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The Shaman - Plot Inconsistency? (SPOILERS)

posted 8 years ago by lpmaniacs_kevin
12 replies | jump to latest

I loved almost every second of this movie. It was the only movie in a long time that made me feel close to what i felt while watching The Chaser. So it wasnt my surprise when i actually found out it came from the same director! I do have only one possible plot inconsistency point that i seem to have a problem with this movie. At the end it shows that the Shaman was the one taking the pictures all along and in theory sharing them with The Japanese Guy as his sort of "partner in crime" or something; BUT i can't get past the fact that we actually see the Shaman almost kill the Jap with that ritual and was only stopped by the stupidity of the main character... If they were colluding all along and the jap was using his pictures why would the shaman even think of offering to kill the Jap Demon using that ritual?

Peace and Love!

[–] jase-prasad 8 years ago

It is entirely possible the old japanese monk was not always a demon but was possessed, he was seen chasing the unnamed woman in order to redeem himself, but the main character sinned by killing him. Sure the young shaman had all the photographs but it is unlikely that he was the actual photographer of all the victims. Remember what the unnamed woman said "he is just a pawn," meaning he was being used by the older shaman, much like how a master enlists a disciple.

[–] WalterSoprano 8 years ago

The shaman wasn't hurting the Japanese man he was hurting the girl, the Japanese man was being hurt by the woman in white. The Japanese man was always the devil the shaman was always bad and the woman in white was always good. If someone wants explanations as to why I can dish them out but I don't feel like typing them now.

[–] ebossert 8 years ago

The girl could have killed the Japanese man immediately after the ritual ended. She was standing outside of his hut. Why didn't she?

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[–] WalterSoprano 8 years ago

What made you think she could kill him? The woman in white doesn't appear to be able to do anything physical she has to set traps which she did do it just failed. When the Japanese man fell in front of Jong goos car and they hit him that was her doing and that didn't work. The trap at the end was supposed to do away with him but was foiled by Jong-Goo.

[–] mollykate3020 8 years ago

Can't do anything physical except throw rocks at ppl... lol.
Still, I wholeheartedly agree with your viewpoint on the movie overall.

[–] WalterSoprano 8 years ago

Well there was that one emphasized bit where she grabbed Jong-Goos hand to keep him from going to his home but it still appears like she can't do anything physically to intervene for some reason. I'm not sure but I'll definitely be doing a re watch soon to absorb some stuff I might have missed.

[–] MasterlessSamurai 8 years ago

The trap at the end was for the Shaman, not the Demon, she has not yet discovered a way to be rid of the Stranger.

It was to;

1. Obviously to kill the Shaman, he is very vulnerable to her and her rituals. It is highly likely that if Goo did as she said and allowed the cock to crow three times, the Shaman would have gone inside and become trapped and died, but the spell was broken, as her trap/plant died instantly.

2. This would have had the added benefit of allowing the families souls not not become trapped/consumed? Since he would be unable to take the photographs. She could not save their physical lives as Jyo was already too far gone, but their souls could be rescued.

[–] gustavopac 7 years ago

I had exactly the same question! Can someone please explain?
Or could the Shaman have turned to the Dark side after?

[–] Martialhorror 7 years ago

The Shaman did try to kill the demon/Japanese man, but when the protagonist interrupted the ritual, the spell backfired and the Shaman was suddenly possessed.

They even have a line of dialogue where he warns him that the spell can back-fire. This might also be why the Japanese Man seems to be temporarily freed from the possession, as more than likely the demon(s) temporarily jumped ship and was too weak to control two people at once.

An alternate interpretation is that the Japanese Man temporarily regained control of his body through sheer will power and the Shaman- who would've been evil all along for this theory- was trying to kill the man so that the demon could resume control.

It's ambiguous, but the former theory makes more sense, as the Shaman becomes a lot more sinister after the ritual fails.

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[–] sehlee 7 years ago

Like the other poster mentioned, the shaman was hurting the girl, not the demon/Japanese man. It only looked like he was because the two events were occurring at the same time and editing work was to throw the viewers off. The Japanese man was getting weaker due to the presence of the woman in white. Her presence in close proximity is enough to weaken him just like how her presence affected the shaman near the end. The scene in the mountains where some people think the Japanese man was running after the woman was actually him running away from the woman. Just because they show the woman running first and then showed the Japanese man running made viewers think the Japanese man was chasing her.

[–] sandor-clegane 7 years ago

the whole thing is just plain incosistent and illogical.

why did the girl let the shaman go when she had her all nosebleeding and vomiting in front of her?

i've never been angrier about wasting my time with such a stupid movie.
it was not scary or effective for a minute.

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 7 years ago

Well if the shaman was supposed to be hurting the girl, why wasn't the girl hurt at all? Instead she was the one hurting the Japanese guy.

And also if he was a demon, why would he be frightened of the girl.

I like the movie but it makes no use trying to make sense of it.

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