There are times when short films tell a complete story wrapped snugly within their limited time frame. Other times, they can feel more like a beginning, similar to the opening scene of a film right before the title shot. This is the case for writer-director Jaho Koo and his short debut English Tutor.
Set in Korea, the film opens with a young university student finishing up her flyers advertising herself as an English tutor. Once done, she leaves her apartment and tapes her flyers all over the area. Later that day, she gets a call from a woman looking for English lessons for her daughter. Upon arrival at the apartment, you can tell something is off. The mother is incredibly eager and states that she’s tried multiple tutors, but her daughter refuses to speak one word.
When the tutor sees the daughter, she’s face down on her desk. The tutor tries to get the daughter to write a simple phrase in English, but the daughter is not responding. When she finally does, what she writes terrifies the young woman, and she races out of the apartment. Once back in her own space, the tutor is haunted by images of the young girl. Not realizing she left her door unlocked, she’s then confronted by the mother asking her again to tutor her little girl.
This may be where the short ends, but there is so much room for the story to grow. For myself, I have many questions surrounding this woman and her daughter. It’s obvious the two are not on the same page. Koo has potentially set up a horror that revolves around communication between parents and children. The mother’s want does not match the child’s reality, and therein lies the conflict and the terror.
Will English Tutor be adapted into a feature-length film? One can only hope.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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I found the article through a Google search. Appreciate the coverage of our film. Your insights are fantastic and right on the mark. While there are no plans for a feature version of English Tutor, I’m currently focused on developing a horror movie set in a sleep clinic.