Gawi is an example of trying to do too much. It borrows plot elements from several known horror movies which are mixed together. Resulting in a fusion between I know what you did last summer, Prom Night II and Ringu. And at times it does seem like it was going somewhere. Except that it never did. The most interesting story lines were not fully explored for sake of some twists that you can see coming from a mile away. Even with a familiar evil girl story line (Ringu) it would have been nice to see something new added to make it a little different. At one point it looked like that was going to happen. For a brief moment the viewer is deliberately made to doubt certain events. Which brought the much needed tension that was lacking. Only to get ruined by the ending. Another problem was the fact that the evil girl/ghost was too pretty. Even with the make up she never looked scary. Although the younger version of Eun-ju (Ji-Won Ha) and the look alike doll truly did look evil and scary. Too bad that they were only present in the beginning scenes. These were the scenes that spark the interest of the viewer since they promise creepiness, dread and suspense. At times it was so close. To be fair some of the bloody and gory killings do make up for the lack of tension. But the narrative fails to make them have that extra impact on the characters. Overall Gawi is never that scary. Still it is interesting enough if only to prepare you for the much better Phone (2002) by the same director.
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