''The Piper'' (; lit. ''The Guest'') is a 2015 South Korean
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
horror-
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
inspired by the ''
Pied Piper of Hamelin'' legend. It is written and directed by Kim Gwang-tae, in his directorial debut.
Plot
In the 1950s after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, a gentle wandering piper with a limp, Woo-ryong, and his sick young son, Young-nam, are en-route by foot to
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
through the central Korean highlands when they reach a remote village. The village chief allows Woo-ryong and his son to stay at his house. The piper shows the Chief an English-written note that he says is the name of an American doctor at a hospital in Seoul who can treat Young-nam. The Chief, who tells the piper not to tell anyone else the war is over, agrees but he cannot read English either. Woo-ryong is smitten by a villager called Mi-sook who lost her husband and child in the war.
Woo-ryong quickly sees that the village is plagued by rats that do not fear humans and do not fall for traps and poisons. The chief explains he and his people came here when they heard Chinese soldiers were approaching their old village. They hid the village lepers in a cave with the village shaman. But when the Chinese had not reached the village, they returned to the cave but found all the lepers were dead and being eaten by rats. The vicious vermin then invaded the village because it had no shaman to keep them out.
Woo-ryong volunteers to get rid of the rats in exchange for the price of a pig that will help pay for his son's medical treatment. He spreads a special powder across the village and goes to a nearby hilltop. Checking the wind direction he lights a very smokey fire that smothers the village in smoke. At the same time, Mi-sook, who has been forced by the chief to become the new village shaman begins a purification ritual with bells. Rats start pouring out of the buildings following Woo-ryung's powder to a cave.
Mi-sook starts to fall in love with Woo-ryung due to his kind nature. The son even starts to call her "mummy". However, the chief threatens her if she plans to leave the village after learning that Woo-ryung invited Mi-sook to go to Seoul with him and his son to start a family together. It is turned out that the chief intends to keep the villagers ignorant about the end of the Korean War to maintain his control over the people since if the people found out that the war is over, they would leave the village for the better life in the city or going back to the old village. He also plots with his son, Nam-soo, to not reward the Piper for getting rid of the rats out of petty greed and Nam-soo is also jealous with Woo-ryong for grating Mi-sook's affection. Taking advantage on the ignorance of the villagers, first they create doubt in the mind of the male villagers making them believe that Woo-ryong is a communist spy who brought the rats with him. At a village meeting, the chief says he is going to pay the piper but a dead cat is found. Proof the chief says that the rats are back. He holds up Woo-ryung's English note and says its spying material; it simply reads "Kiss my ass, monkey" - no American doctor's name just a cruel joke.
Woo-ryung reaches for the money but Nam-soo chops off two of his fingers with a knife. The villagers turn on Woo-ryung and Young-nam, even Mi-sook condemns them. But as the villagers get ready to throw them out, Mi-sook returns in a shamanic trance but stabbed in the stomach. She tells the villagers that on a day without sun they will all die and their children might live or die, repeating the original shaman's prophecy before she was locked up and burnt alive by the villagers. Mi-sook then dies from her wounds.
Before they leave, the Chief puts two poisoned rice-balls in Woo-ryung's knapsack to kill them to prevent the father and son from telling anyone about the location of the village. The injured piper falls asleep while his son sneaks back to the village to retrieve his father's pipe from the Chief's house. On the way back, Young-nam ate one of the poisoned rice-balls and dies.
Woo-ryong sets out on a revenge. After burning his son's body on a funeral pyre, he covers himself in the special powder he used earlier to attract the rats and reopens the cave. He uses his two severed fingers as bait and starts playing his pipe to lead the rats back to the village where they devour all the adults including the chief and his son. Next morning only the villagers' children are alive, Woo-ryung plays his pipe and leads them to the cave where he trapped the rats. After sealing them all in, he turns and looks hard into the camera.
