Whasango [2001]

Country of Origin: South Korea
Year of Production: 2001
Running Times: 99 mins
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Shin Seung-soo Productions / Sidus
Executive Producer: Woo-Suk Kang
Producer: Seoung-Jae Cha

SCRIPT
Script: Tae-gyun Kim, Dong-heon Seo, Jung Ahn-chul

DIRECTION
Director: Tae-gyun Kim

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Yeong-taek Choi

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Im-Pyo Ko

MUSIC
Music: Yeong Park

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Directors: Geun-yeong Jang, Kyeong-hie Kim

CAST
Hyuk Jang [Kim Kyeong-su]
Min-a Shin [Yu Cha-i]
Su-ro Kim [Jang Ryang]
Sang-woo Kwon [Song Hak-lim]
Hyo-jin Kong [So Yo-seon]
Sang-hun Jeong [Golbangi]
Hyeong-jong Kim [Shim Ma]
Shi-ra Chae [Yo-mi]
Ryang Jang

Kim Kyeong-su is expelled from another high school and is send to Volcano High where he becomes in a vicious power struggle between the students' athletic clubs, the teachers and the administrators, many of who possess supernatural abilities, and who are all looking for a secret manuscript.

Hilarious, over-the-top and wildly imaginative, Whasango plays like an unholy melding of Battle Royale [2000] with The Matrix [1999]. The fight scenes are breathtaking, the mostly young cast excellent and the direction constantly fresh and surprising. The story is slim and often gets lost in the chaos, but the film is so loaded with style and energy that on this occasion we can overlook that shortcoming. Highly recommended.

China [Hong Kong]
DVD Distributor: Media Asia [MS/DVD/420/HK]

Japan
Theatrical Distributor: Amuse Pictures Inc

2001
December
5: South Korea - theatrical release

2002
September
13: Canada - shown at the Toronto Film Festival

October
12: Spain - shown at the Sitges Film Festival
25: Japan - shown at the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival

December
21: Japan - theatrical release

Volcano High - English language title

SEE ALSO
Battle Royale [2000]
The Matrix [1999]

KEYWORDS

martial arts, psychics, magic, the supernatural, sports, schools, teenagers, teachers

Last Updated: 6 March, 2007