Based on previous looks at the upcoming horror movie Yoga School [요가학원] , I thought this movie might turn out slightly cheesy and very B-list. But after seeing the preview trailer (watch below), I’m pleasantly surprised to find it looking a lot sleeker, cooler, and more mysterious than I’d expected.

Rather than going for outright scares, Yoga School aims more for creating a chilling ambiance and the cinematography goes for a dark, stylish flair. (I still think the posters are crap, though. And given that the preview actually looks good, the posters hardly do it justice.)

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Jang Nara arrives with father and brother

For the next ten days, the city of Bucheon, not far from Seoul in Kyunggi (Gyeonggi) province, is hosting the 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, or PiFan. (Like Pusan International Film Festival, the film festival has kept the old spelling and acronym although the city names are now romanized with the “B” instead of the “P.”)

PiFan is a genre film festival, focusing on thriller, mystery, horror, and fantasy selections. This year the festival screens more than 200 films in eight categories that include Family Fanta (fantastic genre films appropriate for families), Ani Fanta (animation, one of the festival’s main categories), World Fantastic Cinema, and Fantastic Shorts. The Retrospectives portion comprises a “City of Romance” subcategory, screening Hong Kong movies from the ’80s, as well as “Eroticscape,” featuring Korean urban erotica from the ’80s.

The festival opened on July 16, its red carpet walked by celebs like Jang Nara, Lee Jong-hyuk, and Gu Hye-sun. PiFan will close on July 26.

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