"White" or "White: The Melody of Curse" has a fairly familiar premise: a failing pop idol group finds an old, uncredited song, and use it to rise to the top. However this tale of fame and fortune becomes mixed in with the paranormal: the song is cursed, fueled by the wrath of a vengeful ghost.The comparisons with Ringu/The Ring are obvious, from the ghost itself down to the fact the song is discovered on a videotape. The movie does give a respectable effort in ratcheting up suspense, and to be fair there are a couple of effective scares.However the real strength of this film lies in two areas. First, the story is pretty well done. While the paranormal stuff is prominent, there's also a strong focus on the characters, who are as much affected by their shifting fortunes as they are any bumps in the night. You would think once the ghostly stuff showed up, it would take center stage. Instead it runs parallel to the sudden pressures, ego trips, and bouts of jealousy of their new found fame, meshing together very well and creating a greater emotional and psychological depth than one might expect from such a premise. The film is even fairly touching and somewhat sad at points, aided by pretty good performances.The second main area is the visuals. There is a certain flare here. It's not Argento or Fulci by any stretch, but the film does look really good. Whether it's a dark room/hallway or the flashiness of the dance stage, the cinematography and imagery are strong. Even without caring for the plot and characters, one could sit back and appreciate the look.Is the movie a masterpiece? No, I wouldn't go that far, but it is very enjoyable, and if you're a horror movie fan with nothing to do on some afternoon, you could do a lot worse than this.

The all girl group "Pink Dolls" has never quite come to the forefront in the Korean music scene. Other groups are always ahead of them in the rankings.They move to new digs that their agents got cheap because it was damaged in a fire. One of the group discovers an old VHS tape where another group performs 'White.' This song turns out to be free for the taking (no rights to buy). When they start performing the song 'White,' they rocket to the top.Unfortunately for them, members of the band start having mental problems. One thinks she's being strangled. Another starts having problems with her eyes. Both end up in hospital with some actual injuries. How the real injuries occur is not explained all that much in the film.The agency attempts to fill in the injured parties to reconstitute the group. The remaining members investigate the old band and agency to see what went wrong the first time through. One of the replacements is injured in a freak accident (well, perhaps) while filming a side reality show segment.Eun-joo, the girl who is to be the next lead singer makes some progress after sleeping with the sponsor of the group. She has a vision of her predecessor being wounded and committing suicide, then is able to find what's left of the suicide note. The two remaining hold a religious ceremony to soothe the dead lead singer, and they hope things will be better this time around.Eun-joo dies her hair white and makes a solo recording. All seems to go well. The three injured girls wake up simultaneously in the hospital and make rapid recoveries. They blame Eun-joo, but she is not having it.Meanwhile, the remaining girl from the original Pink Dolls and the sound engineer continue the fine examination of the VHS tape content from the first filming of 'White.'The three girls injured previously make a date to perform. Instead of performing, they drink poison to commit suicide. Live.The research with the sound engineer continues. Will new information save Eun-joo?------Scores------Cinematography: 10/10 Sharp focus, lush color saturation, good framing, just lovely.Sound: 10/10 Good!Acting: 7/10 Meh.Screenplay: 7/10 I rate it high on coherence, but low on resolution.

We all know the band or group that's been kicking round for a while than suddenly has that one song that throws them into the limelight, the one song that everyone buys, the radio always plays and the video views on youtube are already in the millions, well what if that song was haunted. K-pop girl group "Pink Dolls" are a pretty second rate bunch in a very competitive field and really need an edge it doesn't matter the song, dance routine or audience they just can't seem to make a breakthrough. Then, one day, one member of the group Eun-Ju discovers a song that could turn everything around "White". The group learn the song, get some dance moves down and suddenly their fortunes change for the better and they are thrust into the spotlight that they've desired for so long. Of course as it's a horror movie they won't be living happy ever after and soon the group begins to unravel as the curse begins to take them out one by one.the scars are sometimes pretty effective and the acting is a cut above some other Asian horror that is out there, the cinematography and editing are well crafted and the soundtrack only adds to the atmosphere.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one therefore I have to recommend it to all of you horror fans out there, looking for something nice. Here are some reasons why "White: Melody of the curse" manages to stand tall at its end: I had my share of Asian horrors, not too many I must say but enough for an opinion to be formed. While they bring something new from your typical Hollywood scares they also kinda always circle around the same pattern, a female ghost, long hair, usually crawling in a scary way or walking on a ceiling, nonetheless you can say: you've seen one, you've seen them all. Well not really, this movie takes you outside the box a little, characters have solid builds, it shows the cruel reality of bands struggling to succeed and you get a inside look in the music industry.Also, as many Asian Horrors accustomed us, this one also has a twist and quite impossible to figure it out, therefore if you're watching it alone or with friends, you'll get a blast trying to figure out who is behind all of it.I guess there are more things to be said but I find it best to let you discover them for yourself, just have a little faith and patience, quite hard to be disappointed by it.