Cello (DVD)
The running time is 1 hr. 32 mins..
There are two big problems with Cello: It doesn't work as a drama because it's not interesting enough and it doesn't work as a horror film because it isn't very scary (though the film's last shot certainly has a haunting quality to it). In a way the film reminded of the Michelle Pfeiffer-Harrison Ford starrer What Lies Beneath. Both films use cheap scares (you know, like phones ringing when the jack's been ripped from the wall) in the first hour or so before getting to the bloodier, more fun stuff. The difference is, where Beneath takes off in the last act because of Zemeckis's stylishly heightened hand, Cello proves depressing rather than fun. This miscalculation by writer-director Woo-Cheol Lee is mainly owed to how he chooses to portray his protagonist. We should be enjoying the final act but all I felt was…"eh."
The only thing scary about Cello is that I sat through it twice to check out the director-producer commentary track. The real laugher is that I actually enjoyed the movie better this way because Woo-Cheol Lee is pretty engaging and as he talks about the practical aspects of filmmaking and the day-to-day grind, you remember no one sets out to make a bad movie, even if Cello doesn't make the grade.
The disc also comes complete with a surprisingly lengthy behind-the-scenes doc that is basically a mish-mash of production footage. It's a little disturbing to see the girl who plays the 6-year-old daughter giggle and get tickled as they pour cold fake movie blood "Just pretend it's ice cream!" they crew tells her (Eventually the girl starts to get a little freaked and tells the crew she's getting scared).
Despite these little fun DVD nuggets I can't recommend this DVD because the movie just doesn't play. If your idea of scary is pale-faced little kids suddenly opening their eyes like fembots, then you may have more fun with Cello that I did.