4th Period Murder Mystery

A.K.A.: The Clue

Genre: Mystery/ Thriller

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)

Cast: Yoo Seung Ho
          Kang So Ra
          Jo Sang Geun
          Park Chul Min
          Kim Dong Bum

Link(s): My Soju
               Youtube



Sypnosis
Han Jeong Hun [Yoo Seung Ho] doesn't have much on his mind when he enters his classroom and finds his classmate Tae Gyu [Jo Sang Geun] dead. Only minutes pass before murder mystery fanatic, Lee Da Jeong, [Sora Kang], enters the room. The evidence and recent fights between Jeong Hun and Tae Gyu leave Jeong Hun as the main suspect in the eyes of public. When Da Jeong sees Jeong Hun next to the body, his t-shirt stained with blood, no matter how much she tries, she cannot truly believe that Jeong Hun is the murderer.  Only one thought passes through her head, they have 40 minutes to gather clues and find the real killer before the next period begins when the rest of the students will enter the classroom and find the dead body.

Plot
The storyline is interesting... typical and predictable, but interesting. The plot is so similar to all the other basic mysteries out there. Clues were usually easy to find and typical. There's not really anything that makes you say 'Wow, how in the world did they figure that out?' or ' Om-jay how did they do that?' When they think they caught the suspect, they've really just begun. Almost last minute they finally find the tiniest piece of a clue that leads them in a completely different direction than they were initially heading. Still, the setting is pretty new since it is a high school, and I haven't seen really seen that anywhere.

Ooh and clues! I thought they were rare yet good... ish. It took me a while to figure out who the murder was, but once the button clue came on screen, I immediately got it. In fact when they caught decoy, the person they thought was the killer, I was like 'Whaa? I'm wrong? How?!'

I know one thing from watching so many movies. Buttons seem to play a big role in mysteries.


Characters
 Am I the only one who thought that Da Jeong was supposed to be the main character? The girl is simply too intelligent to be second in line to Jeong Hun. Except for figuring out who the real killer is, he practically just sits back and watches Da Jeong solve the case that might just possibly put him in jail. Only in the ending does he actually outsmart his 'sensei' [Da Jeong].

Hehe... Lo♥e this part right here.

There also seems to be some background info left out. Usually, the viewer gets an inside peak at the character's life in a touching moment buried beneath the most suspenseful second in the movie. This small break from reality not only allows us to take a breath from all the drama, but also gives us the opportunity to relate or at the very least have an 'Aww' moment. That 'Aww' moment is very important. Anyway, I was surprised that we have absolutely no history to the characters whatsoever. As I was watching the movie this didn't really bother me. But once everything was over, I had this feeling of wanting to know more. Why is Da Jeong so obsessed with mystery and gore? Why do the students exclude her? Is purely because she is so different form the typical girl, and our society today cannot accept that, or does it have a deeper story?

 Instead, the movie seems to have an abundance of scenes where the characters are doing nothing but running. The big chase towards the ending is necessary to the movie, but the rest of the scenes aren't as critical to the story. I'm sure that the director could have cut some of those scenes short, and instead squeeze some more meaningful scenes in. Some touching past story for instance?

Endless running scene. Aww, they're holding hands!! ♥

Personally I loved the characters. Yoo Seung Ho looks very young and childish in this movie. He gives this sense of innocence whenever he is standing next to Kang So Ra's character. She too fits her character quite well. Together they create an odd, but adorable couple. It is much different than the usual stereotype that the guy has to lead in the relationship. In fact, towards the ending Da Jeong [Kang So Ra] seems to be in complete control. This quirk seems to fit perfectly especially since the movie already stands out as something different from others of its kind. Jo Sang Geun doesn't fall behind either. He portrays the typical misjudged and troubled teenager perfectly. In some scenes he has the whole evil eye thingy completely under control. Creepy...


Recommendation

Perfect ending. ♥♥

If you are a hard core mystery junkie, I don't think you should pass on this movie. Although it's not the type of movie that spins the case into a brilliant web of lies and 'Om-jay how did they come up with that?' moments, it gives you a moment to enjoy a simple mystery on a nice week-end night. Which is when I watched it. ☺ If you like a cute romance, where the girl gets a chance to lead, then I definitely recommend this movie. Overall, I don't think the mystery was the main focus in this film. The romance seems to take the spotlight.