Reviewed By-Paul Cooke
Director : Youn Sang Ho
Scripted : Eun-nim Ko
Starring : Jeong-hak Kim , Bo-kyeong Kim , Seok-hwan Am ,
Jong-su Lee & Jeong-myeong Cheon

What would happen if a park for family recreation threw away the safety buffers and opened up a portal , allowing each who steps over its boundary to reenact a moment once previously lived ?. This isn’t ‘Fantasy Island’ and Ricardo Montalban doesn’t chase after the plane with all the wrath of Khan , this is Korean Action Fantasy gone wild with a multi applicable title , ‘ R U Ready ’.

A theme park ride is undertaken by a cross section of people young and old through the safari section , driven by the Asian equivalent of Rod Serling. It is not long before they enter the twilight zone with almost immediate and startling effect. The annoyingly stereotypical fat teen kid messes about on the coach and unsettles not only the other passengers but also the bears surrounding the vehicle. Things spiral out of control and soon the unbelievable occurs as the incited bears attack the ride and start tearing into the occupants. The scene is both surprising and humourous as it appears as if the Hair Bear Bunch have escaped from a Hanna Barbera stage show , led by human costumed Yogi's and jumping out at people going Boo Boo.

An attractive young lady safari ranger careens into one of the animals to save a young boys life and is soon herself on foot running for her life along with the lad and a group of survivors. She and the trippers seek sanctuary in the mysterious corner of the park which just happens to be the R U Ready complex , which apart from its creepy looking countenance also carries a condemned notice !.

Within the circle of the entrance is a curious inscription etched into the flooring which reads ‘What is it that you’ve lost ?. We find for you what you have lost’. It tweaks the curiosity of the exacerbated group and hints to the viewing audience what still to expect to come in the movie. The orphan boy has already been separated from his furry friend named Baku , a toy bear that he believes eats and lives on his nightmares protecting him all the while. With the rampaging big bears converging outside there is suddenly a scurrying new threat closing in on them from inside , and when the farthest doors of the enclosure open up to the outside world they have no choice but to run outside. A plague of ravenous rats ushers them across the threshold beyond R U Ready and unbeknownst into a territory beyond reality. An environment that feeds off of fear and dreams , who’s path leads the troupe into a journey of survival.

An old guy amongst them is still living the events of the Vietnam War and soon he and his new found friends are all reliving his personal nightmare with incredible realism. The night scene is awash with incoming rockets and explosions all around with the sound of bullets ricocheting about them as they scramble for the haven of the trenches.

This is exciting boys and girls own adventure stuff , encapsulating each persons own moment in time as they live out a segment from their own lives in a surreal reality. Is this a divine opportunity to learn from past experiences or a mass hallucination fragmenting into the minds of these few people thrown together by fate ?.

There are many moments of high drama including an incredible sequence involving an all terrain vehicle outrunning a rock fall , to eventually end up dangling on the very precipice of a rock face. With a stunning array of computer generated imaging all around creating the illusion with amazing detail , the clarity of the rain downfall alone is incredible. The visual moment where the vehicle is dangerously close to going over the edge with the characters struggling to push it to safety , and the rain gushing down with enveloping DTS surround sound , is doubly astounding when it is later revealed within the DVD extras supplement that the entire scene is computer generated imagery !.

Very effective movie escapism that involves not only its on screen players , as they bond with each other in striving to overcome their plight against nature and more personal obstacles , but also the viewer who is catapulted into proceedings with enjoyable results.

As the predicament before them unravels so do the indoctrinations of society along with the stringent attachments of selfishness , greed and bigotry. Dress the mix with a movie sprinkling of ‘ Jumanji ’ and ‘ Raiders Of The Lost Ark ’ and what you get is a pretty well rendered variation on a Theme Park.

Release : Enter One
Coding : NTSC Region 3
Sound : DTS / Dolby Digital 5.1
Extras : Original Korean Language / Removal English Subtitles /
Making Of Film / Trailer / TV Spot / Widescreen 1:85:1 Format