Okay guys, so this review is going to be full of SPOILERS, so don't say I didn't warn you.

If ever there was a film that would put you off working as a housemaid in South Korea, this is it. I mean... you work your socks off day and night, have the most confined of conditions to sleep in, get treated with disdain by almost everyone around you and the gentleman of the house can go to your bedside every night for sexual favours. While his wife is up the duff. WITH TWINS. Yes, you read that right... these rich folks can get away with anything. Of course, it helps if you're a walking doormat who apologises for every little thing and only sees the best in people. How tragically naive these days.

And when you fall pregnant yourself, decide to keep the baby... turning down some very handsome bribes in the process, what do you think happens? Why, the wife's bitchy mother will poison your drink so you'll have a miscarriage. Nice. Obviously EVERYONE has a breaking point, even someone as meek and mild as you. So, what do you do for revenge? Shoot them all dead? Electrocute them in their sleep? Nope. You HANG yourself in front of them, and just to make sure they get the point... you self-immolate too. I don't really see how this constitutes as 'getting even'... particularly as the only one affected by seeing this suicide up close would probably be their small child who doted on you. Expensive therapy bills, here we come...

It's a creepy film, filled with people without a moral compass and more money than conscience. It is incredibly frustrating to watch the heroine get walked on by all and sundry, only to emerge with a smile and a "Sorry" in every situation. There arrives a time to put your foot down and say enough is enough, but when things do get that far... she takes completely the wrong option. Oh well... Still, I'm not really here to report on her mistakes (But I did anyway. Suck it up). My main task is to review, and I can say it's a well made movie, with some memorably grotesque characters, a tenuous atmosphere and plenty of surprises along the way.

Most of which I've just revealed. Oops. Still, the SPOILER tag should have clued you in. And I do like to vent... 6/10

The South Korean thriller THE HOUSEMAID is a remake of a 1960 classic, although I have no experience with the original. What I can say is that this is a taut and compelling movie, made with a high quality by director Im Sang-soo (thankfully no relation to his namesake, Hong Sang-soo, a pet hate of mine).

As with many Korean movies I've watched, there's plenty of subtext here as the plot reflects on Korean society and the inequalities inherent therein. A young housemaid comes to work at the home of a rich family, only to be quickly seduced by the womanising husband. There are some extraordinarily explicit sex scenes here, but far from being an erotic thriller this soon turns into something quite different.

The plot takes many unexpected twists and turns, and at all times is kept more than watchable thanks to a literate script and the attentions of a professional cast. Jeon Do-yeon holds it all together as the sympathetic titular character, but Yoon Yeo-jeong also makes an impression as the older, more experienced housemaid. The climax has to be seen to be believed. While the recent Singaporean housemaid drama ILO ILO is even better, THE HOUSEMAID is still worth your while.

I guess Housemaids can have more than one use. And they can also have ulterior motives - but does the one employed here have one? And who wants what from whom? And who is to blame for what, that has been done by whom to which other person? There are quite a few questions and you'd be excused if you think of this as convoluted.

Or if you dig a story with lots of characters, that seem to act crazy, you will cherish this. It all leads to an inevitable if very strange ending - something that I don't think everyone will get behind or understand for that matter. But it does make (crazy) sense - even if it leaves so much open for interpretation ...