(Movie Review) All packaging and little substance in Korean horror flick 'Yoga'

By Shin Hae-in

SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- Only a rare few are gifted with natural beauty. For the majority, the quest for stunning beauty could mean just about anything from starving oneself for days to jabbing needles in one's face: an insidious, at times deadly, obsession that often goes ignored by the general public.

Taking a well-timed stab at South Korea's excessive social emphasis placed on
female beauty, "Yoga (Yoga Hakwon)" attempts to come up with something original
in the horror genre.
Beneath its grandeur -- encapsulated by six lean, yoga-fit beauties -- however,
the movie lacks the acumen to penetrate the underlying issues driving hundreds of
thousands to go under the needle each year in this beauty-making promise land.
Threatened by a younger and prettier newcomer at work, Hyo-jeong (Eugene), once a
popular hostess at a local home shopping channel, visits a secluded yoga
institute recommended by an old classmate who supposedly transformed herself from
an ugly duckling into a gorgeous swan after completing the institute's special
program.
Signing up for a one-week course, Hyo-jeong meets four other young women -- all
insecure and obsessive about their looks -- hoping to get a tip on "everlasting
beauty" promised by yoga master Nani (Cha Soo-yeon).
Explaining that only one among the five will be given the secret of ultimate and
immortal beauty, the expressionless Nani lays out five rules the women must not
break during the course: No eating after mealtime, no showers within an hour
after class, no looking in the mirror, no leaving the building and no phone
calls.
Driven by their desire to win the coveted prize, the women endure the rigorous
training and strive to keep the rules despite a growing sense that something out
of the ordinary is going on in the center.
The training ultimately becomes a life and death struggle, however, as those
found breaking the rules begin to disappear one by one and strange visions and
voices envelope the building.
Directed by Yun Jae-yeon, the creator of high school horror "Memento Mori 3:
Wishing Stairs (2003)," "Yoga" does succeed in capturing audiences' attention,
particularly through the performances of the stunning actresses who went through
real yoga training and strict dieting during the one-year filming period.
"The hardest part was not eating," actress Park Han-byeol, who plays former idol
star Yeon-ju in the film, said during the press conference after the movie's
preview Wednesday. "I felt sorry for the character and was drawn closer to her as
I was to really live her life during the filming."
Actress Kim Hye-na, who played cosmetic surgery-addict Yu-gyeong, said she "felt
extremely saddened" over the women's effort to become beautiful.
"The movie might not be bloodcurdlingly scary, but it conveys a chilling message
on what obsession to become beautiful can lead to," she said.
The movie also deserves credit for its eerie sound effects, a combination of deep
yoga breathing and piercing screams that manages to keep viewers on the edge of
their seats.
Still, the overall story falls short of either scaring or drawing empathy from
most audiences.
"Yoga," with a running-time of 98 minutes, will hit local theaters beginning Aug.
20.