A new Korean horror anthology film titled "The Cursed" has hit theaters, featuring an unusual mix of veteran actors and K-pop idols in a five-episode collection of supernatural stories. The film arrives in September, well past Korea's traditional summer horror season when audiences typically seek spine-chilling entertainment to combat the heat.

The anthology format follows a recent trend in Korean horror cinema, with similar multi-story films like "Strange" in 2022, "Body Parts" in 2023, and "Ghost Train" starring SNL Korea's Joo Hyun-young released just this past July. However, none of these previous attempts gained significant traction with audiences, and "The Cursed" faces the additional challenge of arriving as autumn weather naturally provides the cooling effect that summer horror films traditionally offer.

Despite minimal publicity, the film has assembled a notable cast of established actors. Veteran character actor Yoo Jae-myung, known for his roles in popular series "Reply 1988" and "Itaewon Class," portrays a detective pursuing a kidnapper who encounters something far more sinister than expected. Moon Chae-won, recognized from "Good Doctor" and "Flower of Evil," engages in a violent confrontation with her neighbor over a cursed package that promises to enhance her appearance.

"I'm actually quite scared of horror films," Moon revealed at Tuesday's press conference held at CGV Yongsan. "I can't really watch them as an audience member. But as an actor, I'd never tried this genre before, never even gotten offers for it. So when this came along, I thought this could be something new."

The film's most intriguing aspect may be its showcase of K-pop idols making their acting debuts or early film appearances. Solar from the popular girl group Mamamoo leads the opening episode as an aspiring writer who visits a rural village haunted by a mysterious tree. Bae Su-min, performing under the name Sumin in the group StayC, plays a high school student whose demanding mother will stop at nothing to ensure her daughter achieves perfect grades.

Cha Sun-woo, better known as Baro from the boy band B1A4, accompanies Yoo's detective character into an underground horror scenario where corpses bizarrely sprout flowers from their faces. Son Ju-yeon, who performs as Eunseo in the group WJSN, appears as a study abroad student in Vietnam whose social media influencer aspirations lead her to film content in dangerously inappropriate locations. Each idol character faces gruesome consequences by their respective episode's conclusion.

"I listen to scary stories every night before bed, that's how obsessed I am with horror," Solar said with visible excitement during the press conference. "Getting to make a horror film felt like winning the lottery. Plus working with director Hong and this cast – I couldn't believe my luck." For Bae Su-min, the project marked her very first acting experience. "I was honored just to be here," she explained. "I'd just graduated not long ago, so those memories were still fresh – how we talked, the pressure we felt. It helped me play a high schooler because I'd just been one."

The resulting film presents a chaotic mixture of virtually every horror trope imaginable, including occult rituals, graphic body horror, theatrical bloodshed, supernatural encounters involving schoolgirls (a persistent theme in Asian horror), and long-haired ghosts emerging from dark spaces reminiscent of less creative versions of iconic characters like Sadako. The five episodes maintain minimal connection to each other, unified primarily by their shared absurdity and lack of creative innovation. Only a few conveniently placed recurring motifs create an illusion of narrative cohesion without providing genuine thematic unity.

Director Hong Won-ki expressed more ambitious intentions for the project. "I wanted to build this world of the ghost market," he explained during the press conference. "It's a marketplace where you can buy your desires. Each episode shows people with different wants, but they're all connected through this market." The concept attempts to link the disparate stories through a supernatural commercial hub where characters can purchase fulfillment of their various wishes and ambitions.

The film's most distinctive element appears in its final episode, shot entirely on location in Vietnam with local actors participating alongside the Korean cast. "We spent two weeks in Vietnam, and it really felt like studying abroad," Son Ju-yeon recalled of the international production experience. "I was speaking English with the local staff the whole time. My English improved more than my acting, honestly."

Director Hong had specific creative reasons for expanding the production beyond Korea's borders. "I wanted to connect the Korean ghost market with one in Vietnam – show that these desires are universal. We found this perfect location there, this place with genuinely dark energy." He described how the local Vietnamese crew would burn incense and offer prayers before entering the filming location each day. Despite the challenging production conditions with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius daily, Hong noted that the oppressive heat doesn't show in the final footage.

"The Cursed" opened in theaters on September 17, joining the growing list of Korean anthology horror films attempting to capture audience attention through quantity of scares rather than quality of storytelling.