Have you been hankering after a new Asian big-budget monster film? Then “Sector 7” will be an excellent addition to your viewing schedule. Sector 7 is a monster horror-science fiction action film directed by Kim Ji-hoon and released in South Korea in 2011.
There are some excellent action moments with giant drills and punching alien jellyfish butt, so there is a sense of tension and dread in the beginning when the team is picked off one by one, and they all assume the killer is human. The creatures are entirely CGI, which makes the film even more ridiculous when combined with slapdash bandwagon 3D. Nonetheless, it is more engaging than a typical SyFy Original.
Even though Kim’s evil beast was a little too glossy thanks to competent but not top-notch CGI work, Mr. Nasty featured a few fantastic kill-cams and moments. However, because the monster’s skin appeared to be more pixelated than realistic, using probable impacts would have enhanced presentation, lessening Sector 7’s overall scare factor.
The film is set on an oil rig, where the light crew is terrorized by a terrifying undersea beast. While I applaud the creators’ eagerness to show off the beast here – and quite extensively – which is a welcome difference from the typical Hollywood tease – the CGI effects are just decent, not great.
Another minor plus is that Sector 7 just lasts long enough to wear out its welcome – unlike many Korean horror films, it is short and sweet, clocking in at around 90 minutes. Sector 7, hailed as being one of Korea’s first box office hits, hits all the high points when it comes to playing up the gatherer formula of creature versus helpless humans, but it takes a lot of time to get there, weighed down by a fairly lengthy first act that served as an introduction to all of the characters involved, and habitation a bit farther into their corresponding formulaic characterizations before letting loose on the crew, onboard an oil rig.
Sector 7 (2011)
A portion of the ocean known as “Sector 7” has been earmarked for oil rig drilling operations. It’s a lot like the oil-digging operation in “Armageddon,” except this time it’s out at sea.
The crew is made up of a group of dedicated employees who are frequently required to spend many months at a time at sea, residing on a mobile station. They are currently located off the shore of Jeju Island. Of course, the goal is to keep drilling areas open until they hit an oil reserve. The film begins with the premise that “something” went wrong with an engineer working on a defective drill years ago.
A swarm of cute glowing little sea creatures approaches him until they switch to their murderous assault mode, which isn’t so cute. Years later, a crew is waiting for gold in the shape of an oil breakthrough in the same place. The film starts off on this theme, devoting a significant amount of time to introducing the characters and immersing the audience in the rig’s drama.
The bosses back at the house are set to pull the plug after months of unproductive drilling, and Jeong Man arrives to oversee Eclipse’s closure. Jeong Man used to drill here with Hae-father, jun’s and he was on the ocean floor with him when he died in an accident. Jeong Man has taken on the role of father figure for Hae-jun, but their relationship was to be put to the test.
The gang still hasn’t found any oil, but they do come across a school of odd water critters, such as glowing tadpoles, and bring a few samples back to a rig for testing. When crew members begin to die horrible deaths and the rig is separated from the rest of the world by a storm, Hae-jun and the remainder of the team find themselves fighting for their lives against a large and potentially deadly creature.
Whereas the setup is effectively ALIEN on an oil rig, writer Yun Je Gyun heavily pulls from James Cameron’s sequel, with a lot of action moments that are almost uncannily similar to those in that picture.
There’s also a classic amoral parent firm, eager to put the possibility of exploiting a distinct species ahead of its own employees’ well-being. It has been revealed that the organisms are combustible – likely as a result of their evolution in such fuel-rich surroundings – and that each one can heat up for almost 24 hours, trying to make them a pretty useful fuel source.
Hae-Joon can stand up to her savage male coworkers, has a sweet connection with the crew’s token hottie, and finds the time for a girl chat with scientist Kim, the only other woman on board. However, there are far too many variables going against her, including some bizarre plotting in which she races motorbikes about the rig with her lover for flirting purposes, and the idea that Hae-jun is a woman is ultimately little more than a novelty.
Ahn Sung Ki is his dependable self as the mentally deranged loving father who sullies his best friend’s memory by endangering his daughter’s life. The remainder of the ensemble plays stock archetypes who are on standby to serve as monster chow in a series of boring and uninspiring slaughter scenes.
Well, then Hae-Joon and another member of the crew go below to work on a section of the platform after three weeks of preparation. Due to faulty equipment, her partner falls into the abyss while executing their duties. When Hae-Joon returns to the platform, additional crew members begin to perish in inexplicable circumstances.
They quickly discover that an undersea monster has taken up residence just on an oil rig platform and also is preying on the crew members. Captain Jung-Man holds the secret to the monster’s rebirth, therefore Hae-Joon and her coworkers now must fight for their lives.
As bodies start to vanish one after the other, the few survivors must react quickly and battle for their lives in a never-ending battle against the mutant sea monster. Despite the fact that survival is unlikely, Hae-jun and his team are eager to use every chance they can to escape from Sector 7 alive. While Hae-jun and the team are focused on their final try, they lose contact with headquarters, and the team is overcome with the unsettling impression that something is lurking around the corner.
