Yoga Hakwon (2009)
Yoga Hakwon is a South Korean horror movie that came out in 2009 in the language of Korean.
How I watched: Tubi
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Never thought I would see a horror movie about YOGA! Hmm well at this point, can't really dismiss anything these days and I'm all for it. So Yoga Hakwon is about Hyo-jeong who is a co-host for this lingerie shopping network but it's shown that despite her smiles and bubbly personality, she's dying inside and it's becoming more noticeable in her work. That is showcased when her arrogant and slightly younger co-host is a bit of a snooty ass bitch. The network validates her arrogant ass when it is revealed that Hyo-jeong is fired in lieu for the success of said co-host. What a dilemma she's in, huh?
The cherry on top is that the woman who replaced her is this chick that was part of her lunch with the rest of her gal pals just the night before. She goes up to Seon-hwa and is like "What the FUCK?!" However, she's like "Chill, boo. Go to this completely random ass yoga class by this mysterious ass lady other there. BTW love the new job, girl!"
Off away Hyo-jeong goes to seek out this very dark and brooding looking ass yoga studio called Yoga Hakwon. It's kind of an exclusive thing, I suppose. They seem to only select a pupil with certain kinds of qualities, if you know what I mean. She passes this preliminary screening as she spills her wittle heart out about how her life sucks. Aaaand she's accepted!
So she's in this extremely small group of 5 woman with varying ranges in personalities. There's this timid and soft spoken girl, an eccentric girl, a stand offish girl, a failing actress who doubts herself and of course our main character.
Na-ni is their instructor that explains that this will be an extremely intensive 5 day session. At the end of the session, only 1 person will be selected to receive Kundalini. In Hinduism, Kundalini is a form of divine feminine energy that is coveted by these women experiencing their own personal existential crises.
This shit ain't no joke, yo!
Oh and they apparently have to live there during this time until the 5 days are up along with very strict rules like you can't shower within an hour of the day's yoga session, and being forbidden to look in the mirror at all. Weird shit like that.
Sooooo during this time, Hyo-jeong's boyfriend that she recently broke up with, gets a hunch that something is amiss. The movie that he was watching as part of research, he comes to find out the haunting history that is somehow connected to this yoga thing that the love of his life just stepped into!!
The fun is just beginning.
Very lovely movie in a rather "Holy shit, what did I just watch?" kind of way.The movie starts out already so somber when we see scenes of our main character trying to hide her sadness while doing her daily activities accompanied with this yearning melancholy music in the background. It totally captured my attention from the get go. They really did a decent job at conveying her inner turmoil, almost like she was about to crack under pressure had she not attended Yoga Hawkon.
The rest of the cast was also very interesting as well. I got to say though, very interesting choreo with the yoga, if that's what you call it. All the actresses in this movie are petite at hell but this serves the purpose of yoga. The thing is though, that they weren't fucking around when they said it was intensive. Look at all these advanced moves! Could be body doubles or clever camera tricks but I was so in awe of all of this poses. My fat ass can barely do basic moves (it was a phase, mom).
In my opinion, missed opportunity to have a male in the class. Men do yoga too! Should have had someone represent the ding a lings and one of the rules should be no horizontal mambo which obviously gets broken because...humans.
Anyway, I did like this movie a lot and is definitely rewatchable in my eyes. There's enough creeps and spooks to freak you the fuck out with minimal blood splattering scenes. There is bloody scenes though but that's what I love about this movie is that it was focusing more on the psychological factor in combination with varying other things. There was one super gross part when one of the girls breaks a rule. Proceed with caution with that though but there is definitely some foreshadowing to give you some time to back out. Hint: When all 5 women first arrive, pay some attention to what happens in that scene.
So, what's the verdict?
Interesting concept, twas impressed
If you are interested in watching Yoga Hakwon, then please CLICK HERE to see where you can watch via the free streaming guide app JUSTWATCH!
Thank you for stopping by and reading this review. Now, if you want a music recommendation, CLICK HERE to for the metal band of the day from South Korea.
