Story: As the tribal age of darkness and incantation comes to its end, with the birth of new kingdoms, the Kingdom of Shilla led by PARK Hyokkose destroys Auta Tribe, a tribe that worships the Great Tree. The vast hole where the Great Tree once stood is filled with the blood and hatred of Auta Tribe and it turns into a dark lake. Hyokkose thrusts the Sword into the Great Tree to seal off the sorcery power of Auta Tribe.

1000 years later... In the last years of Queen Chinsong’s reign, the Unified Kingdom of Shilla has deteriorated into a weakening nation with ongoing wars and the failing frontiers. It is at the brink of complete destruction. General Biharang, a trusted warrior of Queen Chinsong, faithfully fights for his country but after years of countless battles, his only wish is to live a quiet life with his beloved woman Jaunbie. One day, while General Biharang is out in another battle, unknown assassins attempt to murder Jaunbie. As she tries to escape from them, she accidentally throws herself into the lake where the malice spirit of Auta Tribe lies deep within.

Review: Legend of the Evil Lake does many things right, which is almost a first for the Korean Fantasy genre. Drawing influence from Chinese culture and design, the look and feel of the movie is astoundingly detailed. From the set designs to the costumes, everything has a feel of extravagance in it. Professionals from various sources were brought on to ensure the quality of the sets and costumes. Professor Park Seoung-Min researched and designed over 2000 individual costumes. Award winning costume designer Zou Zian-hua, along with her assistants dyed and embroidered a total of 1200 sets of costumes.

The plot of Legend of the Evil Lake is well thought out and works well without any slow or uninteresting parts. Most movies are killed by subpar plot devices and bad acting, but this is not the case with this particular movie. The story revolves around the Auta tribe’s vengeful spirits trying to take back their pride and take revenge on the people of the Shilla for imprisoning them in the lake. A lot of time and effort was put into the creation of this movie. The actors went through rigorous training and history lessons to bring the Shilla Empire and its story to life. To get the part of general Biharang right, actor Jeong Joon-Ho practiced several hours a day on his action choreography based on the ancient art of Taekkyon. Actress Kim Hyo-Jin worked hard on her wire work and gave her role all of her attention in order to justify her role as Biharang’s love, Jaunbie.

Special effects are top-notch and offer a great improvement over past FX heavy movies such as Legend of Gingko. In order to ensure the CG looked flawless and unique, the movie was delayed from its release to theatres. Thankfully, their goal was reached and the CG looks good and fitting for the movie and presents the kingdom of Shilla without any problems. Real life objects and surroundings blend flawlessly together keeping the look and feel of the movie natural and not artificial.

Bottom line, Legend of the Evil Lake is a well-made movie with a pretty good storyline. Check it out for some well designed sets and costumes. Overall, it’s an interesting take on the typical period piece turned fantasy. Check it out sometime.