THE WIG is an interesting horror flick from South Korea, one that comes at you with an incredibly stupid gimmick but pulls a reversal of sorts, managing to create something entertaining, even gripping at times, with its premise. Writer and director Won Shin-yeon has boldly stepped for his first time into the film arena with a movie about "scary hair," so any initial skepticism is completely warranted if not insisted upon. Surprisingly though, the campfire concept is overshadowed once the movie starts, replaced by a well-crafted dark atmosphere and subsequently doused by the depressing cast of characters.

The mood is so damn dark in this movie it's suffocating. Not only is our protagonist attempting to recover from Leukemia treatments, but her sister was rendered mute in a car accident and either lip-synchs and squeaks her thoughts or writes them down and passes the sheet of paper. THE WIG would have been horrific without the titular hair-piece. In fact, the only bright moments in the movie stay their ground as polaroid memories of the past. Soo-hyun's sickness has her pining for day-glow reminders of happiness that are faded and irretrievable. With all of this in mind, it's pretty heartbreaking that the only thing that even remotely brings back youthful and healthy feelings in Soo-hyun is cursed. 

It typically takes a pretty solid backstory to make horror movie gore-fodder characters compelling in any fashion. However, in the case of THE WIG I think it's more a matter of feeling sorry for two sisters that are both facing extreme circumstances that lead to trouble communicating with themselves and others close to them. The situation becomes even more dire as Soo-hyun begins to be transformed by the evil wig. Although it improves her health and outlook drastically, her attitude does a gradual 180º. While doctors cite some sort of inexplicably strong placebo effect, Ji-hyun knows something isn't right and begins to suspect that the wig itself is changing her sister. 

Chae Min-seo is the cast highlight, playing what becomes a dual-role once the wig takes over. Without the cursed hairpiece, she's fragile and sickly, but its seemingly regenerative powers help craft a more out-going Soo-hyun with a second chance at life. Actress Yoo Seon's role as her sister makes for an almost equally frustrated character with expressive limitations that compound her life's already-present difficulties. The movie benefits from keeping the main focus on a small cast surrounded by a few ancillary characters. 

THE WIG isn't scary so much as it is incredibly tense. Cheap jump-scares aside (cats!), the movie really relies on its ability to build a rigid tightrope that the audience knows could snap at any moment. Sure, the SNAP may not be too shocking, but just knowing that it could go any time is enough to quicken heartbeats. The aforementioned scares this results in wouldn't be so shocking if they weren't loud as hell. The movie's somber atmosphere gets raped and pillaged by brief snapshots of horror that make your ears jump before your eyes have a chance to catch up. Still, the movie succeeds on its tension alone, and despite the fact that it's not overly gory, there are a few very memorable disturbing moments. 

A movie like this is made or broken by its climactic act. Without giving anything away, it's a relief to be able to say that THE WIG avoids a few narrative pratfalls that would have been easy to hit. As funny as it would have been, Won Shin-yeon resists building the finale around something like a fist-fight with a giant wig, or a wig destroying the neighboring city (I can hear the disappointment from here). If there's anything to complain about in the finale, it's the rapid-fire unraveling of the mystery, which seemed a bit hasty after the tight pacing of the movie's first two acts. Even so, the results would have been pretty difficult to predict. 

A movie like this is made or broken by its climactic act. Without giving anything away, it's a relief to be able to say that THE WIG avoids a few narrative pratfalls that would have been easy to hit. As funny as it would have been, Won Shin-yeon resists building the finale around something like a fist-fight with a giant wig, or a wig destroying the neighboring city (I can hear the disappointment from here). If there's anything to complain about in the finale, it's the rapid-fire unraveling of the mystery, which seemed a bit hasty after the tight pacing of the movie's first two acts. Even so, the results would have been pretty difficult to predict.