Memento Mori - IFFDAY

Official selection

Psychology/Mystery/Suspence/ThrillerComing of AgeHorror/Gore

Memento Mori, co-directed by Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong in their feature debut, was marketed as a sequel to Whispering Corridors (1998), yet it takes a decisively different path. While the first film focused on the confrontation between students and the school within a conventional horror framework, this installment instead traces the intricately entangled relationships of its characters, centering on an ambiguous psychological mystery. Its structure moves fluidly between reality and fantasy, past and present, while fresh narrative devices such as shared diaries and camcorder footage enrich its texture. By exploring homosexuality alongside the myriad of desires and emotions of adolescence, the film boldly opened up new territory in Korean cinema. Within the horror genre, it sensitively yet audaciously unravels the anxieties, anger, and sorrow lingering in the atmosphere of a high school for girls. It also offers a fresh glimpse of Kim Gyuri, Park Ye-jin, Lee Youngjin, and Kong Hyo-jin in their early years.

Programme note by NAM Daeun