A classic Korean horror!

Hanyo (Housemaid, Korean; 1960)

Back in RRF, my sister and I used to enjoy Hong Kong drama black and white films of the 1960s with modern story-line of suspense, crime and murder.

Well, this one reminded me of one of those, with its characters donning 1960s Western attire and hairstyles, loud background music infused with electric guitar and percussion and a whiff of melodramatic overacting.
This 1960s Korean classic was recently rediscovered, and a remake was made in 2010, although the storyline is somehow altered.

Here, the suspense component is kept very much alive throughout the movie without overtly being gory. The characters kept their attire intact but still allured their appeal!

Kim is a happily married family man who is conducting a singing class for factory girls. He is quite a hit with the girls despite his serious external appearance. A young girl, Kwak, actually went into depression and subsequently died when she was humiliated for writing a love letter to him.
In his home front, Kim has two children - an older girl with polio and a younger boy. His wife is a hardworking housewife who does a lot of sewing to supplement their income.

As they move into their bigger extended house, Kim, despite his cash-strapped condition, decides to take in a maid to ease his wife's burden. She was pregnant.

Through his student, Ms Cho, who also eventually confessed to liking him, he got a maid. The maid became infatuated with her boss and tried to seduce him. At his moment of weakness, he caved in.

That started an avalanche. She became over-possessive. She tried to take over the household. The conundrum of whether she is going to poison the family members forms a central plot in the story. Along the way, the maid gets pregnant. Kim confesses to his wife, and they both try to induce an abortion. 

The cat-and-mouse game goes on to the point of insanity. A good suspense-filled flick.
Of course, you should not be asking questions like why the rat poison is in the same kitchen cabinet as the spice. And we are talking about a time when children are allowed to heckle their handicapped sibling with derogatory terms. It was politically okay then.

N.B. A remake was made in 1971 with the same theme with the title 'Woman on Fire'. Remade again in 1982 under the name 'Woman on Fire 82'.