While on the surface a film ostensibly focused on a burgeoning supernatural mystery surrounding an ominous yoga studio and the need to uncover it, there’s far more going on in Yun Jae-yeon‘s follow-up to the solid-if-by-the-book “Wishing Stairs”. Still retaining the same sense of atmosphere and theatrics, she adds a fantastic critique of beauty and physical aesthetics in Korean society for her second, and thus far final, directorial effort “Yoga Hakwon.”
Trying to stay competitive at work, TV presenter Hyo-jeong (Kim Yoo-jin) becomes jealous of the attention new co-host Seon-hwa (Lee Yeong-jin) receives from her studio bosses due to her youth and beauty as a former pageant contestant. After talking with boyfriend Dong-hoon (Choi Daniel), Hyo-jung decides to follow a rigorous yoga training class held at Na-ni’s (Cha Soo Yeon) resort with other participants Sung Yeon-joo (Park Han-byeol), Lee Bo-ra (Hwang Seung-eon), Seo In-soon (Jo Eun-ji), and Yoo-kyung (Kim Hye-na). Given a strict set of rules and regulations about joining the facility, they start the treatment together only to realize the severity of breaking the rules which soon causes them to mysteriously disappear from the program never to be seen again. With her boyfriend trying to find out what’s happened to her, Hyo-jung tries to find the real cause of the disappearances leading to a shocking revelation about the malicious spirit inside the facility, and tries to get out alive.
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Overall, “Yoga Hakwon” has a lot to like about it. One of the finer aspects on display is writer/director Jae-yeon’s well-rounded storyline that provides plenty of intriguing aspects. This is mainly due to the way the whole setup is structured around Hyo-jung’s being forced into the retreat as a result of her working space. With her outright telling that the company is moving in a new direction with the more youthful co-host since she provides a more overt and obvious beauty that viewers are noticeably attracted to, the commentary on her age becomes the main focal point. Given that Hyo-jung is not old in the slightest and is still incredibly attractive, forced to look at the whole trip to the facility as a way to be competitive in a market that rewards such standards is a comment on itself. This feeling carries over into the arrival at the studio and how everyone starts to treat each other once they arrive. Given a series of solid introductory pieces showing Hyo-jung and the girls around and explaining the rules of everything while they stay, it creates a wholly enjoyable starting point.
On top of this fine setup, “Yoga Hakwon” scores incredibly well with the series of supernatural antics once the girls begin their training. The atmosphere of the place, given the instructions about not leaving, taking personal items, or addressing others about what’s going on, works nicely enough to provide a sense of eeriness to the place. The actual setting where the training occurs is dripping with the kind of foreboding theatrics behind it, with the musty air, ornate columns, and thick air of a dark secret behind the walls lurking ominously setting everything off nicely. As the various scenes with the rest of the girls getting sucked into outlandish punishments for the egregious rule-breaking that takes place, some overall chilling concepts at play also appear. With shower curtains coming to life to attack a victim or being manipulated by outside forces to perform increasingly more complex positions during training, the gradual reveal of everything taking place within the studio is a great way to make such a premise work.
There are some big issues in “Yoga Hakwon.” The main drawback is the plodding and dragged-out pace in the middle section. This is where we see Dong-hoon drive around the city, putting the pieces of Hyo-jeung’s disappearance together. The concept of the mystery itself is fine, using his skills from putting the documentary feature to look into the series of mysterious circumstances surrounding the yoga facility. Still, it does end up dragging the film down considerably. Focusing on trying to get people associated with the situation to talk or explain what’s going on makes for a dull time getting the seeds of the mystery unraveled as slow as it does. Moreover, this also takes us away from the facility to resolve these aspects yet does nothing with them, so it dramatically lowers the tension during this part when it should be ramping up. This also leads into the other issue where it feels far more ambiguous than anything else, leading to a series of plot points with little explanation for anything going on. How Na-hi got in charge of the facility or what the spirit is supposed to accomplish is left unexplained which causes a lacking and confusing atmosphere. These aspects are what bring the film down.
Featuring some impressive elements alongside some negative points, “Yoga Hakwon” is a solid time even with the flaws keeping it down into the middle-range tier of the genre. Hardcore fans of this kind of Asian horror fare or are curious about the film will have the most to like here.
