The Cursed
Im Jin Hee is a gung ho reporter, out to do the ring thing. She covers a violent case involving Forest, the biggest IT company in South Korea. The chairman of Forest is Jin Jong Hyun. He relies heavily on shamanism. During her investigation, Im Jin Hee learns of a spiritual consulting company that is affiliated with Forest. The head of that affiliate company is Jin Kyung. While trying to reveal the secret behind Forest, Im Jin Hee meets So Jin. She is possessed by a spirit and she has a special ability.
MovieGuys@MovieGuys
in spite of having very Korean supernatural aspects, that might feel a little unfamiliar, even alien to Western viewers, The Cursed still has a lot to offer.
The storyline behind The Cursed does take effort to come to grips with, if, like me, you are a Western viewer. Talk of evil Inugami (Japanese dog spirits), shamans and procedures (which amounts to an active cursing of a person) seem rather inexplicable.
Yet, if you take the time to understand Korean supernatural aspects of this story they start to nicely fit into what is a well crafted tale of supernatural cursing, revenge and ultimately, self sacrifice, in the service of others.
Characterisations are complex, deep and readily relatable too, which adds considerably to this series appeal. Equally, production values are polished with decent action scenes and sets.
In summary, a cleverly crafted tale of the supernatural that represents an excellent watch, provided you are willing to invest the time and effort to come to grips with its uniquely Asian mythological nuisances.