A man with his young son arrives in a small village that is plagued by rats. He makes a deal with the villagers that if he gets rid of the rats, they will pay him. And he needs the money because his son is ill. But when it’s time to pay the man after the work is done, they refuse to pay him. Now he will play some sour notes to teach them a lesson that they don’t fuck with a man with a flute!
This is the South Korean version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Most people have probably heard or read the story about the man with the flute who performed a job he didn’t get paid for. So he did some horrible things to the people who lived in the village.
The Piper is quite dark, although it’s more cheerful at first. I didn’t like any of the characters in the movie, nor can I say that the actors impressed me. I hated the son of the protagonist. He has some ugly glasses, and I just wanted him to die, so I didn’t have to see his ugly glasses. If I had met him, I would have punched him in the face and stepped on his little glasses! Little piece of shit!
The characters are simple. You will not find much character depth except for the father. He’s trying to earn some money so he can buy medication for his dying and punchable son. Someone needs to punch this young man! And I’m here to do the job! But when the villagers refuse to pay him, he takes his revenge. Fear the flute, fear the flute! Oh, have you seen Sex & Zen? You can use a flute in so many different ways.
I think the movie was taking liberties with the original story. I can’t remember the rats killing the parents in the village. I know there are different versions of this story, but I don’t think I’ve heard of this version before.
But when the characters are so thin, the movie didn’t fully engage me. It should be said that I wanted the leader of the small village to die a brutal death. He has a face you hate and want to punch hard! So we have two punchable characters in this movie! Feel my fist, you nasty man! I’m going to bury you and that little kid! I’m gonna punch you so hard in your stupid faces!
The Piper was a disappointment. I’m sure the movie would have been better with better actors, a better script, and a better director. The movie feels a little cheap, especially with the central woman character and many of the hopeless characters who are caricatures. We get to see some short but awful scenes where some actors should be ashamed of themselves and quit acting! They need a beating! I’m ready with my fists! This is the fists of death!
The Piper is nothing but a mediocre movie, with several poor actors doing their best to ruin the movie experience.