The Housemaid (1960)

The earliest and most successful of Kim's films, The Housemaid (1960) uses a formula that was repeated again and again over the course of his career. In the movie, a music teacher and his pregnant wife hire a maid who seduces the teacher and becomes pregnant. Afterwards, the entire family becomes locked in a hellish daily struggle of power, murder, and deceit; everything spirals into a pit of darkness, rage, and desperation. Photographed in black-and-white in one small house and a few other sets, Kim makes astonishing use of the space. You get a clear idea of the house, its rooms, and its doors; the is space not only with maximum clarity, but for maximum emotional response as well. Kim also uses sound effects to wonderful dramatic effect. As a result, his story is perfectly captured in a poetic, demonic way by the camera.

Call them trash, exploitation, or B-movies, Kim's films been compared to the work of Douglas Sirk (Written on the Wind) and Nicholas Ray (Rebel without a Cause), both filmmakers who tried to introduce dark elements into standard soap opera plots. But Kim takes these conventions even further. His films are like nothing youÕve seen before.