Talking about monsters, If even Hae-joon comes out as one-dimensional, you can bet the monster will be far worse. The monster’s motivation for pursuing its prey is unclear, as it doesn’t appear to consume them or carry them back to its nest, where its embryos are cocooned in a sticky mass.
It also doesn’t help that Ji-hoon unveils the creature in its entirety far too early in the film, thereby discarding any attempt at creating viewer anticipation. The decision to use an indigenous effects firm may be worth praising for their particular audience, and you’re likely to believe the CG work isn’t that impressive. The same can be said of the film’s 3D, which adds depth to some sequences but not necessarily the action-packed ones that matter.
As a no-frills adventure game, ‘Sector 7’ will suffice, it will be forgotten in the end, but exhilarating and fun while it lasts.
What Is The Monster?
In addition to the other female crew member, doctor Hyun-Jung, Ha Ji-Won plays Cha Hae-Joon, the single woman oil rig miner in what would be a testosterone-filled career out on the open seas. The team appears to be running into dead ends all the time, and they are instructed to stop working only for Ahn Jung-Man to return to the rig, his objectives to be revealed as the film unfolds.
But, with a small crew left behind, they locate what they’re searching for, and with that success, they find time to participate in some shenanigans like bike surfing on the rig platform and exchanging war stories through to the comparison of scars obtained through their difficult professions.
This was not the first time the Koreans have experimented with monster movies, with critically praised films like The Host and many others like Chaw among them. Even though the story by Yun Je-Gyun is riddled with the regular formulaic clichés, Sector 7 proves to be a nice complement to that list, with filmmaker Kim Ji-Hun knowing just what takes to maintain the suspense and build anticipation, and utilizing the finest of lighting and camera angles to move the narrative forward.
Characters become caricatures and continue to stay wafer-thin, and folks know that mostly everyone is fair game for being slurped by the monster, particularly those who exhibit negative traits, so you’ll root for karma to complete its circle, even if it means having the storyline go through the required inconvenience.
The creature concept is unquestionably one of the best aspects of the film, with the makers never afraid to keep it hidden or in the shadows. With such a beautiful beast formed, the last way you want to do is hide it, so we get to see what the threat looks like right away, with its razor-like fangs and vicious whip-like tongue, as well as armored skin that makes it impervious to just about anything everyone tries to throw at it, from shotgun projectiles to grappling hooks, but vulnerable to melee weapons.
Seeing Ji-won inside the thick of the action, particularly when she hops on a motorcycle and speeds along with the platform with the beast close behind her, is thrilling, to say the least—though that particularly memorable sequence is marred by some shoddy CGI that betrays the green screen against which was shot. Nonetheless, she is a credible woman superhero, and one can only wish that the creators had spent much more time developing her character and making it memorable.
The creature’s inherent flammable nature aced the design, providing much-needed gravitas to plot advancement and the requisite rationale for why and how things established the way they did, as well as being willing to take responsibility for some of the more cosmetically shot action sequences, complete with slow-mo methods to bring out sheer awe.
Sector 7 might be a guilty pleasure in terms of monster movies, with the hunter in command and frightening various victims all along the way, it never quite achieved the heights it could have. If it had a less clichéd plot, more different situations in which fodder was dispatched, and characters we genuinely cared about, this was something truly unforgettable. The monster itself is well-designed, and the 3-D is sometimes impressive, but it all feels a little too similar.
Why should you watch Sector 7?
A bunch of drillers battles sea monsters onboard their rig in this Korean sci-fi action horror mashup film. There are some great special effects as well as some shoddy CGI and chroma key work. The film appears to have been enjoyable in 3D, and there are some excellent images in it. The cinematography brightens up the typical tale, and although being vapid, it provides some silly entertainment.
It reminded me of a scene in the Resident Evil 4 game, those of you who have played would recognize it, and it’s also how the movie ends. It has the sense of a large computer game, but it somewhat overstays its welcome by taking too long to get going and drawing out the conclusion with excessive slow motion.
Kim uses wild editing and slow-motion Matrix-style camera pans to shake things up. Characters could easily carry out moves that would be little more than a mist in real-time thanks to a modified model of speed that increased dangerous levels and was tempting for the eyes.
Storywise, Sector 7 receives points for establishing a distinctive history for its beast, which is a feature of most Asian horror flicks. Having a good tale to chew on, provides some logic to the horrible tragedies that follow.
With its concluding titles about off-shore territorial issues between Korea and Japan, sector 7 also had patriotic implications that home viewers reacted well to.
However, there are times when the creature is wildly horrible and fiercely ferocious, like something out of the Resident Evil series, and there are moments when the monster is incredibly repulsive and fierce, more like something out of Dead Space genres. The climactic battle with the horrible beast lasts about 40 minutes which is so outrageous and bizarre that it becomes fascinating in and of itself as a creature film. A creature feature as never before!