Because of so many recent disappointing offerings, it's easy to cast a doubtful eye upon the future of Asian horror. Still, once in a great while a movie like Korea's Voice comes along, one that not only does justice to the genre but comes across as an overall fine film in its own right. Voice circumvents the tired stream of "OOGAH-BOOGAH!" scares and delivers a rather tragic story with a healthy dose of the supernatural.

Young-eon (Ok-bin Kim) is a bright student with a gifted singing voice who attends an all girl's high school. One night after practice, she experiences a bizarre nightmare, only to wake up and discover she's become a ghost. She finds herself unable to be seen or heard by any of her fellow classmates -- except for her best friend, Sun-min (Ji-hye Seo). Although initially freaked out by hearing her missing friend's disembodied voice, Sun-min gets the hang of it and sets about helping Young-eon learn how she got where she is. Their investigation uncovers a connection between their supposedly lesbian music instructor and a previous student who took her own life. But when another suicide rocks the school, the girls find themselves with little time left to solve the mystery behind Young-eon's death before any others perish at the hands of an evil force bent on separating the friends forever.

You might not expect it from the gruesome (not to mention misleading) cover, but Voice is a film with a bit of a pedigree behind it. It's the fourth entry into South Korea's "Ghost School" series, a string of loosely-connected films that combine supernatural theatrics with a coming-of-age drama. Peer underneath Voice's ghostly shenanigans, and one can find the compelling story of a couple of girls just trying to fit in under the reign of an oppressive educational system. The film's title has a double meaning; in the literal sense, Sun-min is the only one who can hear her dead friend, but in metaphorical terms, it refers to the girls' respective sense of individuality, which comes in danger of being quashed not only by the school but also by the sinister forces causing so much death around them. The idea of a possible lesbian relationship between Young-eon and Sun-min, a theme previously explored moreso in the "Ghost School" sequel Memento Mori, is brought up but carefully handled, contributing a whole other layer to the pair's relationship and never exploited for a few moments of sordid cinema.

Voice is better as a spooky drama than as a straight-out horror movie. Genre fans may be disappointed that the film isn't packed with gore galore, but the story doesn't need it because it's based more on societal horrors than on Ringu-like spirits carting off souls to the underworld. There are those times when Voice does beckon to the call of including at least a few freaky sequences to shake things up, and such moments are admittedly the film's weakest points. The scant scares there are come across as awkwardly-staged, including how Young-eon's body is stumbled upon out of left field. The story also tends to get fairly murky, especially during the perplexing and sort of cheap revelation of the film's central mystery and some heretofore unknown skeletons in Young-eon's closet. But one tends to forgive Voice for these flaws, especially when the story does a such a good job of absorbing the viewer and because both Ok-bin Kim and Ji-hye Seo turn in sensitive and sympathetic performances as the tortured gal pals.

Voice is more than a Korean version of The Invisible. It's a touching picture that doesn't break down barriers with its themes but uses them to help freshen up a genre that's gotten a little worse for the wear. With its chilling atmosphere and solid performances, Voice succeeds in showing viewers an eerie good time without relying on the usual grind of long-haired ghosts. 

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Cj Entertainment; not rated by MPAA.)

Review also posted at www.passportcinema.com .