Cast
*
Ryu Seung-ryong
Ryu Seung-ryong (born November 29, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Ryu began his acting career in theater, subsequently becoming one of the most versatile supporting actors in Korean film and television. In 2013, he headlined '' Miracle in Cell N ...
as Woo-ryong
*
Lee Sung-min as Village chief
*
Chun Woo-hee
Chun Woo-hee (born April 20, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2004, but first drew attention with her supporting role as a rebellious teenager in the 2011 box-office hit '' Sunny''. In 2014, Chun received critical ac ...
as Mi-sook
*
Lee Joon
Lee Chang-sun (born February 7, 1988), better known by his stage name Lee Joon, is a South Korean actor, singer, model and DJ. He is best known as a former member of the South Korean boy band MBLAQ. He had notable roles in '' Gapdong'' (2014), ...
as Nam-soo
*
Goo Seung-hyun
Goo Seung-Hyun (born September 22, 2004), is a South Korean actor. He began his career as a child model {{unsourced, date=August 2020
A child model refers to a child who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to s ...
as Young-nam
*
Jung Kyung-ho as Chul-soo's father
*
Kim Jung-young
Kim Jung-young ( born on 27 July 1972) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2000 in films, since then, she has appeared in number of plays, films and television series. She got recognition for her supporting roles in ''Clean w ...
as Chul-soo's mother
*Park Yoon-seok as Pil-geun
*Yoon Dae-yeol as Bong-woo
*Lee Dong-hee as Dae-hee
*Lee Seung-joon as Seung-pal
*Kim Jin-wook as Jin-seong
*Do Gi-beom as Bong-pil
*Lee Won-seop as Seung-won
*Lee Sang-ok as Mi-ok
*Shin Mi-yeong as Yeon-mi
*Kim Seon-kyeong as Seon-ja
*Son San as Myeong-san
*
Lee Min-ji as Min-young
*
Jung Joon-won as Chul-soo
*
Ham Sung-min
Ham Sung-min is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' Sweet Revenge'', '' Save the Family'', ''Gangnam Beauty'', ''Tunnel'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. He also appeared in movies such as ''Psychokinesis'', '' The ...
as Dong-choon
*Song Ye-dam as Young-ho
*Song Ye-joon as Young-seong
*Baek Seung-ho as Dam-soo
*Lee Seo-yeon as Myeong-ran
*Park Si-yeon as Ah-ran
*Park Woong-bi as Mi-ja
*
Kim Young-sun as
Mudang
''Mu'' () is an ancient Korean word defining a shaman in the Korean traditional religion. Korean shamans hold rituals called '' gut'' (literally "good") for the welfare of the individuals and the society.
In modern Korea different terms are ...
*Han Seong-yong as Deok-soo the leper
*Jeon Gook-hwan as Elder
Production
The film was shot on location in the Korean highlands of
Gangwon Province.
Reception
''The Piper'' received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the film's atmosphere,
Maggie Lee from ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised the film's performances, cinematography, and historical/political themes. Lee concluded her review by writing, "As a bleak fable on human nature, it’s pretty old hat, but as an allegory on Korean history and politics, the movie proves cynically observant, with starkly economical storytelling and sharp visual effects to boot."
Luke Ryan Baldock from ''
Hollywood News'', rating the film four out of five stars, offered the film similar praise, writing, " It’s depressing to be sure, but very rewarding for lovers of dark cinema".
''
Time Out'' awarded the film four out of five stars, writing, "Frequently arresting and blowing a breath of originality into this year’s stale crop of commercial Korean fare, Kim’s film only falters with a needlessly lengthy setup and a few inchoate sideplots. Those minor grievances aside, ''The Piper'' remains a wickedly fun gust of chills that is just the ticket to beat the heat this season."
Pierce Conran of
Screen Anarchy
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
called the film "engrossing and entertaining", praising the film's characterizations, imagery, emotional resonance, and finale.
Awards and nominations
Home media
The film was released in the United States by CJ Entertainment on February 2, 2016.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper, The
2015 films
2015 horror films
2010s mystery thriller films
2015 horror thriller films
2010s historical horror films
Films based on Pied Piper of Hamelin
Films set in the 1950s
2010s Korean-language films
South Korean fantasy films
South Korean horror thriller films
South Korean mystery thriller films
2015 directorial debut films
2010s South Korean films