When I first saw an advertisement for this movie on the internet I thought it looked kinda – well – dumb. How exactly do you take something like yoga and make it exciting? I suspected that the concept would be fairly shallow and that there would be too much dead weight and/or uninteresting filler material to make it an entertaining film. In addition, I had reservations about what kind of horror sequences could possibly be implemented. Needless to say, I skipped out on a blind buy for a while but eventually took the plunge when curiosity got the best of me. Most fortunately, "Yoga Institute" (2009) turned out to be an enjoyable horror film.
The way it does this is to implement a very interesting main theme: vanity and the striving for perfect beauty. In some ways "Yoga" is similar to films like "Dumplings" (2004) and "Time" (2006) because of their shared amalgamation of vanity and horror, as well as their common focus on communicating the lengths to which some will go to obtain beauty. Of course, the protagonists in "Yoga" are not quite as crazy as the characters in the aforementioned films, but they do have their moments of instability within the confines of the privately owned institute that they visit to perform their week-long series of intense yoga training. While none of these characters are especially complex, they are sufficiently developed to earn the viewer's interest.
Another important scriptwriting decision that makes "Yoga" more interesting than it should be is the introduction of a form of witchcraft. This witchcraft element is shown in more of a subtle manner than one might expect because it's not explicitly referenced at any point, yet is clearly the cause behind the beautification process as well as the nasty ramifications that befall those characters who do not follow the strict guidelines and rules laid forth by the institute's madam. This, of course, leads to some cool horror sequences that completely avoid most genre clichés like ghost girls, human-inflicted torture, and loud jump scares. There's ample use of creepy sound effects (like snake noises) and chanting to give a sinister vibe. The witchcraft angle just seems like a great decision by the filmmakers because it allows the film to breath life into the whole yoga premise.
With regards to the production quality, "Yoga" is what we've come to expect from the South Korean film industry. The yoga institute itself is a private mansion with very elegant architecture and spooky interior designs that add a lot to the visuals and atmosphere. The acting is solid for the most part and the camera-work is first-class (especially those close shots of hot girls twisting their bodies in all kinds of dubious positions).
The ending is a bit of a mind-boggler, but those looking for something different and fun might want to check "Yoga" out.
