By Woo Jae-yeon
Get ready for chills with “Salmokji: Whispering Water,” a new horror film guaranteed to send shivers down the spines of those who love a good scare. However, viewers seeking detailed explanations for the haunting may be left wanting more by the film’s conclusion.
“Salmokji: Whispering Water” follows a film crew, led by Soo-in (Kim Hye-yoon), as they race against a deadline to capture footage of the roads surrounding a remote reservoir.
Soo-in reluctantly takes the lead, stepping into the shoes of her senior colleague Kyo-sik (Kim Jun-han) and his unfinished work. From the outset, she’s haunted by an inexplicable fear.
That unease quickly escalates to dread when the crew arrives at Salmokji, a reservoir nestled deep in the isolated countryside.
The sudden return of Kyo-sik, who vanished after his previous visit to the same location, intensifies Soo-in’s fear. Though she can’t pinpoint the cause, she senses something is deeply wrong with him.
With Kyo-sik’s reappearance, strange and unsettling events begin: unexplained sounds echoing across the water, an eerie silence suffocating the air, and the crew losing their way, trapped in a loop as if held by an unseen force.
A technical problem forces them to stay overnight, plunging them further into a swamp of terror where the line between land and water blurs, and escape seems impossible.
The film’s horror is amplified by the fact that Salmokji is a real location in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province. Known among anglers and rumored to be a paranormal hotspot with ghost sightings, Salmokji gained further notoriety after being featured on a TV show dedicated to supernatural accounts.
Director Lee Sang-min, making his feature directorial debut, masterfully captures the dread of isolation, with desolate roads and limited connectivity leaving the characters stranded. The oppressive stillness of the unpopulated landscape offers no escape.
For a truly immersive experience, “Salmokji: Whispering Water” is also available in ScreenX, a 270-degree panoramic format that extends the image onto the side walls, giving the audience the sensation of being trapped within the scene alongside the characters.
Kim Hye-yoon delivers a compelling performance as a horror lead, a departure from her role in the romance fantasy “Lovely Runner.” While Soo-in’s character could have benefited from a deeper backstory, Kim Hye-yoon provides a solid performance.
Ultimately, “Salmokji: Whispering Water” relies on its eerie setting – where skeletal tree branches rise from the reservoir – and strategically placed jump scares to deliver its horror.
“Salmokji: Whispering Water” will premiere on April 8.
