VT Killer mimicked violent film

From WorldNetDaily:

In the video and still images sent to NBC News, the killer responsible for 32 deaths before shooting himself at Virginia Tech this week apparently acted out scenes from an extremely violent South Korean film that won acclaim from U.S. reviewers.

Police believe Cho Seung-Hui repeatedly watched "Oldboy" – a bloody 2003 prize-winner with themes of obsession and revenge – in preparation for his rampage, the deadliest mass shooting in American history, the Evening Standard of London reported.

Virginia Tech Professor Paul Harris spotted the similarities and alerted authorities, the paper said. The multimedia package, which included "disturbing" writings, apparently was mailed to the network in the time period between the two shooting sprees.

Cho is seen wielding a variety of weapons in poses that bear a strong resemblance to scenes from the South Korean film and from the works of John Woo, the Hong Kong director behind violent films such as "Face/Off."

"Oldboy," directed by Park Chan-wook, won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It received praise from the president of the jury, director Quentin Tarantino, who tried to persuade members to give it the coveted Palme d'Or over Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Reviewer Peter Bradshaw of the London Guardian said of "Oldboy" that the film is so dark and horrific the "terms 'violent' or 'ultraviolent' or even 'super-ultraviolent' don't quite cover it."

But the popular movie-review website Rotten Tomatoes shows 95 positive reviews out of 117 for the film.