The days of iconic and cherished anthology horror films are a thing of the past, it would seem, but Doombung: The Puddle demonstrates the segmented format is still viable for many reasons. Especially for concepts that don’t warrant a longer feature. And as the three tales in this South Korean omnibus emphasize, some thrills are best kept short.
While the stories in Doombung: The Puddle are, more or less, self contained, they are linked by the eponymous body of water. Of course, this is more of a pond — the Goblin Pond, to be more exact — than a puddle. There is also a recurring character who is aware of the water and its stream of odd occurrences over the years. As intriguing as that plot thread may be, director Lee Dong-ju focuses on the sub-stories.
First up: in “Goblin Frequency”, a fisherman’s visit to the foreboding pond ends in terror as he and another fisher vie for the best catch. The competition, which is informal and one-sided, ends terribly. This opener is the most overtly horror of the trio, with a character haunted by his actions. Nevertheless, this icebreaker story, while entertaining enough, is straightforwardly tense with no surprises.
“Electric Brain” maintains the technology motif from the previous entry. Here a dejected young man gets lost in his crypto-currency obsession while also (poorly) coping with his mother’s severe illness. This segment has a touch more depth to it, not to mention a sad streak that makes the main character somewhat sympathetic. At least more so than the last guy who visited the Goblin Pond. As for the antagonist of the story, we have a sentient force inside the computer. This all feels straight out of a Black Mirror episode, but without the brow-beating social commentary.
The last of the three stories, “Life Water”, offers the most information about the Goblin Pond itself. The longstanding mythology of these waters, which can be healing or detrimental, is explored during a young researcher’s visit to the pond. Her ingestion of the water has a profound effect on herself, namely her physical scars. As to be expected though, there are strings attached to this supposed miracle cure.
Doombung: The Puddle is a modest yet enjoyable enough collection of weird and eerie stories. While the throughline of greed is visited in each segment, the director doesn’t repeat himself. There are layers to the characters’ self-interest that serve these tales well. Like most anthologies, however, the entertainment is inconsistent as well as fleeting.
With so much thought put into the pond’s background, there is potential for future tales from Doombung. It would just be a waste to let the idea dry up.
Doombung: The Puddle screened at BIFAN 2024.
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