[HanCinema's Film Review] "Thousand Years Old Fox" + Full Movie

The legend of the nine-tailed fox is one found throughout the East Asian countries, although its roots seem to be Korean, with the creature being able to live for a thousand years and freely transforming into various forms. Most of the time, the result is a beautiful woman who goes on a murderous rampage, with Shin Sang-ok following this approach, although through the addition of a number of other elements.

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Kim Won-rang is a general during the Sylla period in Korea, who has just returned from a triumph in the war. Queen Jinseong welcomes him with open arms, and soon makes her love for him clear. Won-rang, however, is faithful to his wife, Yeo-hwa and turns the Queen down, in a series of events that leads her to banishing the girl from the kingdom. On her way out to the wilderness with her baby and a small escort, she is ambushed by bandits, with her baby getting killed and her ending up in a cursed pond where she seemingly dies. However, what actually happens is that the spirit of the fox takes over her body, keeping her in life, with Won-rang eventually finding her and returning her to the palace. The fact that she is possessed, though, becomes evident soon enough, and considering the Queen's disposition towards her, a number of people try to kill her. Won-rang, on the other hand, tries to save her even when he also realizes the change in her. Meanwhile, the fox is also on her own path of revenge.

Shin Sang-ok directs a film whose base is a costume (melo) drama, but is also equal parts supernatural horror and martial arts movie, particularly regarding the extensive wirework implemented throughout the movie. Regarding this last part, it is also worth noting that the film was picked up for Hong Kong distribution by the Shaw Brothers, being released in 1971. Regarding the horror aspect, the chasing of Yeo-hwa sets the tone, even in exploitation terms, before the presence of the fox in the Palace and the violence that ensues cement this element in the narrative.

At the same time though, the concept of love is also central here, presented in two rather different aspects. The first is the exploitative love of the Queen for the General, with her being willing to go to extremes in order for him to reciprocate, with her initial feeling eventually becoming one of a spoiled child who cannot accept no as an answer. Kim Hye-jung-III is great in the part, both in her soft demeanor in the beginning and as a femme fatale later on. The second aspect is the love Won-rang has for his wife, which essentially leads him to sacrifice his and his family's well being, while even more shockingly, to transcend his love towards the fox. Shin Young-kyun is quite convincing in the part of the strong and virtuous man, but the one who steals the show here is Kim Ji-su-I as Yeo-hwa, with her constant transformations from a victim to a vigilante being among the best traits of the movie.

Choi Seung-woo's cinematography is also top notch, with him taking full advantage of the big budget of the movie, the quality of the set design and the costumes to capture a series of rather impressive images. Particularly the scene with the parapet, and in general, the way the shadows are implemented throughout the movie is outstanding, while the special effects make the various action scenes equally impressive, for the era at least. O Seong-hwan's editing induces the movie with a fast pace that suits the overall aesthetics nicely.

One could say that the film also deals with the concept of humanity and what defines it, as exhibited in the struggle between the two identities of Yeo-hwa, but in the end, this kind of context is essentially buried under the weight of the genre tropes here, which deem the movie, though, one worth watching even today.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Thousand Years Old Fox" is directed by Shin Sang-ok, and features Shin Young-kyun, Kim Ji-su-I, Kim Hye-jung-III, Kang Kye-shik, Ji Bang-yeol, Lee Ye-sung. Release date in Korea: 1969/03/08.