, is bullied by the younger three.
Eun-ju discovers a tape entitled "White"; an old unreleased music video that her manager thinks might have the right tune for the group's success. Since the rights to the song are unknown, their manager gives them the okay to use the song. They perform "White" on stage, becoming an overnight sensation. With success, the girls become resentful of each other, ruled by their desire to be promoted as the lead singer.
One by one, the girls fall victim to the curse in various ways until only Eun-ju is left. She suspects a connection to the lead's bad luck and "White." Her friend Soon-ye investigates and reveals that the singer from the video was a competitive girl named Jang Ye-bin who died in a studio fire 15 years ago and was blamed for the suicide of a back-up dancer. The video was never released because something went wrong with the recording. They review the tape and see that the singer's face is scarred, and come to the conclusion that Ye-bin wrote "White", and out of jealousy, the other girls damaged her face so she couldn't have the lead position; then Ye-bin started the fire to kill herself. Eun-ju makes an offering at Ye-bin's grave.
Now confident that the curse has been lifted, Eun-ju starts a solo career using "White"'s popularity. She undergoes a total transformation, denying ever being a back up, and taking credit for the song and choreography. When her former group members wake in the hospital, they see Eun-ju on TV as a full-blown celebrity. Soon-ye is upset at Eun-ju's new selfishness. She then discovers that it isn't Ye-bin singing on the original track.
"White" was originally written by a bullied back-up dancer whose face was horribly disfigured by Ye-bin and the rest of the dancers with acid out of jealousy. The girl committed suicide and now haunts and kills whoever sings her song, beginning with getting revenge on Ye-bin and starting the fire. Ye-bin was the first victim of the curse.
Je-ni, A-rang and Shin-ji commit suicide on air by drinking bleach. Eun-ju is assaulted by the ghost while performing "White," causing a blackout. The crowd panics and her sponsor and manager both die in the chaos. Soon-ye arrives but as Eun-ju jumps into the crowd to reach her, she trips, resulting in her being trampled to death. The film concludes with Soon-ye at the karaoke bar, disposing of Eun-ju's album, the trainee's suicide note and the original tape by setting them on fire. She is horrified when the karaoke machine announces "White", implying that the curse has not been broken and anyone who sings the song via karaoke will die.
Cast
- Ham Eun-jeong as Eun-ju
- May Doni Kim as Shin-ji
- Choi Ah-ra as A-rang
- Jin Se-yeon as Je-ni
- Hwang Woo-seul-hye as Soon-ye
- After School as Pure
- Yu Mo-ri as Jang Ye-bin
- Kim Soo-hyun as White
- Lee Junho as Music Fever host
Soundtrack
The soundtrack contains 3 versions of the song "White," the original (the one featured on the VHS tape), another sung by PinkDolls (Ham Eun-jeong, May Doni Kim, Choi Ah-ra and Jin Se-yeon), and a solo version with just Eun-jeong.
Reception
The film grossed US$1,265,702 its opening weekend landing at the fifth position of the box office chart.[2] In total the film grossed US$5,299,831 by the end of its theatrical run.[1] The film received a total of 791,133 admissions nationwide.[3]